History of Witsand

Province: Western Cape
Garden route
Coordinates: 34.395°S 20.841°E
Area: 2.71 km2
Municipality ; Hessequa

Early settlers

The small coastal town of Witsand was originally called St Sebastians Bay by Navigator Manuel De Mesquita Perestrello. Portuguese explorers landed there in the 16th century and they saw that the area had a promising natural anchorage. It is a town at the mouth of the Breede River. However, many ships have sunk at Witsand in the last 400 years.

Whale watching

The area has great fishing opportunities and it is considered as the South African coast Whale nursery. In the 17th century, Captain Benjamin Moodie established the Port Beaufort Trading Company, which opened the bay up to trade. Early in the 20th Century settlers built accommodations at the Breede River mouth. The village was established on the farm Westfield.

Witsand is famous for a particular building style that was used due to a lack of building materials. It is an unusual truss-type construction known as”Kapstylhuisie. There are no side walls and the trusses reach the ground with a recessed door. The style is reminiscent of Ancient European dwellings. This is the only building style allowed in the area

The postcode for Witsand is 7349

weather in witsand today

see all listings in witsand

Useful Numbers in Witsand

Police: 10111
Municipality; 028 713 7868
24-hour Emergency Number–084 014 1828
Traffic department: 028 713 7817
Fire: 084 014 1828
Water: 028 713 7868
Electricity: 028 713 7868
Ambulance: 10177- 028 713 4554
Post office; Agency at the Sands supermarket- 028 537 1800
Library: VONDELING MINI LIBRARY- 072 513 6605
Closest hospital;Swellendam Hospital-028 514 1141
SPCA: Garden Route SPCA-044 693 0824
Tourism; 028 537 1717 /028 537 1010/ 082 922 9905 wact@telkomsa.net
Hessequa Tourism: 028 713 7829
NSRI (Witsand): 082 990 5957

Local Listings