Founded in 1853

Originally called Hooprivier the town of Robertson was founded in 1853 by two good friends, the Dutch Reformed Church minister at Swellendam, Rev. Dr. William Robertson and the Honorable Joseph Barry, who was the auctioneer when the farmland on which the town stood was cut up into erven. In 1847 Barry & Nephews had already established the Hoops River Trading Store (which later became Barry Brothers) and would have known that it was a risk worth taking. It was said that these friends were, “the providers of all things earthly and spiritual”.

The new town was named Robertson in honour of the evangelistic Scottish minister who served the Overberg for 39 years and who had held communion church services (nagmaal) when visiting every three months in the home of Johannes W van Zijl who owned the farm Over het Roode Zandt aan Hoopsrivier in the 1840s. A street was named Barry in recognition of the mainstay and trade opportunities that Barry & Nephews had opened up for the Overberg farmers.

In September 1852 Van Zijl and school teacher Mauritz Polack wrote to Dr. Robertson requesting that a new congregation be started at Hooprivier. A mere month later Dr Robertson authorised a portion of the farm Over het Roode Zandt to be purchased for the princely sum of 4 200 Pounds by school teacher Mr. Mauritz Polack (who was also to act as preacher for the Dutch Reformed Church) on behalf of the Church Council, which had yet to be elected! On the 19th January 1853, Robertson was officially founded as a ‘dorpsgebeid’ township with 26 gentlemen who were present as guarantors – 10 of these men were elected as ‘directors’. It was surveyed by H van Reenen and a total of 199 plots were auctioned off by Joseph Barry for about 40 Pounds each. An annual tax of 10 shillings on each plot was used for the building and maintenance of the first Dutch Reformed Church which was consecrated in October 1856 – this tax only ended in 1951. At the auction on 4th & 5th May 1853 an erf was promised to the first male child born in the new town of Robertson, provided the names of both founders were given to him. On the 1st of December in the same year the lucky child was born. He was duly baptised Robertson Barry Masuriek by Dr Robertson, with Joseph Barry being one of his seven sponsors.

The Transfer deed went through on the 28 July 1853. However, it was October 1853 before the surrounding DRC Church Circles at Worcester, Caledon and Tulbagh had all given their approval. Approval from the Colonial Government for the town of Robertson only came mid December 1853.

 

Robertson Methodist Church

By 1851 the Wesleyan missionaries had already started ministering in the area and assisting freed slaves to adapt. In 1859, built on the corner of Le Roux and Hopley Streets, the first Wesleyan or Methodist Church was completed with Rev. Henry Tindall as its first minister. Robertson has a street named Tindall in the Reverends honour.

The Wesleyan Church in Paul Kruger Street, formerly called the ‘Pink Church’ by residents due to its paint colour, was built a scant few years later in 1867. The 1980 photograph of the ‘Pink Church’ on the left is by kind cutesy of Philippe Menache. Today this church has been painted an imposing white and serves as a community hall for the Roelou Barry Retirement ‘Oord’ Haven.

The Methodist Church also ran an excellent school for children of mixed race which was sadly closed down, as were many mission schools, during the apartheid era. Until a high school was built by the apartheid government in the late 1960s, the only high school option open to these students was to attend school on the Cape Town side of the mountain. Sadly, for many this was not a financially feasible option.

The Methodist Church also built a chapel at McGregor (previously called  Lady Grey) in 1863 and an outreach mission station at Montagu.

For further details see the Robertson SA Geskiedenis Gilde website; https://www.saggrobertson.co.za/robertson-brokkies/

Robertson Hebrew Congregation

 

By 1881 the Robertson Jews could occasionally come together as a minyan (ten men). The Robertson Hebrew Congregation was established in 1895 and the community built the Knesset Israel Synagogue with a Hebrew School (Talmud Torah) a year later. The Hebrew School later moved to a building the congregation built at 54 Victoria Street as a mikveh (Ritual Bath). Today evidence of the mikveh at this property can be seen by a different, higher roof at the back of the building, which is supported by much thicker walls than the rest of it, which was added in the 1960s. Robertson was built on a large aquifer and wells supplied several of the town residents with water for their fruit trees and large vegetable gardens. Sufficient water for the mikveh would thus have been possible. Today, there is a spring that runs in the winter near the train station and when the underground parking garage of the Spar shopping centre was being dug, a spring that still runs was uncovered.

The Jewish community played an integral role in building the local economy, whether as ostrich feather buyers and farmers, as wagon makers, as bookkeepers, as tinsmiths, tailors, butchers, teachers and traders, as hoteliers and doctors or bioscope proprietors and even a violin maker Mr Brian Lisus in the 1980s. The first Jewish wedding in Robertson was solemnised by Rev. Rabinowitz of Cape Town in 1895.

In 1912 the Robertson congregation sent a delegate to the historic conference in Bloemfontein at which the South African Jewish Board of Deputies was established. In the 1920s Philip Buirski and Lewis Rosenzweig served on the Robertson Municipal Council, and the rabbi’s son Abraham Josefowitz became deputy mayor in 1972. Out of town members stayed at the Commercial Hotel to celebrate Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur as it was within walking distance of the Synagogue and owned by the Blumberg family. The Revd & Mrs Josefowitz lived in a house adjacent to the Synagogue until Mrs Josefowitz’s passing in 1954. For the next 10 years the Revd lived there with his son and in 1964 moved into the Commercial Hotel as by then it was owned by his wife’s family, the Epstein’s. Many years later it was purchased by the Weis family from Bonnievale as a residence and liquor off sales. The Weis brothers, Ernie and Alex, also owned Weisberg Trading Company CC which they had started in 1999. They also ran a company called African Wine Safari for which they purchased a large warehouse across the road from the hotel with the vision of expanding the company. The Commercial Hotel and the warehouse were sold on auction a few days after the world was shook by the 9/11 terrorist attack on the USA In 2001. The hotel was subsequently placed in a trust with the learners as beneficiaries and the Robertson Logos Christian School moved from the Robertson Showgrounds into the newly converted premises in 2002.

The Jewish population peaked in 1904 with 140 Jewish people but by 1967 their numbers had dwindled so they could no longer gather a minyan. The late Becky Saacks founded, developed and ran the Robertson Museum and its collections from 1972. She was also instrumental in Druid’s Lodge being purchased by the Municipality in 1976 to turn into a museum. When the synagogue was sold in 2009 the esteemed Mrs Saacks organised that part of the proceeds be donated to the Robertson Museum with the bulk going to the Trust Fund administered by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies. This fund partly facilitates the restoration and maintenance of the Robertson Jewish Cemetery in honour of those of blessed memory.  Rabbi Stuart Serwator, the independent, voluntary Western Cape Country Communities Rabbi, restored the Robertson’s Jewish cemetery in 2016. As a result of a very successful weekend reunion in Robertson in 1993 of Jewish people who had lived in the Langeberg, the Cape Board of Jewish Education reopened the Robertson Hebrew School in 1996 after it had been dormant for about 30 years. Rabbi Stuart ran this school monthly in the Synagogue until various factors caused its closure at the end of 1999.

1860s Drought & epidemic, a disastrous period for Robertson and the Overberg

As Robertson grew the need for water became a priority as the mainly winter rainfall in the area is very low and periodic droughts far too frequent for comfort. The 1860s was a disastrous period for Robertson and the Overberg. A prolonged drought saw the crops failing, fruit trees suffering and thousands of sheep and cattle dying due to lack of grazing. Robertson’s first doctor, Dr. F A Hanf, had an irrigation furrow dug from the Breede River to irrigate the farm Klipdrift during the 1860s.

To compound the problem a swarm of brown locusts swept through any remaining plant life in 1863 and Britain’s Gladstone announced a new scale of duty on imported alcoholic beverages depriving the Colonists of a market for their wine. Joseph Barry died in March 1865 and the contract that Barry & Nephews had drawn up in 1834 stipulated that on the death of one of the partners, his family would be paid out. The generous credit extended to pay off debt to the firm that could always wait till the next harvest had to be called in by the lawyers. Coupled with the drought it couldn’t have come at a worse time for the Overberg community. To add to these woes the Kadie ran aground on the sandbank at the mouth of the Breede River in November 1865 cutting off a vital trade route for the Overberg farmers. By 1866 the open port of Port Beaufort, which in 1859 had exported a million pounds of wool directly to London, was closed.

An outbreak of measles in Robertson followed by gastric fever from 1860 to 1861 was responsible for the death of the 89 people. Dr. Hanf put the epidemic down to lack of isolation of the sick and the water that became polluted in the open water furrow system. Another epidemic due to unhygienic water broke out from 1896 to 1897 prompting water pipes to be laid to the Langeberg Mountains under the Robertson Water Supply Act of 1898 to provide the town with a supply of fresh clean water.

All things earthly

Sheep and mixed farming were originally practised in the Robertson district but by the mid 1880s the wine trade became an important industry. On the 14th January 1884 Ernst Marais of Wonderfontein was granted an agricultural brandy distillers license. K.W.V. built their premises in 1941 alongside the railway station where Robertson Wineries bottling plant stands today. Ostriches and racehorse breeding were also introduced but with the collapse of the ostrich feather market at the outbreak of WW1, many farmers were ruined or changed to fruit, grain and dairy farming. The later becoming so big that by the mid 20th century Robertson at that time had a Nestle condensed milk factory. By the 1980s the dairy herds and grains had largely been replaced with vines. Currently with the poor return on wine more fruit trees are being planted in the valley.

In 1857 William Gregan became the Robertson Town Clerk to the Board of Municipal Commissioners (forerunner to the Municipality that was established in 1902) earning a salary of £17 per annum. Robertson was declared a magisterial district in 1858 and by the following year had its own Divisional Council.

When Robertson was founded a large number of villagers were engaged in wagon making and selling them to the Free State and beyond until the Boer War which marked the decline of wagon making and goods being transported by rail instead. Approximately three to four times per year professional transport riders ‘togryers’ would take wagons laden with locally crafted furniture, dried fruit and brandy to sell up North along with the wagons. Robertson’s fame spread far and wide and even President Kruger’s wagon as can be seen displayed in the President Paul Kruger House in Pretoria bears the following inscription on its wheel; Philip Fouche maker Robertson. Many of the highly skilled artisans were ‘Cape Malay’ or ‘Coloured’ and sadly much of this history is lost.

Mr F Staal was the tin and coppersmith in the town from 1880 to 1920.

Today the late Mr Frikkie Schippers (founder of Schippers Velskoene) sons still make handcrafted shoes. Mr. Frikkie Schippers started making seats for horse wagons at the tender age of 13 when he sadly had to leave school to assist his parents. His factory was originally located in Ceres. After he lost everything in the 1969 earthquake he relocated to Robertson.

The largest employer was Barry Handelshuis which had originally been the Barry & Nephews, Hoop River Trading Store before the town was founded.

In 1860 Barry & Nephews applied to the Commissioners for a plot to erect a gun powder magazine. Two years later their request was granted for plot 9 valued at 15 Pounds. They built a gun powder magazine “kruithuis” on the outskirts of Robertson beyond the cemetery. The Barry Kruithuis was declared a National Monument in 1975.

A British Garrison under the command of Lieutenant Cooper was stationed in Robertson during the South African (Anglo Boer) War of 1898 – 1902. The 1899 British fort in Gogmanskloof, on the way to Montagu, providing an early defense.

After the Boer War in 1902, Hamilton Barry (Joseph Barry’s grandson) had taken over as manager of Barry Bros, with his older brother George Joseph managing the Montagu store and distillery and his youngest brother Duncan van Reenen as a shareholder.

The beginning of the First World War in 1914 saw a disproportionately high number, for the size of the town, young men leave their peaceful rural surroundings for the horrors of war at the Front Line in France. Hamilton Barry’s youngest brother Duncan van Reenen took leave from the Barry Bros Board and farming in the Koue Bokkeveld to join the South African Army artillery and was sent to France.

In August 1920 Barry Bros changed it name again to the Robertson Trading Association which was licensed to sell wholesale or retail, import or export 24 different categories of merchandise which included liquor, property, building materials, hardware, clothing, groceries and so forth. The firm also owned the dried fruit company and several farms.

It was during Hamilton Barry’s tenure as Robertson’s longest serving mayor (1912 – 1929) that the Town Council couldn’t decide on a motto for the town. After much indecision, Hamilton Barry eventually declared that as his family motto, Boutez en avant, was good enough for the Barry’s it would be good enough for Robertson. The Council unanimously agreed and so the Barry motto and battle cry meaning to ‘Push forward’ hailing back to Tournai in what was then France (now in Belgium) in 1020 was adopted by Robertson.

Mrs Hamilton Barry inaugurated Robertson’s Electric Lighting System in 1923 and the Dental Clinic in 1928.

After Hamilton Barry’s death in 1933, his son Edward George Hamilton ‘Ted’ became managing director of Robertson Trading Association and he was later joined by Duncan van Reenen Barry’s son George Joseph. Roelou Barry, a cousin of Ted descended from old Joseph’s nephew Thomas Barry, became managing director from 1947 to 1970. The business continued to grow under his leadership and in 1951 the name was changed to Barry Handelshuis Beperk. Housed in a new building between Barry and Piet Retief streets boardering on Van Reenen street it had 17 departments. Roelou’s son Reenen took over from his father in 1970. In 1989 Shoprite and Ackermans opened branches in the building which was then know as Barry Sentrum before it was sold. The Barry ‘Kamp’ hardware, building materials and carpentry store was situated separately in Adderley street where Agrimark and Spaces are situated today.

A memorial garden was established in the block adjacent to the Barry Handelshuis and behind the DR Church and named the Hamilton Barry Park in honour of this man who had worked so tirelessly at the development of the town and the district. Sadly the bronze commemorative plaque at top of the podium was removed by the Municipality for safekeeping and has since vanished.

Cultural

Culturally Robertson blossomed and by 1872 boasted a well stocked Public Library. In 1883 the very Victorian sounding Robertson Mutual Improvement Society was established. Now called the Robertson Literary Society it is the oldest society of its kind in South Africa and hosts monthly talks on a variety of interesting topics on the 1st Monday evening of the month at the Robertson Bowling Club. It still organises an annual Stakesby Lewis academic lecture in honour of one of the founders of the society. Another founder of the Society was Mr. William Dutton English, the Civil Commissioner and Resident Magistrate in Robertson from 1881 to 1890. He purchased what is now the Robertson museum (that collapsed during renovations) and named it Druids Lodge in 1883. Other founders included Rev. McGregor of the DR Church, Rev. W.J.R. Morris the Anglican Priest, and John Lewis the brother of Stakesby. By 1890 Robertson could also boasted of a Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club and a Brass Band. The Robertson Bowling Club was established in 1938.

On the 28 December 1904 a new library was officially opened in the Edwardian building designed by the firm Tully and Waters of Cape Town behind the Dutch Reformed Church on the corner of the Hamilton Barry memorial park.

The building commemorates King Edward VII’s coronation in 1902. Today the library is located opposite the Post Office in Van Reenen street.

Church Street centered on the magnificent DR Church’s tower housed the Magistrate’s court and in 1880 a Standard Bank of South Africa branch opened. Shortly thereafter a Barclay’s Bank and a pharmacy followed.

By 1891 the district was prospering once again and Standard Bank reported that the income for the area was between 30 000 to 40 000 pounds per year.

The 1865 census indicated that Robertson had a population of 715. In 1875 this number had risen to 1 104, and by 1891 the population had nearly doubled to 2 121. By 1904 it stood at 3 244, of whom 1 875 were literate. In 2011 the population was 21,929 with 3.7% of adults not having attended school.

Wine

 

In 1941 farmers Giepie Rossouw and Alwyn Bruwer persuaded a number of Robertson Valley growers to form the Robertson Winery, named after Rev. William Robertson, in which all the families owned a share. They purchased an abandoned missionary church built in the late 1880s to house their new winery.

 

Pon van Zyl served as Robertson Winery’s first winemaker and took Robertson from its humble beginnings to being the third largest winery in South Africa. In 1984, van Zyl handed the reins over to Bowen Botha, under whose guidance Robertson Winery has become a global brand, recognized for the quality and value of its wines.

 

Wines from Robertson Winery were also of the first wines in South Africa to be accredited with an ethical seal that audited that fair labour practices, in line with international standards, were practiced in the production of the wine.

Roodezandt Winery was founded on the 18th of September 1953 when they officially took over the building, grounds and machinery from Robertson Distillery. The winery was established by members that previously delivered their grapes to the old “Sonskyn Winery” which had in turn hired the building from Robertson Distillery.

On the 14 April 1964 wine farmers surrounding the the Rooiberg Mountain founded Rooiberg Winery. Originally started with a meeting in the Robertson Town Hall with 11 members and five directors under the chairmanship of Manie Conradie and winemaker Arrie van der Merwe, who was succeeded by the legends Manie Rossouw and Dassie Smith. In 1980 they ventured into own bottle wine marketing and have continued to grow.

From its early beginnings as an area producing largely quality bulk wines, today Robertson has some of the top wine estates and cellars in South Africa and can now boast of producing some of the best wines in the world with all the international accolades that it consistently garners. Stephan De Wet introduced drip irrigation to the valley. De Wetshof made history in producing South Africa’s first Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs and Zandvliet produced the valley’s first serious Shiraz. Nelson Mandela toasted his inauguration with Graham Beck Cap Classique in 1984, and Barack Obama, after tasting a couple of glasses in a Chicago restaurant with his wife Michelle, decided to order it for a toast on the eve of his presidential nomination. In 2013 it was on the menu of the wedding celebration dinner of Swedish royal Princess Madeleine and her husband Chris O’Neill. Springfield Winery does indeed bring life from stone and caters to the discerning wine connoisseur as does Bon Courage who consistently garners international awards and Excelsior to name but a few. Today Robertson and its surrounding villages are home to over 50 wineries. Visitors to the valley can now also enjoy a picnic and wine aboard Viljoensdrift’s river cruise of the Breede. Complimentary olive farms like Olyfberg and Marbin have also made a name for themselves and Robertson can now also boast of a lavender farm in Owl’s Rest.

A thoroughbred racehorse tradition

 

The Breede River Valley is the premier horse-breeding area in South Africa. It is the only wine producing area in South Africa that doesn’t need to add lime to its soil. It is this same property that produces high quality wine that produces the superior bone quality in the high-class equine athletes that are consistently bred in Robertson and its surrounding districts.

This area’s breeders once called the B.A.R. Valley Breeders (Bonnievale, Ashton, Robertson) produced Grade 1 stakes-winning South African champions that became household names like Gondolier, The Eliminator, and Over The Air. More recently Pocket Power and Mother Russia, and currently Eyes Wide Open, Vardy and One World roll off the tip of the tongue. In recent years equine athletes like Victory Moon, JJ The Jet Plane and Vercingetorix have successfully taken on the best on the international stage.

The earliest records indicate that Joseph Barry’s sixth son, John Henry (1839 – 1890) stood an imported stallion “Warrior” at his farm, Stockwell, near Ashton. The late Paul de Wet’s Zandvliet Stud enjoyed early success after they began the syndication of stallions and imported high-class broodmares in the mid-1930s. Zandvliet stood Noble Chieftain by Nearco – a three times leading sire and bred Peter Beware and Wild West who won the Met.  Danie Le Roux’s Angora Stud bred Excise who won the 1958 Durban July Handicap. By the 1960s breeders and owners realised the potential for breeding top thoroughbreds in the area. The highly successful BAR Valley Breeders (Bonnievale, Ashton & Robertson) was founded and breeders discussed which stallions to import and support. Highlands Stud stood six-time leading sire Persian Wonder (by Persian Gulf) and five-time leading sire Jungle Cove (by Bold Ruler) which further improved the bloodlines in the area and Granville Gorton’s Noreen Stud stood Drum Beat by Fair Trial and bred Jamaican Music. Riverton Stud stood Jamaico and Champion first season sire, Russian Fox. In Full Flight was bred by Godfrey Gird at Maine Chance.  Normandy Stud, is renowned for breeding exceptional racehorses, like Aquanaut, Enforce and Horse Of The Year in 2005, Winter Solstice to name but a few.

The late leading industrialist and prominent racehorse owner Graham Beck bought Highlands Stud farm from John Stubbs, Maine Chance and Noreen Studs. Shortly thereafter the BAR Valley amalgamated with other regions to become the Cape Breeders Association in the late 1990s. However, its soil, genetic excellence and dry climate ensure that the region remains one of the most prolific breeders of champions. Paul de Wet’s son Dan bred the multiple graded stakes winning superstar Pocket Power before Zandvliet Stud was sold. In 2015 the Riverton Stud bred Captain of All was the top merit rated horse in South Africa and the joint second top sprinter in the world according to the international Longines rankings. His late champion sire, the multiple award winning Captain Al, dominated South African racing for many years. Today Captain of All also stands as a stallion at local Klawervlei Stud, consistently one of the top breeding studs in South Africa. His first crop of runners saw him win the Champion Freshman Sire award. Today, Maine Chance Stud owned by German industrialist Andreas Jacobs since the early 2000s, has been one of the top 10 studs in South Africa for over 20 years and stands multiple champion sire Silvano.

In keeping with overseas trends many of the Robertson stud farms (Maine Chance, Ridgemont Highlands and Black Swan Stud) are now owned by captains of industry with one of the biggest studs in South Africa, Klawervlei Stud being situated near Bonnievale. The best are getting better with the tradition of genetic excellence continuing in the champion stallions that they stand to the benefit of the region and in the depth of genetic pooling provided by broodmare daughters of champions returning to stud.

With over 50 wine cellars and of the best thoroughbred racehorse breeding studs in the country it is no wonder that the area lives up to its reputation as the

 Valley of Wine, Horses and Roses

1883 to 1953

Robertson celebrated its centenary from the 3rd to the 11th October 1953 with a full programme of events:

A Thanksgiving service and organ recital at the Dutch Reformed Church, a Polo match and a gymkana, a flower show, rugby match and braaivleis (BBQ). The highlight of the celebrations was a dramatisation of Robertson’s history in which 300 people from Robertson and its surrounding districts took part. The production was called the Robertson Saga. It was written by Mrs Chris De Wet and directed by herself and John Warner, a local photographer.

Robertson has always had concerned Councilors and citizens who saw to the planting of trees. Today it is one of the prettiest town’s in the Western Province.