Baardskeerdersbos
Baardskeerdersbos
Baardscheerders Bosch | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 34°35′20″S 19°34′15″E / 34.58889°S 19.57083°E | |
Country | South Africa |
Province | Western Cape |
District | Overberg |
Municipality | Overstrand |
Area | |
• Total | 1.10 km2 (0.42 sq mi) |
Elevation | 100 m (300 ft) |
Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 103 |
• Density | 94/km2 (240/sq mi) |
Racial makeup (2011) | |
• Black African | 1.9% |
• Coloured | 10.7% |
• White | 87.4% |
First languages (2011) | |
• Afrikaans | 66.0% |
• English | 33.0% |
• Other | 1.0% |
Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
Postal code (street) | 7271 |
PO box | 7271 |
Area code | 028 |
Baardskeerdersbos (lit. 'Beard Shavers Bush'), also Baardscheerders Bosch in Dutch and locally known as B'bos, is a village in the Overberg region of the Western Cape province of South Africa. According to the 2011 census it has a population of 103 residents.[1]
Geography
[edit]Baardskeerdersbos is located 20 kilometres (12 mi) east of Gansbaai on the Gansbaai–Elim–Bredasdorp road. It lies on the southern slopes of a mountain called Perdekop ("Horse Hill"), at the base of the Boskloof ("Forest Gorge") through which a small river flows south off the mountain. Just south of the village the Boesmansrivier ("Bushman's River") flows from east to west; the Boskloof stream flows into this river.
History
[edit]The first reference to this area by Europeans dates to 1660, when Jan van Riebeek sent an expedition to explore the Overberg.[2] The farm "Baarscheerders Bosch" number 213 in the Bredasdorp registration district, which included the village and the surrounding farmland and hillside, was surveyed for a Phillip Fourie Senior in 1831; that original farm has since been subdivided considerably into separate farms, smallholdings and plots.[3] The current church in Baardskeerdersbos was built in 1921 and is a National Monument. For a long time the village remained rural and undisturbed, but recently it has been discovered as a quiet getaway particularly for residents of Cape Town; several new houses have been built, and several more renovated.
Name
[edit]The name "Baardskeerdersbos" in Afrikaans or "Baardscheerders Bosch" in the original Dutch literally means "Beard Shaver's Forest". The accepted explanation for this name is that a species of solifuge inhabits the area, and that this arachnid is referred to as a "beard shaver" because it cuts hair to use for nest-building.[2] The well-known cartographer and writer Peter Slingsby wrote a book entitled "Beard Shaver’s Bush: Place Names in the Cape" (ISBN 0-620-24965-X) which discusses the origin of this and many other place names.
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e "Main Place Baardskeerdersbos". Census 2011.
- ^ a b "Baardskeerdersbos destinations to visit". Gansbaai Info. Gansbaai Tourism Bureau. Archived from the original on 2008-02-01. Retrieved 2008-01-26.
- ^ Original land grant diagram for farm Baarscheerders Bosch No. 213 Bredasdorp, Surveyor-General Cape Town diagram 571/1831 (TIFF).