Merweville
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2009) |
Merweville | |
|---|---|
 View of Merweville | |
  Merweville  Merweville | |
| Coordinates: 32°40′S 21°31′E / 32.667°S 21.517°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Western Cape |
| District | Central Karoo |
| Municipality | Beaufort West |
| Government | |
| • Councillor | Japie Van der Linde[1] (DA) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 32.59 km2 (12.58 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
| • Total | 1,592 |
| • Density | 49/km2 (130/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 9.3% |
| • Coloured | 78.1% |
| • Indian/Asian | 2.6% |
| • White | 8.9% |
| • Other | 1.1% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Afrikaans | 95.0% |
| • Zulu | 1.4% |
| • Other | 3.6% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| PO box | 6940 |
| Area code | 023 |
Merweville is a town located in Beaufort West Municipality, Western Cape.
Village 45 km north-west of Prince Albert Road and 130 km south-east of Beaufort West. It was established on the farm Vanderbylskraal in 1904 and administered by a village management board from 1921. Named after the Reverend P van der Merwe (1860-1940), minister at Beaufort West of the Dutch Reformed Church, and chairman of the church council which established the town.[3]
The town is an isolated community that maintains an old-world charm, about 150 km from Beaufort West. The surrounding region has been likened to that of Nevada or Arizona. It was one of the few towns or villages in the province not to be serviced by a sealed highway until the 40 km stretch of gravel road from the N1 was tarred in 2015.
One of the few remaining towns that still retains the old type laid back livestyle of days gone by - see Merweville for more information.
Every year the Dankfees festival is held which attracts thousands of people for the weekend.[4]
Die Boekklub, a hit drama series on kykNET and Showmax, about a book club, is filmed and set in the town.[5][6][7]
References
[edit]- ^ Councillors - Beaufort West (Ward 7)
- ^ a b c d "Main Place Merweville". Census 2011.
- ^ "Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Public Domain)". Human Science Research Council. p. 306.
- ^ Go! magazine, December 2017 issue, p.50-56
- ^ Die Boekklub Season 3 | The hit local show about a book club in a small Karoo town makes a surprising return News24. 21 January 2021
- ^ Lost in the Karoo as ‘Die Boekklub’ takes us into the heart of platteland South Africa The Daily Maverick. 19 May 2020
- ^ Merweville, part two – Karoo Nougat Central The Daily Maverick. 28 August 2024
External links
[edit]
Media related to Merweville at Wikimedia Commons
www.merweville.co.za
Municipalities and communities of Central Karoo District Municipality, Western Cape | ||
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District seat: Beaufort West | ||
| Laingsburg | .svg) | |
| Prince Albert | ||
| Beaufort West | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
