Tesselaarsdal
Tesselaarsdal is located in Western Cape
Tesselaarsdal
Tesselaarsdal
Location in the Western Cape
Coordinates: 34°22′30″S 19°31′30″E / 34.375°S 19.525°E / -34.375; 19.525
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceWestern Cape
DistrictOverberg
MunicipalityTheewaterskloof
Elevation
220 m (720 ft)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total1,395
Postal code
7230

Tesselaarsdal (formerly Teslaarsdal) is a dispersed rural settlement in the Theewaterskloof Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa. It is situated on the northern side of the Kleinrivier Mountains, 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the town of Caledon. The 2011 census recorded a population of 1,395 people in 428 households in Tesselaarsdal and on the surrounding farms.[1]

History

The farm Hartebeesterivier was granted in 1781 to Johannes Jacobus Tesselaar as payment for his military service for the Dutch East India Company (VOC).[2] It was one of five loan farms in the Overberg that Tesselaar was to receive.[3] Tesselaar died in 1810 and his farms passed to his widow Aaltje. Following her death in 1832, under the terms of the Tesselaars' joint will,[3] the farm Harteebestrivier was left to nine former servants or slaves and their descendants.[2]

The community now known as Tesselaarsdal developed from these nine original families. Over the years a primary school, a Dutch Reformed Mission church and an Anglican church were established. The name change from Hartebeesterivier to Tesselaarsdal was required when a post office was opened, to avoid confusion with another Hartebeesterivier.[2]

During the apartheid era, some residents were classified as "White" and others as "Coloured". Despite this, the Group Areas Act was never applied to Tesselaarsdal and there were no forced removals.[4] However, white farmers did benefit from agricultural subsidies not available to Coloured farmers.

Ownership of land within the settlement was handled informally, with subdivisions and transfers not registered with government authorities. In 1971 the Caledon Divisional Council approached the Cape Supreme Court to determine legal ownership of the farm, but the case was rejected.[5] In 1982 a committee was established under the Land Titles Adjustment Act to survey the land and give legal title to the de facto owners.

Notable people

  • enzo Klein began his artistic career on a three-month holiday in Tesselaarsdal in 1956.

References

  1. 1 2 "Small Area 1710140". Census 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 "Wie was Tesselaar?". Weg! Platteland (in Afrikaans). September 2020. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  3. 1 2 "The family way: tangled tale of Tesselaarsdal". Cape Argus. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  4. ↑ Clarke, Liz (26 January 2020). "'When the mountain was still ours'". Weekend Argus. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
  5. ↑ Mouton, Annalize (29 September 2014). "Tesselaar's tangled tale!". Overberg Village Life. Retrieved 29 December 2020.
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