- Province: Western Cape
- District  Overberg
- Coordinates:34°09′01″S 19°54′52″E
- Area:5.57 km2
- Municipality: Theewaterskloof
Riviersonderend is a small rural town in the Overberg region of the Western Cape. It lies at the foot of the Riviersonderend Mountains and along the Sonderend River, about 140 km east of Cape Town on the N2. The town serves surrounding farming areas and is positioned between Greyton and Swellendam, with easy access to mountain passes, river valleys and agricultural land.
It is a small farming town in the Western Cape, located along the N2 about 160 km east of Cape Town. While it sits just inland of the official Garden Route, it is often seen as the western gateway to the region. The town grew within an agricultural setting shaped by the Riviersonderend River and the surrounding mountain ranges
History of Riviersonderend
Many Hessequa people populated this area in several settlements. Hessequa is a Khoi-khoi word meaning, people of the trees. When Ensign Isaq Schijver passed this way in 1689 on one of his explorations, it was called Tygerhoek (Tigers Corner). The name was retained by the Dutch East India Company’s livestock and forestry posts. Because of the insatiable need for timber, most of the stinkwood and yellowwood trees were eliminated.
Trading with the Khoi people
The area was originally occupied by the Khoi people, and the land here was considered impenetrable by the Dutch settlers. However, in 1669, Jan van Riebeeck sent Corporal Hieronymus Cruise and Ensign Oloff Bergh to barter for cattle and explore the region.
The number of settlers at the Cape had increased, and the demand for livestock was greater than that which the Khoi people could meet. More livestock farming was needed. By the 1700s, the notoriously greedy and corrupt Willem Adriaan van der Stel granted VOC members grazing rights, but he subsequently claimed 18 farms in the area for himself. This created an unfair monopoly; the farmers and Huguenots petitioned, and he was dismissed in 1707.
Smallpox decimated the Indigenous tribes
The outbreak of smallpox introduced by European settlers decimated much of the KhoiKhoi people, leaving some farms unattended. This meant less competition for land, and more settlers moved in. In 1726, the VOC established posts in the Overberg to supply provisions and health care for explorers and travellers. By the 1780s, the abundant and fertile land with its grazing opportunities was beginning to be known, and settlers moved in.
Origin of the name Riviersonderend
In 1673, Willem ten Rhyne visited the Cape. He called the river here “sine fine flumen” (Latin for “endless river”). In 1707, Jan Hatogh, a Dutch East India Company horticulturist, referred to it as the “Kantdydnn”, likely derived from the Hessequa term “Kamma-kan Kamma”, meaning “water, endless water” or “endless river”.  The perennial Sonderend River is at the foot of the Sonderend mountains. Riviersonderend, or “Rivier Zonder End” as it was known in earlier days, was established in 1923 when Miss Edith S V McIntyre sold the farm Tierhoek for 6000 pounds to the church council of the local Dutch Reformed Church when the congregation was established.
. The church clergy initially wanted to call the area Nuwedorp (New Town), but Riviersonderend was agreed upon, and the layout of streets began in 1925.
The postcode for Riviersonderend is 7250
WEATHER IN RIVIERSONDER
Browse businesses and places to visit in riviersonderend
Things to see and do in Riviersonderend:
- -The nearby Kleinbergie Hiking Trail offers the opportunity to see the signal cannons used to call residents of the area to military service during the occupation of Simon’s Town by the British in 1795 and Blaauwberg in 1806.
- The Akkedisberg pass             Â
Resources
Practical information for the Western Cape: regulations, permits, and helpful tips. See the Colourdots coastal and nature use guide
Useful Numbers
Residents and visitors can find important local contact numbers below, including police, medical services, utilities, and community facilitiesÂ
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Emergency Services
- Police: 028 261 8040
- Fire Services: 028 212 3727
- Fire Department (Caledon): 028 212Â 257
- `Ambulance (Caledon): 028 211 0177 / 10777.
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Medical
- Closest hospital: Provincial Hospital (Caledon): 028 212 1071.
- Clinic- 028 261 1784
- Pharmacy: 028 261 1205
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Municipal & Utilities
- Municipality: 028 261 1360
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Transport & Roads
- Traffic Department (Caledon): 028 212 2875
- Road Emergencies / SANRAL: 0800 204Â 204
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Community & Safety
- NSRI 087 094 9774
- 24-hour Poisons Information Helpline of the Western Cape:Â 0861 555 777
- SPCA: -RSE Animal Welfare Society-072 604 6001
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Local Contacts and Community Resources
- Post office;Riviersonderend Post Office-028 261 1203
- Library: 028 261 1360:
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Schools in Riviersonderend
- Riviersonderend Hoer Skool-(028) 261-1066
- Riviersonderend Primereskool-028 261 1390
Towns in the Theewaterskloof district include: Bot Rivier, Caledon, Grabouw, Genadendal, Greyton, and Villiersdorp
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