McGregor is a small village in the mountains of the
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 202 ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
. It is roughly 150 km east of
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
. It is located in Ward 5 of the Langeberg Municipality. According to the Census 2001, this Ward has a population of 10,254 people (Stats SA, 2001).
The village was established in 1861 and was originally called Lady Grey. It was renamed in 1905 in honour of Rev. Andrew McGregor, who had been the Dutch Reformed Church minister of the Robertson District for forty years.
It has become somewhat of a magnet for alternative lifestyles. The local
Waldorf school has roughly 167 children. It is part of the broader wine route network of the Western Cape and is situated at one end of the popular Boesmanskloof Trail to the town of
Greyton to the south.
The village irrigation system dates back many years. The edge of the streets have a water channel fed from the town dam. Each landowner has a slot allocated during the week where they get a few minutes to an hour of the channel flowing into their property, with the time allocated being a function of the size of the property. In recent years some controversy has arisen due to the reduction of the roster to every second week in an effort to keep a fuller dam. However, during the summer of 2012/13 extensive work has been undertaken to rebuild the dam and to prevent its main wall from leaking and it is now (June 2013) hoped that this will solve the problems.
It is home to the annual Poetry in McGregor festival.
References
External links
McGregor village web site with historyTourist and Accommodation Information - accommodation bookings, things to do, places to eat, wine cellars, official tourism sitePoetry in McGregor
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcgregor, Western Cape
Populated places in the Langeberg Local Municipality
Populated places established in 1861
1861 establishments in the Cape Colony