Moorreesburg | |
|---|---|
     From top, welcome signs to Moorreesburg. Middle left, Dutch Reformed Church in Moorreesburg. Middle right, the Moorreesburg Town hall. Carnegie library in Moorreesburg (bottom left). Moorreesburg Wheat Museum & Old Mission Church building (bottom right). | |
  Moorreesburg  Moorreesburg | |
| Coordinates:33°09′S18°40′E / 33.150°S 18.667°E /-33.150; 18.667 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Western Cape |
| District | West Coast |
| Municipality | Swartland |
| Established | 1882[1] |
| Area | |
• Total | 27.2 km2 (10.5 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[2] | |
• Total | 7,760 |
| • Density | 285/km2 (739/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 9.6% |
| • Coloured | 52.5% |
| • Indian/Asian | 0.2% |
| • White | 37.3% |
| • Other | 0.4% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Afrikaans | 88.3% |
| • Xhosa | 5.6% |
| • English | 3.4% |
| • Other | 2.7% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 7310 |
| PO box | 7310 |
| Area code | 022 |
Moorreesburg is a rural town situated about 90 kilometres (60 mi) north ofCape Town, in theWestern Cape province ofSouth Africa. It was laid out in 1879 on the farm Hooikraal, was administered by a village management board from 1882 and attained municipal status in 1909. Today it falls within theSwartland Local Municipality, which is part of theWest Coast District Municipality. The town is the seat of government for the West Coast District Municipality.
Moorreesburg lies just off theN7 national road, at a driving distance of 100 kilometres (62 mi) from Cape Town. TheR311 regional road also passes through the town, as does theWest Coast branch line railway. It has two public primary schools, one public high school, a library, a police station, a magistrate's court, and a health clinic.
Moorreesburg was named after J.C. le Febre Moorrees (1807–1885), minister of theSwartland congregation of theNederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk from 1833 to 1881.[3] In 1889 a village council was established, by 1909 the settlement was granted the status of a municipality.[4] In 1911 aCarnegie Library was established in the town.[5]
The town is an important logistical and processing hub forwheat andoats, two crops that are extensively cultivated in the surrounding area. The importance of the wheat industry to the town is the subject of the Moorreesburg Wheat Industry Museum.[4]
According to the2011 census, Moorreesburg proper has a population of 7,760 people in 2,578 households. 53% of the population identified themselves as "Coloured", while 37% identified as "White" and 10% as "Black". 88% spokeAfrikaans as theirfirst language, while 6% spokeXhosa and 3% spoke English.[2]
Municipalities and communities ofWest Coast District Municipality,Western Cape | ||
|---|---|---|
District seat:Moorreesburg | ||
| Matzikama | .svg) | |
| Cederberg | ||
| Bergrivier | ||
| Saldanha Bay | ||
| Swartland | ||