Historic Hotel
Questionnaire
Year erected: 1723
What is the history of the property?
JAN HARMSZ SCHAT
In 1674, east of the current town of Bonnievale, on a farm nestled under the towering Langeberg Mountains, Johannes Harman Jansz Potgieter was born.
Johannes married in 1714, and the farm appears on the grant of 1723 as Jan Harmsz Schat (treasure)- from which it was apparently corrupted to Jan Harmsgat. In 1731 we find the grazing rights being granted to a famous hunter, Jacobus Botha. His hunting career was brought to an end a couple of years later, when he shot a lion, and the lioness (which he had not seen) attacked and mauled him, leaving him for dead. Botha recovered but was never able to hunt again and in 1734 Governor de la Fontaine made a freehold grant to Botha, for services rendered, of the farm Jan Harmans Gat that he was then occupying. The farm was described as “vier uur te perd van die dorp Swellendam”
Jacobus Botha lived to the age of 90, dying in 1782, and his 12 sons gave him 190 grandchildren.
The farm is situated along the slopes of the Langeberg, between the mountain and the Breede River. The modern road from Swellendam to Ashton runs along this beautiful valley.
In 1789 the farm passed into the hands of Hermanus Steyn de Jonge. In 1765 he had married the widow Margaretha van Staden, and by the time the farm was occupied by him, he was already a man of some stature in the area. In addition to farming, he also did some Trustee work and sat on the District Council of Swellendam.
In 1795 the farmers of the District rebelled against their Dutch masters, and declared themselves independent of the Cape Government. Hermanus Steyn was chosen as the president of the new republic, which lasted only a short while before the British assumed control of the Cape Colony, and Swellendam again reverted to their original status. Hermanus Steyn lies buried on the farm Jan Harmsgat in a small plot marked by a granite gravestone, which can be seen a few hundred meters from the main house.
A grandson of the old President, Gideon van Zyl, changed the name of the farm to the gentler name of Nooitgedacht. A cousin, one Piet van Eeden, again changed the old building with its three gables under thatch. He removed the upper floors and rebuilt the house with a corrugated iron roof.
The original wine cellar and old slave quarters were retained, but again the thatch was replaced by corrugated iron. This has subsequently been changed back to thatch and is the form in which the buildings now exist.
The wine cellar reminds us of the days when Jan Harmsgat was a large wine farm. The owner of the farm during that time, one F.J. van Eeden was a member of the Legislature, and inherited the farm from old Gideon van Zyl.
One day, while sitting in a meeting of the legislature, he became so angry about a proposed excise duty, that he had all the vineyards cut down, and planted orange trees in their place.
Jan Harmsgat became famous for it’s oranges, which thrived in this climate. Four giant old orange trees, which had been planted by Hermanus Steyn, de Oue, produced wagonloads of oranges for 150 years, but were then cut down by van Eeden, and 5 dozen orangewood chairs made from the timber.
Extracts from:
Geskiedkundige Swellendam. L.L Tomlinson
In the Footsteps Of Lady Anne Barnard - Jose Burman
What was the era and/or the architectural style in which the property was built?
1700
Old Victorian Style
Is the property surrounded by other historic buildings?
Yes
Swellendam - The third oldest town in South Africa
Has restoration work taken place?
Yes
Are there any elements of particular historical importance at the building?
Old Slave Quarters - Now four luxury rooms
Old Wine Cellar - Now Restaurant
Are there any important guests or previous owners worth mentioning?
Currently Owned by Miss Amy Kleinhans Curd ( Former Miss SA of 1992)
Would you describe your property as (or has it ever been in the past) a: Farmhouse
Is there anything that you would like to highlight, add or clarify?
President Hermanus Steyn historic grave on the property. He was the president of the first republic of Swellendam.
