Paarl
Encyclopedia
Paarl is a town with 191,013 inhabitants in the Western Cape
province of South Africa
. Its the third oldest Europe
an settlement in the Republic of South Africa
(after Cape Town
and Stellenbosch) and the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto
urban unit with Wellington
. It is situated about 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) northeast of Cape Town
in the Western Cape Province and is renowned for its haunting scenic beauty and deep viticulture
and fruit growing heritage.
Paarl is the seat of the Drakenstein Local Municipality
; although not part of the Cape Town metropolitan area, it falls within it's economic catchment. Paarl is unusual in South Africa in that the name of the place is pronounced differently in English and Afrikaans. An unusual feature of the name of the town is that Afrikaners customarily attach the definite article to it: people say in die Paarl ("in the Paarl"), rather than in Pearl.
Paarl gained international attention when, on 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela
walked out of Victor Verster Correctional Centre (now known as Drakenstein Correctional Centre) in Paarl ending 27 years of imprisonment and beginning the march to South Africa's post-apartheid era and multi-racial elections. Mandela spent three years in prison here living in a private house within the walls. Today, a bronze statue of Mandela stands outside the prison.
Paarl hosted a match from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. The headquarters of Ceres Fruit Juices
are located in the city, although its namesake, Ceres
valley and source of much of the fruit, is 1 hour to the northeast.
The district is particularly well known for its Pearl Mountain or "Paarl Rock". This huge granite
rock is formed by three rounded outcrops that make up Paarl Mountain and has been compared in majesty to Uluru
(formerly known as Ayers Rock) in Australia. (However, they are not geologically similar. Paarl Rock consists of intrusive igneous rock, while Uluru is a sedimentary remnant).
and San
people. The Peninsular Khoikhoi people and the Cochoqua people lived in this area divided by the Berg River Valley. The Cochaqua were cattle heading people and among the richest of the Khoi tribes. They had between 16,000-18,000 members and originally called Paarl Mountain, Tortoise Mountain.
The Dutch East India Company
under the leadership of Jan van Riebeeck
established meat trading relationships with the Khoikhoi people on the Table Bay
coastline. In 1657, in search of new trading relationships inland, Abraham Gabemma saw a giant granite rock glistening in the sun after a rainstorm and named it "de Diamondt en de Peerlberg” (Diamond and Pearl Mountain) from which Paarl is derived. Gabemma (often also spelled Gabbema) was the Fiscal (public treasurer) for the settlement on the shores of Table Bay. The "diamonds" disappeared from the name and it became known simply as Pearl Rock or Pearl Mountain.
In 1687, Governor Simon van der Stel
gave title to the first colonial farms in the area to "free burghers". The following year, the French Huguenots arrived in the Western Cape
and began to settle on farms in the area. The fertile soil and the Mediterranean-like climate of this region provided perfect conditions for farming. The settlers planted orchards, vegetable
gardens and above all, vineyards. Thus began Paarl's long and continuing history as a major wine and fruit producing area of South Africa.
The arrival of the European settlers brought on conflict with the Khoikhoi
people, as land and water resources began to be contested and the Khoi
traditions of communal land use came in conflict with the settler's concept of private property. The Khoi peoples were defeated in local war and were further decimated by European diseases. The population scattered inland toward the Orange River
or became laborers on settler farms.
Paarl's population was recorded as being 82,713 people in 20,138 households, in a land area of 32.2 square kilometres (12.4 sq mi). 67.8% of the inhabitants described themselves as "Coloured
", 21.2% as "White", 10.5% as "Black African", and 0.5% as "Indian or Asian". 85.5% spoke Afrikaans as their first language
, 8.5% spoke Xhosa
, and 5.2% spoke English
.
Like many towns in the Cape Winelands, Paarl is home to a prosperous community, with many well maintained and attractive Cape Dutch
houses, beautiful gardens and streets lined with old oak trees.
Paarl boasts a unique cultural attraction: it was here that the foundations of the Afrikaans language were laid by the Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners
. The "Afrikaanse Taalmonument" (monument to the Afrikaans language) on the slopes of Paarl Mountain, the Language Museum and the Afrikaans Language Route through Dal Josaphat are memorials to this achievement.
The former headquarters of the wine
industry in South Africa is also situated here.: This was the famous "Co-operative Wine Growers' Association" (better known by its Afrikaans initials KWV). The KWV
became a South African institution that has acquired an international reputation based on its unique achievements and its imprint of quality on the local wine industry. Over the past decade, however, KWV became a completely profit-driven private company that has no administrative role anymore. (KWV's main wine production and maturation facilities are on its Paarl premises, while its brandy
production takes place in Worcester
and grape juice concentrate production in Upington in the Northern Cape
).
The town and its surroundings attract many visitors with an array of activities and interests. There are magnificent Cape Dutch buildings (17-19th Century), scenic drives, hiking trails and the Paarl wine route, with its many wine tasting
opportunities (including vintages from the famous Nederburg estate) and excellent restaurants.
The Paarl Rock itself is these days a popular Mecca for rock climbers. However, in the pioneering period of rock climbing
in South Africa, the mountain was ignored or shunned because its steep faces were so smooth and unfissured that climbers could find no place to attach "runners" or anchor points for belays. The first climbing routes up the rock were pioneered in 1969 by J.W.Marchant and G. Athiros, the former from the University of Cape Town
Mountain and Ski Club. Soon afterwards Marchant and John Knight established a few routes on which the rope was run out for 100 m (328.1 ft) or more with no protection whatsoever. This was in the days before bolting was possible and these achievements are still held in high regard today. Nowadays protection is afforded by bolts in the granite and there are on Paarl Rock a few dozen spectacular, beautiful and very hard routes that attract the best climbers of the current generation. (All of these climbs remain dangerous for the inexperienced.) A guide book for these routes was published in mid-2006.
Courtrai (in the southern part of town and including the wealthy suburbs), Northern Paarl, Paarl-East, Central Paarl (generally known as upper-paarl and also containing wealthy suburbs), Denneburg (in the south east of the town), and Vrykyk (in the south).
(est.1868), Paarl Girls' High, Paarl Gimnasium High School
(est.1858) and La Rochelle Girls' High School
(est.1860), in 2007 three of these four predominant high schools were placed in the Western Cape Province's top ten list (Paarl Gimnasium, being mainly sport orientated and not as academically established as the other schools, did not make the list).
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
province of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Its the third oldest Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an settlement in the Republic of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
(after Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
and Stellenbosch) and the largest town in the Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni township, it is now a de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
urban unit with Wellington
Wellington, Western Cape
Wellington is a town in the Western Cape Winelands 45 minutes from Cape Town, in South Africa with a population of approximately 58,300. Wellington's economy is centered around agriculture such as wine, table grapes, citrus fruit and a brandy industry. The town is located 75 km north-east of...
. It is situated about 60 kilometres (37.3 mi) northeast of Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
in the Western Cape Province and is renowned for its haunting scenic beauty and deep viticulture
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
and fruit growing heritage.
Paarl is the seat of the Drakenstein Local Municipality
Drakenstein Local Municipality
Drakenstein Municipality is a local municipality located within the Cape Winelands District Municipality, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. As of 2007, it had a population of 217,089...
; although not part of the Cape Town metropolitan area, it falls within it's economic catchment. Paarl is unusual in South Africa in that the name of the place is pronounced differently in English and Afrikaans. An unusual feature of the name of the town is that Afrikaners customarily attach the definite article to it: people say in die Paarl ("in the Paarl"), rather than in Pearl.
Paarl gained international attention when, on 11 February 1990, Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
walked out of Victor Verster Correctional Centre (now known as Drakenstein Correctional Centre) in Paarl ending 27 years of imprisonment and beginning the march to South Africa's post-apartheid era and multi-racial elections. Mandela spent three years in prison here living in a private house within the walls. Today, a bronze statue of Mandela stands outside the prison.
Paarl hosted a match from the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003. The headquarters of Ceres Fruit Juices
Ceres Fruit Juices
Ceres Fruit Juices is a company based in South Africa, with Pieter Hanekom as CEO. It produces fruit juice, and various other products based on fruit. It advertises that their products are made from 100% fruit juice, and are sold without preservatives, but rather aseptic processing...
are located in the city, although its namesake, Ceres
Ceres, Western Cape
Ceres is a town with 46,251 inhabitants in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It is the administrative centre and largest town of the Witzenberg Local Municipality. Ceres serves as a regional centre for the surrounding towns of Wolseley, Tulbagh, Op-die-Berg and Prince Alfred Hamlet...
valley and source of much of the fruit, is 1 hour to the northeast.
The district is particularly well known for its Pearl Mountain or "Paarl Rock". This huge granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
rock is formed by three rounded outcrops that make up Paarl Mountain and has been compared in majesty to Uluru
Uluru
Uluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park....
(formerly known as Ayers Rock) in Australia. (However, they are not geologically similar. Paarl Rock consists of intrusive igneous rock, while Uluru is a sedimentary remnant).
History
The area that is now known as Paarl was first inhabited by the KhoikhoiKhoikhoi
The Khoikhoi or Khoi, in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography spelled Khoekhoe, are a historical division of the Khoisan ethnic group, the native people of southwestern Africa, closely related to the Bushmen . They had lived in southern Africa since the 5th century AD...
and San
Bushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
people. The Peninsular Khoikhoi people and the Cochoqua people lived in this area divided by the Berg River Valley. The Cochaqua were cattle heading people and among the richest of the Khoi tribes. They had between 16,000-18,000 members and originally called Paarl Mountain, Tortoise Mountain.
The Dutch East India Company
Dutch East India Company
The Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
under the leadership of Jan van Riebeeck
Jan van Riebeeck
Johan Anthoniszoon "Jan" van Riebeeck was a Dutch colonial administrator and founder of Cape Town.-Biography:...
established meat trading relationships with the Khoikhoi people on the Table Bay
Table Bay
Table Bay is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named because it is dominated by the flat-topped Table Mountain.Bartolomeu Dias was the first European to explore this...
coastline. In 1657, in search of new trading relationships inland, Abraham Gabemma saw a giant granite rock glistening in the sun after a rainstorm and named it "de Diamondt en de Peerlberg” (Diamond and Pearl Mountain) from which Paarl is derived. Gabemma (often also spelled Gabbema) was the Fiscal (public treasurer) for the settlement on the shores of Table Bay. The "diamonds" disappeared from the name and it became known simply as Pearl Rock or Pearl Mountain.
In 1687, Governor Simon van der Stel
Simon van der Stel
Simon van der Stel was the last Commander and first Governor of the Cape Colony, the Dutch settlement at the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa.-Background:...
gave title to the first colonial farms in the area to "free burghers". The following year, the French Huguenots arrived in the Western Cape
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province in the south west of South Africa. The capital is Cape Town. Prior to 1994, the region that now forms the Western Cape was part of the much larger Cape Province...
and began to settle on farms in the area. The fertile soil and the Mediterranean-like climate of this region provided perfect conditions for farming. The settlers planted orchards, vegetable
Vegetable
The noun vegetable usually means an edible plant or part of a plant other than a sweet fruit or seed. This typically means the leaf, stem, or root of a plant....
gardens and above all, vineyards. Thus began Paarl's long and continuing history as a major wine and fruit producing area of South Africa.
The arrival of the European settlers brought on conflict with the Khoikhoi
Khoikhoi
The Khoikhoi or Khoi, in standardised Khoekhoe/Nama orthography spelled Khoekhoe, are a historical division of the Khoisan ethnic group, the native people of southwestern Africa, closely related to the Bushmen . They had lived in southern Africa since the 5th century AD...
people, as land and water resources began to be contested and the Khoi
Khoi
Khoi may refer to:*The common name of Siamese Rough Bush, Streblus asper Lour*The Khoikhoi people*One of the Khoe languages*The Khoekhoe language*Khoy, a city in Iran*Khoy County, an administrative subdivision of Iran...
traditions of communal land use came in conflict with the settler's concept of private property. The Khoi peoples were defeated in local war and were further decimated by European diseases. The population scattered inland toward the Orange River
Orange River
The Orange River , Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean...
or became laborers on settler farms.
Demography
In the 2001 censusSouth African National Census of 2001
The South African National Census of 2001 is the most recent national census of South Africa.The census was undertaken by Statistics South Africa and undertook to enumerate every person present in South Africa on the census night, 9–10 October 2001. The enumeration primarily took place from 10 to...
Paarl's population was recorded as being 82,713 people in 20,138 households, in a land area of 32.2 square kilometres (12.4 sq mi). 67.8% of the inhabitants described themselves as "Coloured
Coloured
In the South African, Namibian, Zambian, Botswana and Zimbabwean context, the term Coloured refers to an heterogenous ethnic group who possess ancestry from Europe, various Khoisan and Bantu tribes of Southern Africa, West Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaya, India, Mozambique,...
", 21.2% as "White", 10.5% as "Black African", and 0.5% as "Indian or Asian". 85.5% spoke Afrikaans as their first language
First language
A first language is the language a person has learned from birth or within the critical period, or that a person speaks the best and so is often the basis for sociolinguistic identity...
, 8.5% spoke Xhosa
Xhosa language
Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa. Xhosa is spoken by approximately 7.9 million people, or about 18% of the South African population. Like most Bantu languages, Xhosa is a tonal language, that is, the same sequence of consonants and vowels can have different meanings when said...
, and 5.2% spoke English
South African English
The term South African English is applied to the first-language dialects of English spoken by South Africans, with the L1 English variety spoken by Zimbabweans, Zambians and Namibians, being recognised as offshoots.There is some social and regional variation within South African English...
.
Tourist attractions
Cape Dutch
Cape Dutch are people of the Western Cape of South Africa who descended primarily from Dutch and Flemish as well as smaller numbers of French, German and other European immigrants along with a percentage of their Asian and African slaves, who, from the 17th century into the 19th century, remained...
houses, beautiful gardens and streets lined with old oak trees.
Paarl boasts a unique cultural attraction: it was here that the foundations of the Afrikaans language were laid by the Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners
Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners
The Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners was formed on 14 August 1875 in the town of Paarl by a group of Afrikaans speakers from the current Western Cape region...
. The "Afrikaanse Taalmonument" (monument to the Afrikaans language) on the slopes of Paarl Mountain, the Language Museum and the Afrikaans Language Route through Dal Josaphat are memorials to this achievement.
The former headquarters of the wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
industry in South Africa is also situated here.: This was the famous "Co-operative Wine Growers' Association" (better known by its Afrikaans initials KWV). The KWV
KWV
The Koöperatieve Wijnbouwers Vereniging van Zuid-Afrika Bpkt was a winemaking co-operative founded on 8 January 1918 by wine makers from the Western Cape in South Africa. It was converted from its co-operative status into KWV Ltd on 2 December 2002...
became a South African institution that has acquired an international reputation based on its unique achievements and its imprint of quality on the local wine industry. Over the past decade, however, KWV became a completely profit-driven private company that has no administrative role anymore. (KWV's main wine production and maturation facilities are on its Paarl premises, while its brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
production takes place in Worcester
Worcester, Western Cape
Worcester is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is located 120 km north-east of Cape Town on the N1 highway north to Johannesburg....
and grape juice concentrate production in Upington in the Northern Cape
Northern Cape
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of an international park shared with Botswana...
).
The town and its surroundings attract many visitors with an array of activities and interests. There are magnificent Cape Dutch buildings (17-19th Century), scenic drives, hiking trails and the Paarl wine route, with its many wine tasting
Wine tasting
Wine tasting is the sensory examination and evaluation of wine. While the practice of wine tasting is as ancient as its production, a more formalized methodology has slowly become established from the 14th century onwards...
opportunities (including vintages from the famous Nederburg estate) and excellent restaurants.
The Paarl Rock itself is these days a popular Mecca for rock climbers. However, in the pioneering period of rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
in South Africa, the mountain was ignored or shunned because its steep faces were so smooth and unfissured that climbers could find no place to attach "runners" or anchor points for belays. The first climbing routes up the rock were pioneered in 1969 by J.W.Marchant and G. Athiros, the former from the University of Cape Town
University of Cape Town
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
Mountain and Ski Club. Soon afterwards Marchant and John Knight established a few routes on which the rope was run out for 100 m (328.1 ft) or more with no protection whatsoever. This was in the days before bolting was possible and these achievements are still held in high regard today. Nowadays protection is afforded by bolts in the granite and there are on Paarl Rock a few dozen spectacular, beautiful and very hard routes that attract the best climbers of the current generation. (All of these climbs remain dangerous for the inexperienced.) A guide book for these routes was published in mid-2006.
Districts
The town is basically divided in six different areas, namely:Courtrai (in the southern part of town and including the wealthy suburbs), Northern Paarl, Paarl-East, Central Paarl (generally known as upper-paarl and also containing wealthy suburbs), Denneburg (in the south east of the town), and Vrykyk (in the south).
Schools
The town boasts some of the best academic schools in the country including Paarl Boys' High SchoolPaarl Boys' High School
Boys' High School, known in Afrikaans as Hoër Jongenskool Paarl is one of the oldest schools in South Africa. Built in 1868 the school's rich history is filled with tradition and pride. The school is situated at the heart of Paarl, a town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa...
(est.1868), Paarl Girls' High, Paarl Gimnasium High School
Paarl Gimnasium
Paarl Gimnasium is a school in Paarl, Western Cape, South Africa. Rev. van Lingen founded the school in the centre of town in 1858. The school has had a number of significant sporting achievements and has produced some of South Africa's top Rugby players including Ashley Johnson Schalk Burger, Jean...
(est.1858) and La Rochelle Girls' High School
La Rochelle Girls' High School
La Rochelle Girls' High School, in Paarl is one of the oldest girls' schools in South Africa.-History:The school was established in 1860 with 40 girls together with a seminary for young ladies open to the daughters of citizens and farmers in the Paarl district. In 1872, Jan de Villiers became...
(est.1860), in 2007 three of these four predominant high schools were placed in the Western Cape Province's top ten list (Paarl Gimnasium, being mainly sport orientated and not as academically established as the other schools, did not make the list).
Notable residents
- Wayne JuliesWayne JuliesWayne Julies is a South African rugby union footballer. He has played for the national team, the Springboks nine times. He made his debut for South Africa at the 1999 Rugby World Cup, in a match against Spain. His usual position is as a centre.Julies played for the Bulls in the 2007 Super 14 season...
- Rugby union player - Elsa JoubertElsa JoubertElsa Joubert , born as Elsabé Antoinette Murray on 19 October 1922 in Paarl, is an Afrikaans-speaking South African writer. Elsa Joubert rose to prominence with her novel Die swerfjare van Poppie Nongena, which was translated into 13 languages and also staged as a drama.Elsa Joubert grew up in...
- Writer - Marius Charl JoubertMarius JoubertMarius Charl Joubert is a South African rugby union player who plays as a centre for ASM Clermont Auvergne in the French Top 14. He has previously played for the Boland Cavaliers, Free State Cheetahs and Western Province in the Currie Cup and the Stormers and the Central Cheetahs in the Super 14...
- Rugby union player - Justin Lee OntongJustin OntongJustin Lee Ontong is a South African cricketer, who currently plays domestic cricket for the Cape Cobras. He has played two Tests, 26 One Day Internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals as an all-rounder.-Cricket career:...
- Cricketer Cape CobrasCape CobrasThe Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras often shortened to Cape Cobras or Cobras is the name used since the 2005–06 season by the combined Western Province and Boland first class cricket teams in South African domestic cricket. The joint Western Province and Boland team was named Western Province Boland for... - Gurthro SteenkampGurthro SteenkampGurthrö Garth Steenkamp is a South African Rugby union player. He plays loosehead prop. Steenkamp currently plays for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup and the Bulls in the Super 14...
- Rugby union player - Jean de VilliersJean de VilliersJean de Villiers is a South African rugby union footballer. He started his career at wing, but now primarily plays centre. De Villiers plays for Western Province and internationally for South Africa....
- Rugby union player - Deon Meyer - Novelist
- Willem de WaalWillem de WaalWillem de Waal is a South African rugby union footballer who is currently playing for Benetton Treviso in the RaboDirect Pro12 competition. He plays in the position of fly-half...
- Rugby union player - Chester Mornay WilliamsChester WilliamsChester Mornay Williams is a former South African rugby union rugby player. He played as a winger for the Springboks from 1993 to 2000...
- Rugby union player - Louis Theodor WeichardtLouis WeichardtLouis Theodor Weichardt was a South African political leader who founded the Greyshirts, a National Socialist organization.Born in Paarl of German extraction...
- Founder and leader of the GreyshirtsGreyshirtsGreyshirts or Gryshemde is the common short-form name given to the South African Gentile National Socialist Movement, a South African Nazi movement that existed during the 1930s and 1940s... - Nelson MandelaNelson MandelaNelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
- Released from Victor Vester Prison in Paarl on 11 February 1990 - Noelani King Conradie - Macro Economist and founder of NKC Independent Economists
- David JamesDavid James (South African actor)David James is a South African film, theater, and television actor known mainly for playing the villainous Koobus Venter in the 2009 Oscar-nominated science fiction film District 9.- Personal life :...
- Actor - Jenna Pietersen - Model
- Johan Lindeque - really cool man