Rawsonville & Goudini Church and the Town

Rawsonville A Brief History

Rawsonville is a small wine-growing and farming town in the Breede River Valley, Western Cape, South Africa.
It lies about 90 km east of Cape Town and about 15 km west of Worcester.
Wikipedia
The land was originally part of farms such as Aan-de-Smalblaar, among others, settled by Europeans since the early 1700s.
In 1858 Johannes Petrus (Jan) Jordaan acquired the farm Aan-de-Smalblaar, subdivided part of it into 57 plots, and auctioned them in 1859, laying the foundations of the town. The town was named after Sir William Rawson, Colonial Secretary of the Cape from 1854-1864.
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The community saw early efforts to establish education: the De Goudini School was formed in 1858.
Regarding the church: In 1878 a public meeting was held to consider forming a Dutch Reformed Church congregation in Rawsonville (named Goudini). The congregation was officially established in 1879 with permission from the Worcester Ring Commission.

The Goudini Dutch Reformed Church is thus a historic landmark in Rawsonville. It contains features like two bells (one in the tower, another in an external bell tower), which reflect its architectural and community heritage.

Rawsonville was granted “town management” status under the Village Management Act in 1883. Over time the town has remained deeply rooted in agriculture (vineyards, fruit, etc.), but in more recent years tourism — especially wine-routes, scenic valleys, hot springs (Goudini Spa), hiking — has become increasingly important.
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