Beaufort-Wes: 'n Oorsig van die geskiedenis van die dorp en distrik

Abstract

The expansion of the settlement to the north-east in the course of the eighteenth century led to the proclamation of the Beaufort district in 1818. The principal town of the district, the present Beaufort West, was established on the farm Hooyvlakte and was the first municipality in South Africa (1837). From the beginning it was the centre of the educational, church and commercial life of this district, where sheep-farming was the most prominent activity. Today it is the largest town in the central Karoo and is also an important railway centre.