Arrival
News:
Jacuzzi pool
As from the summer season 2006/7 the Greyt-on-Main guesthouse offers a jacuzzi pool in its backyard garden. Take a bottle of wine from the cabin-based "honesty fridge": be happy!
Greyton history
The Greyton area was first occupied way back by a tribe of Khoi, known as the Hessequas who traded cattle with the Dutch East India Company for their ships en route to the East. In 1738, Genadendal, the first mission station in South Africa was established by Moravians to the West of the valley.
In 1791, the area was given as a loan farm to a young Dutch farmer, Marthinus Theunissen who called it Weltevreden (well satisfied). He built a house, but lived in it for only a few years before selling the farm to Hendrik Cloete who was also owner of the famous Groot Constantia Estate near Capetown. He was a successful horse breeder who used Weltevreden for this purpose as well as farming fruit, grapes for wine, vegetables and cattle.
In 1846 the farm was purchased by Herbert Vigne, a sophisticated and well educated young gentleman from London, who was related by marriage to Lady Anne Barnard and Sir George Grey, Governor of the Cape in those years. Vigne subdivided his farm in 1854 into 120 plots surrounding a large farm home he kept for himself. He called the new town Greyton after Sir George Grey. It was the first in South Africa where people of all races, colours, religions, political affiliations or language groups could own homes and live side by side in harmony. Descendants of the original settlers still live in the town to this day.
The town was proclaimed a Municipality in 1910. 90 years later, this autonomy was lost as Greyton was incorporated into the larger Theewaterskloof Municipality. Next year Greyton will celebrate its 150th Anniversary.
