Demography

According to the 2011 census, Oudtshoorn had 61,507 inhabitants—17,640 in Bridgeton, 14,724 in Bongolethu and 29,143 in the rest of the town. 70.9% of the population described themselves as "Coloured", 15.3% as "White" and 12.5% as "Black African". The predominant language is Afrikaans, spoken as the home language of 87.8% of inhabitants, while 7.4% speak Xhosa and 2.6% speak English.

  • Le Roux Town House, 146 High Street

Churches

The oldest church is the St Jude's Anglican Church, which is situated in Baron van Reede Street. Other churches include, Apostolic Faith Mission, Dutch Reformed Church, Presbyterian, Baptist, Roman Catholic (Roman Catholic Diocese of Oudtshoorn) and other traditional churches. In recent years, the number of independent churches (also referred to as non-denominational churches) have grown. Independent Churches include the Joshua Generation Church, The Vineyard and the Oudtshoorn Community Church.

Educational Institutions

Apart from the many high schools in Oudtshoorn, there are also independent tertiary educational institutions, including the South Cape College.

Military

The Oudtshoorn army base houses the South African Infantry School.

The Oudtshoorn airport is the site of 45 Air School used for training in World War II from 11 November 1940 to 20 August 1945. Known as RAF Oudtshoorn, it operated under the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan, flying Airspeed Oxford, Avro Anson and Fairey Battle41 aircraft. Providing Air Observer (Type B) training, it trained aircrew from all over the Commonwealth in navigation, bombing, and air gunnery. Since 1998 Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) operates here (initially founded as National Test Pilot School of South Africa - NTPS SA).

Wine

Oudtshoorn is part of the Route 62 wine route. Award-winning South African Port style wines are produced in the area surrounding Oudsthoorn.

Tourism

Tourist information

Oudtshoorn and De Rust are managed by Oudtshoorn & De Rust Tourism, whose tourism office is centrally situated in Voortrekker Road, next to the CP Nel Museum.

Tourist attractions

Tourist attractions in Oudtshoorn and the surrounding areas include:

  • Cango Caves
  • Cango Ostrich Farm
  • Cango Wildlife Ranch
  • Chandelier Game Lodge & Ostrich Show Farm
  • Highgate Ostrich Show Farm
  • Safari Ostrich Farm
  • Swartberg Experience
  • Wilgewandel Holiday Farm

The area is also famed for its biodiversity, as it is home to an unusually large number of species of succulent plant. Several wine producers also exist in the region.

Notable people

  • C. J. Langenhoven - writer, poet, and politician
  • Etienne Leroux - Afrikaans author and key member of the South African Sestigers literary movement
  • Skipper Badenhorst - Rugby union player
  • Denovan Ekstraal - cricket player
  • Errin Ewerts - cricket player
  • Lucas "Kabamba" Floors - Rugby union player
  • Mia le Roux - model famous for winning the Miss South Africa 2024 pageant
  • Arthur Nortje - poet
  • Bobbie Irvine MBE - World Champion ballroom & Latin American dancer
  • Sid O'Linn - cricket player
  • Max Rose - ostrich farmer and businessman
  • Pauline Janet Smith - writer
  • Percival Henry Frederick Sonn - lawyer and cricket administrator
  • Wilma van der Bijl - Miss South Africa 1987
  • Bertha le Roux - Miss Teen South Africa 2005

References

  • Oudtshoorn Municipality
  • Oudtshoorn Tourism Bureau