History

Province Western Cape
Overberg
Coordinates 34°09′S 19°01′E
Area 6.65 km2
Municipality Theewaterskloof

There was a post office at Palmiet River at a small bridge known as De Oude Brug which was built in 1811. The post office was opened in 1846. In 1849 the postmaster position fell vacant and was not filled for 8 years till 1852 when a more sturdy bridge was built. Four years later a painter Willem Langschmidt from Cape Town, bought the farm Grietfontein in the area. He named it Grabau after the German town where he was born. He formed a small community mostly around a small shop that his wife ran. He was also responsible for much of the population as he fathered 23 children.
In the early 1900s, the area underwent an agricultural revolution that launched the development of Grabouw. This was the deciduous fruit industry that still thrives today.
Antonie Viljoen is recorded as the first to plant apple trees in the Grabouw area. He was revolutionary as he gave his farmworkers their own plots in which to grow the trees and apples were farmed on their own initiative. Later in 1903, the Molteno brothers who owned farms in the area helped build the deciduous fruit industry using the same initiative.
Grabouw became the hub of the export fruit-producing industry. timber is also produced here with the development of the town. It gained its own council in 1923 and was granted municipal status in 1956.
Also influential in the area was the Lombardi family who created an apple drink and called it Appletizer introducing it to the market in 1966.

The license plate prefix for Grabouw is CEO. The postcode is 7160.

WEATHER IN GRABOUW YTODAY

see all listings in Grabouw

Things to see and do in Grabouw

Cole’s pass
Green mountain trail
Houw Hoek Pass and Houw Hoek Railway pass
Boland Trail The sphinx route
Viljoens pass
Grabouw 4×4 route: 082 335 7071
Parkrun every Saturday 8 am Trail’s End, 41 Worcester Road

Useful Numbers

Police: 021 859 7726
Traffic department: Caledon-028 212 2878
Fire: Grabouw Fire Station-021 859 5525
Municipality-021 859 2507
Water
Electricity::028 212 9111
Post office;021 859 3595
Library:021 859 2507
Closest hospital;Elgin Medical Centre-021 859 2850
Clinic– 021 859 1301
Pharmacy;021 859 3383
SPCA: Grabouw Animal Welfare Society-076 549 6601
Ratepayers Association; 0827839267
Schools: Grabouw High School-021 859 4203
Umyezo Wama Apile Primary School-021 859 5221
Groenberg Secondary School-021 859 2127
Kingsway Christian School-021 859 5022
Pineview Primary School-021 859 3700
Glen Elgin Primary School-021 859 3323
Groenberg Primary School-021 864 1126
Umyezo Wama Apile High School-021 859 1049
Glen Elgin Primary-021 859 3323
St Michaels Laerskool-021 859 2429
Museum;Elgin Apple Museum-021 859 2042
Tourism 021 848 9838

Grabouw