Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern-Cape is a picturesque old town in the Great Karoo, and the principal town of the Cape Midlands. It is tucked into a bend of the Sundays River among the foothills of the Sneeuberg mountain range with the mountain Spandau Kop standing guard over it. The town is 749 metres above sea level. Summers are hot (average maximum 31,7 °C) and winters are cool but dry (average minimum 6,1 °C). Rainfall is low. The climate is healthy.

Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern-Cape is a picturesque old town in the Great Karoo, and the principal town of the Cape Midlands. It is tucked into a bend of the Sundays River among the foothills of the Sneeuberg mountain range with the mountain Spandau Kop standing guard over it. The town is 749 metres above sea level. Summers are hot (average maximum 31,7 °C) and winters are cool but dry (average minimum 6,1 °C). Rainfall is low. The climate is healthy.

In December 1785 Mortiz Woeke was appointed magistrate of the newly constituted division of Graaff-Reinet, with instructions to select a suitable site for his residency. His choice fell on a loan farm belonging to Dirk Coetsee, located on a bend of the Sunday's River. The property was purchased from Coetsee for Å“500 and an exchange of land of similar size elsewhere. As was common with many colonial settlements of that time, the site was chosen primarily for its defensive potential, being surrounded by the river on three sides. The new settlement was named after Governor Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff and his wife Cornelia Reynet and was established in 1786. It was the fourth district in the Cape Colony to be granted a drostdy, or seat of local government.In 1795 the citizens of Graaff-Reinet refused to accept the authority of the new British colonial administration, and proclaimed themselves into a republic, a state of affairs which continued sporadically until 1801. John Barrow, who visited the village in 1797, put the rebellion into perspective when he wrote in 1801:

" ... (the district of Graaff Reinet) contains only twenty-six families, twelve of whom inhabit the village ... (it) consists of an assemblage of mud huts placed at some distance from each other, in two lines, forming a kind of street. At the upper end stands the house of the landrost, built also of mud, and a few miserable hovels that were intended as offices for the transaction of public business: most of these have tumbled in ... The village is chiefly inhabited by mechanics, and such as hold some petty employment under the landrost. Its appearance is more miserable than that of the poorest village in England."James Burchell, who visited here in April 1812, was perhaps a little more charitable in his opinions:

" The village, with its adjoining gardens and fields, is nearly surrounded by the Sunday's River ... It consists of one broad principal street, of detached houses, adjoining to each of which a garden well-planted with fruit trees and continually supplied with water. The church, a large handsome building on the ground plan of a cross, stands on a spacious plein at the northern end of the main street ... At this time Graaffreynet could only be called a village; but from the projected improvements ... the name of town would soon become more appropriate. Burchell also counted 74 houses, three smiths' shops, a wagon-makers', a butcher, a baker, a retailer of wine and brandy, and "several shops or houses at which a variety of European goods could be bought". By the time it was visited by Casalis in about 1833 matters had changed considerably. In 1889 he wrote that:

" By bringing into it the waters of a small river, the people have made of this originally sterile spot a delicious oasis. All the streets are bordered with orange and lemon-trees, with oleanders and syringas ... From whatever quarter the traveller arrives, he sees before him the spire of the Dutch Reformed Church ... Some chapels have also been built since the English and Germans added themselves to the first colonists." Its status as a colonial outpost made Graaff-Reinet an important commercial centre, and the first official postal service linking Cape Town to Graaff-Reinet, via Swellendam, Mossel Bay, George and Uitenhage, was instituted on 1 April 1810. The journey was made fortnightly by a mail-cart which covered the distance in 127 hours. The 1865 census indicated that the town had a population of 3,869. In 1875 this number had risen to 4,562, and in 1891 it was 5,946. By 1904 it stood at 10,083, of whom 4,612 were literate. By the middle of the nineteenth century, it had become an important trading centre and many splendid examples of architecture, ranging from simple Karoo-style houses to stately Cape Dutch buildings, have been retained. Heritage.

With all its historical associations, monuments and restored buildings, Graaff-Reinet is virtually a living museum and it contains more proclaimed national monuments than any other town in South Africa. The magnificent century-old Dutch Reformed Church at the head of the main street gazes imposingly down on the town. The communion vessels used in this church are fine examples of old Cape silver.Reinet House served as a parsonage for almost a hundred years, and was occupied by the Reverend Andrew Murray and his son, Charles, for 82 consecutive years. It is now a cultural history museum. The famous old grape vine in the garden was planted in 1870. Close by is a water wheel in working condition. Obliquely opposite Reinet House is the Old Residency, which houses the excellent Jan Felix Lategan Memorial gun collection and the 'Die Middellandse Regiment' collection. In the former library building are exhibited a unique collection of the fossilized remains of Karoo reptiles which inhabited the area some 200 million years ago, the William Roe photographic exhibition, a clothing collection, and a Bushman art collection. A further annex to the museum is Urquart House, with its unusual gable and peachstone kitchen floor.

The Dutch Reformed Mission Church, now the Hester Rupert Art Museum, was built in 1821. The John Rupert Little Theatre in Parsonage Street was originally the Church of the London Missionary Society.

Historic accommodation

The Drostdy, erected in 1806 and restored in 1977 now serves as an hotel. Emancipated slaves once occupied the picturesque cottages in Stretch's Court, but now form part of a hotel complex.

District

Today Graaff-Reinet is surrounded by the 15,000 ha Karoo Nature Reserve. A wide variety of game, including the Cape Mountain Zebra and a wealth of flora may be seen. A tarred road winds 14 kms up the mountain through the reserve to sites from which to view the awe-inspiring Valley of Desolation, the Plains of Camdeboo to the south and the town below. The Valley of Desolation, with its grotesque columns and precariously balanced piles of soft rock, is one of nature's wonders, which had its origin in geological events that occurred many millions of years ago. There are hiking trails in the Karoo Nature Reserve and in the Sneeuberg Mountains. Hunting, especially trophy hunting on game farms in the district is much in demand. Farmers in the district, being situated in an area of low rainfall, are dependent mainly on pastoral agriculture.

References

• Howcroft, P. 'The South African Encyclopaedia: Prehistory to the year 2000', unpublished papers in the possession of SA History Online.
• Graaff-Reinet Publicity Association, P O Box 153, Graaff-Reinet 6280. Tel 0491-24248

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