Robertson is a town in the

Western Cape Province 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 inhabi ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, known as the valley of wine and roses, at the heart of the wine route - Route 62. Founded in 1853 and named after Dr , a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

minister. Situated in the fertile Robertson Valley, farming and wagon building were the town's original industries. However, after the Second

Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

of 1899, the wagon building industry collapsed when the railways took over the transport of all goods. Robertson subsequently became famous for its ostrich farming, but this industry collapsed as well shortly after World War I, and the farmers of the area turned to wine and fruit farming. Later, several successful

racehorse Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

stud farms were founded. Agriculture remains the mainstay of the town's economy.

Tourism

Tourism has grown in recent years and the town has several Western Cape provincial heritage sites, such as the Pink Church (1859), the Museum (1860), the Edwardian-style house 12 Piet Retief Street (1904), the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

-style house at 59 Van Reenen Street (1914), and the Powder House (used as a store for gunpowder). Robertson has a population of over 20,000 civilians

Skydiving at Robertson

Western Province Sport Parachute Club (WPSPC) - Skydive Robertson, founded in 1972, is the oldest remaining skydiving club in South Africa. In July 2008, the club relocated to Robertson. WPSPC operates from Robertson Airfield on weekends and public holidays and facilitates tandem skydiving and student training, and provides a facility for sports skydivers. The 2011 South African National Skydiving Championships was hosted by Skydive Robertson and held at Robertson Airfield. This is the first time the national skydiving championships has been held in the Western Cape. Robertson Tourism website
Retrieved 19 February 2012

Robertson Airfield

Robertson Airfield is an unmanned airfield, with a 1 600 meter asphalt runway, situated 1 km to the east of Robertson.

Gallery

Image:klaasvoogds.jpg, The Klaasvoogds valley from a 4x4 on the Pat Busch Private Nature Reserve, Robertso
Pat Busch Private Nature Reserve
Image:Rosendal-Winery.jpg, The Rosendal Winery & Wellness Retreat in Klaasvoogds, Robertson File:NG kerk Robertson.jpg, The

References

{{Authority control Populated places in the Langeberg Local Municipality Populated places established in 1853 1853 establishments in the Cape Colony