The town of Robertson was founded in 1853 (originally named Hooprivier) by two friends: Dutch Reformed Church minister at Swellendam, Rev. Dr. William Robertson and Joseph Barry, an auctioneer. The town’s founding coincided with the Cape Colony receiving representation in the British government.
Before the town was founded, the governor of the Cape, Simon van der Stel, developed the farming lands in the region around 1679. He wanted to provide safe passage for the French Huguenot wine farmers to the Cape. In 1728, a large quantity of land was let to a Mr. P Joubert. Other farmers were attracted to the region as it had fertile land and was good for grazing sheep.
By the 1800’s, many farmers purchased land from the government. The oldest manor house in the region was built in 1812 on the farm Orange Grove, as well as a mill house that supplied wheat flour to nearby farmers. Some of the original farm names are still intact, such as De Hoop, Roodezant, Goudmyn and Le Chasseur.
The town was named ‘Robertson’ in honour of an evangelistic Scottish minister who held church services in the Overberg for over 39 years. He would visit the region every three months, starting in the 1840’s. In 1852, the minister Robertson purchased a part of the Over het Roode Zandt farm on behalf of the Church Council.
In 1853, Robertson was officially founded as a ‘dorpsgebied’ (township) and 199 plots were auctioned off by the aforementioned auctioneer Barry. Each plot was taxed, and the money went to the building and maintenance of the first Dutch Reformed Church. The church was erected in 1856, but the tax only ended in 1951. The town was approved a few months after its inception by the Colonial Government.
At the beginning of the 19th century, there were no established English churches in the Overberg region, so the Dutch Reformed Church held services in both English and Afrikaans. The Robertson congregation grew rapidly over the course of the century. Soon, more churches sprang up. The Wesleyan Church was built in 1851 and stood out for its pink walls. St. Mary’s was a small Anglican Church built in 1867, which catered to English speakers. By 1881, Roberston welcomed the first members of the Jewish community. The Robertson Hebrew Congregation was established in 1895 when the community built the Knesset Israel Synagogue and Talmud Torah. In 1907, a separate church was built for ‘non-Europeans’. This led to a large, diverse community of locals in Roberston.
