Early History The indigenous inhabitants of the George area are a southern
Khoekhoe people called the
Houtunqua or
Outeniqua. Their name means "The People Who Bear Honey". From the
Khoekhoegowab words , , and
khoe rendered as 'qua', meaning
people. Little is known about Houtunqua society prior to
European contact. What little historical sources exist are not elaborate. It is suspected that at the height of the Houtunqua's society, their territory stretched from the mouth of the
Krom River in the east, along the
Outeniqua Mountains which bear their name, up until the mouth of the
Grootbrak River in the west. The Houtunqua seem to have remained autonomous from the
Inqua (Hamcumqua) expansion in the north with smaller Khoekhoe tribes such as the Gamtobaqua coming into the fold of the Houtunqua to seek protection from the ever expanding Inqua to the north east. The Houtunqua were connected to trades routes with the
Attaqua and
Hessequa to the west. Archaeological evidence suggests that the Houtunqua kept livestock and practised
Nomadic Pastoralism but made extensive use of the resources in
mountain forests. Excavations in the region have unearthed many caves showing signs of pre-colonial occupation.The discovery of
shell middens along the coast confirm the idea that like other Khoekhoe peoples, the Houtuniqua made use of the ocean for its resources. Oral tradition among the Houtunqua tells how the Houtunqua held specific superstitions about Europeans and believed them to be "baleful spirits". Thus the Houtunqua went out of their way to avoid contact with Europeans. Where other Khoekhoe tribes established formal relations and trade with Europeans, the Houtunqua receded deeper and deeper into the mountain forests. As a result, the Houtunqua disappeared from the historical record for some time with some Houtunqua eventually assimilating into colonial society of the time.
Chief Dikkop, who died in 1816, was the last recorded Chief of the Houtunqua.
Establishment in the Cape 19 years after it was planted. The settlement that was to become George was established as a result of the growing demand for timber and the wood used in building, transport and furniture. In 1777 the
Dutch East India Company established an outpost for the provision of timber; its location is thought to be near the western end of York Street. The Timber Post had its own Poshouer (manager), some 12 woodcutters, a blacksmith and a wagon maker with their families, as well as 200 oxen. After 1795 and the
British occupation of the
Cape, a
caretaker of the forests in the area was appointed. After the second British occupation in 1806, it was decided that the
Swellendam magistracy was too large and needed to be sub-divided. George was chosen because of the availability of good water. In 1811 George was declared a separate district and Adrian van Kervel was appointed the first Landrost (
magistrate) and the town was proclaimed by the
Earl of Caledon, governor of the Cape Colony on
St George's Day, 23 April 1811, and named after the reigning British monarch, King
George III. The town's main street, York Street, was named after King George's second son
Prince Frederick, Duke of York. . One of Van Kervel's first acts as Landrost (Mayor), was to dig a
furrow to supply the first thirty six
plots in George with water. An 1819 map shows the original furrows and storage dam where they remain to this day in the
Garden Route Botanical Garden. The first Furrow originated from the Rooirivier (Red river) and later a diversionary weir was built in the Camphersdrift River. George gained
municipal status on 24 March 1837.), found near water in the deep ravines of the mountain, and a variety of ericas and proteas thrive on the fern-clothed slopes. Carpets of pink watsonias are a common sight during summer.
Montagu Pass The historic
Montagu Pass between George and
Oudtshoorn was declared a
National Monument in 1972. It is open to traffic and is a good gravel road, some 10 km in length. With many
serpentine curves, this pass gradually winds its way through the
fynbos-covered
Cradock's Kloof until it reaches the summit. The world traveller
Anthony Trollope visited George in about 1878 and his comment on the Montagu Pass was: "...equal to some of the mountain roads through the
Pyrenees".
Emma Murray was so enthralled by the Montagu Pass that she wrote in a letter to a relative in 1852: "One forgets everything in the beauty and grandeur of the scene. It was to me exquisite enjoyment". A traveller will notice that some parts of the stone wall along one side of the road are slightly protruding. The purpose of this was to prevent the axles of the wagons from scraping against the walls and thus becoming damaged.
The building of the Montagu Pass The Civil Commissioner of George,
Egbertus Bergh (1837–1843), campaigned tirelessly for a new road through the formidable Outeniqua Mountains to replace the notorious Cradock's Pass. Then came
John Montagu, the new dynamic
Colonial Secretary, who cleared the public debt, recognised the importance of good roads and set the wheels rolling. Work on the pass commenced in 1844 and
H.O. Farrel was appointed superintendent of the project, but the task was beyond his ability.
Henry Fancourt White, a qualified surveyor, newly appointed as Road Inspector by the Central Road Board, replaced him in 1845. On average, 250 convicts were employed at any given time on the construction of the pass. They were housed in two camps: South Station, remnants of the old brick chimneys can be seen on your right whilst going up the Outeniqua pass just before the 2nd Montagu Pass turn off, and North Station near the summit of the pass. The headquarters for the construction was sited where Blanco is situated today. The total expenses for the construction of the Montagu Pass amounted to £35,799 of which £1,753 was spent on gunpowder. Five and a half miles of the pass had to be blasted out of solid rock.
Railway over the mountains The building of the
railway line over the Outeniqua Mountains, between George and Oudtshoorn began in December 1908 from the George side and in 1911 from the Oudtshoorn side. The track was blasted out of the rock, and seven tunnels were excavated. At one stage some 2 500 workers were employed. During April 1913 this most scenic railway line was completed.
Sir David de Villiers Graaff performed the official opening on 6 August 1913. The line was built at the enormous cost of £465 000 (equivalent to £406,300,000 or R 7.75 billion in 2020 currency).
Toll House . During the construction of the Montagu Pass, in about 1847, a stone
toll house, with a
thatched roof, was erected on the George side of the mountain. According to a proclamation in the
Government Gazette of 24 February 1848, a toll gate was set up, and a tariff of tolls publicised. Upon payment of the prescribed fee the toll keeper would raise the bar across the road to enable the vehicle or animal to pass. The first toll-keeper was John Kirk Smith, born in
Nottingham, England in 1818. During 1849 he collected the amount of £400.13.8p in toll fees. His son William Kirk Smith was appointed toll-keeper in 1880. William and his son made "veldt schoens" (simple leather shoes) at the toll-house for sale to travellers and transport riders. Soon they had a thriving business, and J. K. Smith, grandson of the first toll-keeper, expanded this concern to Market Street in George. From this humble beginning grew the large and flourishing shoe industry J.K. Smith and Company, which was the forerunner of Modern Shoes Ltd. Other early toll-keepers were James Scott (1852) and Charles Searle (1858). The toll-house caught fire on 23 July 1855 and the entire roof was destroyed, later being replaced with corrugated iron. In the Government Gazette dated 16 July 1867, the toll-tariffs were: Each wheel of a vehicle – two pence; Animal drawing a vehicle – one penny; Animal not drawing a vehicle – two pence; Sheep, goat or pig – one halfpenny. All tolls were abolished on 31 December 1918, but thanks to the fact that it was declared a
National Monument in 1970, this interesting relic of the last century has been saved for posterity.
Blanco Henry Fancourt White, enchanted by Outeniqualand, bought a portion of the farm
Modder River in 1848. He sold a portion to Frances Cook, who named his farm Oaklands, and subdivided the rest into erven. The little village was called "Whitesville" in honour of Henry Fancourt White, but at his suggestion the name was changed to Blanco, the
Spanish term for white. In 1859 Henry White built a beautiful double storey thatched mansion, which he named Blanco House. In 1903 his son
Ernest Montagu White renamed the house
Fancourt – in honour of his father. Today Fancourt is a
National Monument and a well-known hotel. The main route from
Mossel Bay to the
Langkloof passed through Blanco, where a settlement of merchants was soon established. The village was also the main postal centre. This caused dissatisfaction among the businessmen of George, and so a direct link from George to the toll-house was built in about 1882. This road was called Bain's Trace and was probably built by
Thomas Bain, who surveyed the new route.
The lake system The lakes originated about 20 000 years ago during the Late
Pleistocene at the end of the last era of ice ages which was largely centred in the Northern Hemisphere. Consequently, these lakes can be regarded as geologically relatively young. During that last glacial period, the sea-level dropped to about 130 m lower than at present as a result of the accumulation of ice in the Northern Hemisphere. Rivers then extended into the newly exposed coastal areas, cutting deep valleys into them. At the end of the last glacial period the sea-level rose again, drowning these newly formed valleys until, after a last slight rise and fall of sea-level, a level of about one to three metres above the present level was reached some 6 000 years ago. The sea level then slowly receded to reach the present level about 4 000 years ago. The partial draining of these valleys exposed part of the coastal area, thereby forming all the present
Wilderness Lakes except for
Langvlei and
Rondevlei. Martin (1962) postulates the Langvlei could have been formed by wave erosion preceding the last rise in sea level while Rondevlei, during the same time, probably originated as a wind-deflating basin. Ruigtevlei, to the east of
Swartvlei, was a lake that disappeared, leaving a large area that is only inundated after floods (Martin, 1960a). During this last change (drop) in sea level, the mouth of Swartvlei Estuary moved 2 km eastward to the present position at
Sedgefield,
Groenvlei lost its connection to the sea through the Swartvlei Estuary, and sand dunes now effectively covered any traces of a previous connection to the sea. == Climate ==