History

The story of Wellington, alias Val du Charron or Wagenmakersvallei, is nothing less than enchanting. With more French people settling here than anywhere else in the Cape, the town was initially called Val du Charron, meaning valley of the wagon-maker. Robust wagons were constructed here to withstand the rigours of long and arduous journeys into the hinterland, making Wellington real border country – a wild and untamed place, encircled by a forbidding mountain range that formed the very outer limits of the settlement. It started with the first French Huguenots who dared to venture beyond the furthest reaches of the Cape settlement, across the Berg River, and into the hostile and unforgiving wilderness.

The name Wellington dates back to the founding of the town’s first church. The grateful community wished to honour John Addey, and the name “Addey’sDorp” was unsuccessfully mooted. An attempt to name the town after Sir George Napier was also rejected, as a local town bearing his name already existed. It was Napier himself who wrote over the application letter, “…call it Wellington. It is a disgrace that in this colony no town bears the name of England’s greatest soldier”. On 22 March 1840, the town of Wellington was proclaimed, named after the English Duke, Arthur Wellesley, who defeated Napoleon at Waterloo – a somewhat ironic choice, and a contradiction, considering the town’s French forebears!

One of Wellington’s greatest assets is its fertile soil, and during the summer, mother nature’s larder overflows with a bountiful harvest— to be bottled, dried, processed and sold— often in distant lands far across the oceans. Due to a superb harmony between geographical location, climate and local expertise, Wellington produces fruit of outstanding quality for both the local and export markets, making it the heartland of the dried fruit industry. Growers raise a variety of deciduous and citrus fruits, including guavas, apricots, olives, mangoes and wine grapes, the most significant of our town’s agricultural crops. During the thirties and forties, Wellington was known as the centre of the apricot industry. However, the emphasis has recently shifted to the wine and vine nursery industry.

A flourishing brandy industry accompanies the more than 30 local wineries. Wellington is also home to Sedgwicks, distillers of the country’s only indigenous whisky. In addition, Wellington’s vine-cutting nurseries are responsible for 95% of the country’s vine stock production.

Wellington is located at the base of one of the oldest mountain passes in the country, Bain’s Kloof Pass, built by Scottish master road-builder, Andrew Geddes Bain. The pass up to Bain’s Kloof winds through pine plantations to the summit where, on a clear day, there is an unsurpassed panorama over both the Swartland and the Cape Flats, with Table Mountain as an imposing centrepiece. Bain’s Kloof has plenty of hiking trails, campsites and picnic areas.

Agri-tourism has steadily grown over the years, with many of our wine estates opening their doors to visitors.

For a comprehensive overview of all the things to do and to see in the surrounding area, visit the Wellington.co.za website.