Information on Rawsonville, Western Cape, South Africa

Rawsonville is a small wine growing and farming community in the Breede River Valley of the Western Cape province. It is located in a scenic portion of the valley on the eastern flanks of the Du Toitskloof Mountains. Due to its more inland location, winters can sometimes get cold, with heavy snowfalls sometimes falling on the surrounding high ground.

Rawsonville was founded in 1858 and is named after William Rawson, member of the Cape Government. Pieter du Toit, the fourth child of the Huguenot Francois du Toit, can be regarded as the pioneer of the Goudini area. The First cattle station was established by this 19 year old pioneer in 1716. In 1741 Anthony Visser received a grazing permit for the farm De Goudene Dina. This name comes from the Khoi word "dani" meaning honey and "kg'ou" meaning bitter. This makes our area one of the few places in the Western Cape that has retained some of its Khoi heritage. The town was named after William Rawson, who became the Colonial Secretary of the Cape Colony in 1854. He never actually visited the town. There is often a bit of confusion regarding these names. Rawsonville refers to the town itself and Goudini to the surrounding area.