Home: About: HISTORY OF ELSENBURG
The farm Elsenburg has a long and colourful history dating back to 1698. During this year, Cape governor Willem Adriaan van der Stel allocated 94 hectares of land to his deputy governor, Samuel Elsevier. Three years later, Elsevier acquired a further 60 hectares and named the combined farm after himself. Thus Elsenburg was born.
The following two centuries saw the farm flourish in the hands of several prominent South Africans, including Martin Melck and the Myburgh family. Melck was responsible for building the well-known manor house in 1761, which has been renovated and today serves as an elegant venue for many of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture’s functions.
In 1898, the government bought Elsenburg to use it as an agricultural school for young farmers. In that same year, 22 students enrolled to study at the College, heralding the beginning of scientific agricultural training in the country, as well as on the continent.
The Elsenburg College of Agriculture was also the foundation from which the University of Stellenbosch’s agricultural training arose in 1917. Two other important agricultural research institutions in the Western Cape were also founded at the College, namely Infruitec (1937) and Nietvoorbij (1955). Today, these two institutions form part of the Agricultural Research Council (ARC).
Currently, Elsenburg farm houses the Cape Institute for Agricultural Training's main campus, the manor house, numerous research facilities, as well as the Western Cape Department of Agriculture’s administrative headquarters, which is situated in a modern 3-storey complex on top of a hill, allowing for a panoramic view of the surroundings.
Picture galleryThis gallery contains older photographs of the farm, some dating from 1954. The captions may not be complete .... do YOU have old photographs or information that you would like to add? If you do, please mail the webmaster to submit your stories and photographs. Alumni of the Elsenburg College of Agriculture are particularly invited to submit their stories and photographs.
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