{{Use South African English|date=February 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox settlement | name = Van Wyksdorp | pushpin_map = South Africa Western Cape#South Africa | coordinates = {{coord|33|44|57|S| 21|27|40|E| region:ZA|display=inline,title}} | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = [[South Africa]] | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = [[Western Cape]] | subdivision_type2 = District | subdivision_name2 = [[Garden Route District Municipality|Garden Route]] | subdivision_type3 = Municipality | subdivision_name3 = [[Kannaland Local Municipality|Kannaland]] | subdivision_type4 = Main Place | established_title = Established | leader_title = Councillor | area_footnotes = <ref name="census2011">{{cite web |url=http://census2011.adrianfrith.com/place/174006 |title = Main Place Vanwyksdorp |work=Census 2011}} </ref> | area_total_km2 = 21.25 | population_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" /> | population_total = 833 | population_as_of = 2011 | population_density_km2 = auto <!-- demographics (section 1) -->| demographics_type1 = Racial makeup (2011) | demographics1_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" /> | demographics1_title1 = [[Bantu peoples of South Africa|Black African]] | website = {{url|https://vanwyksdorptourism.com}} | demographics1_info1 = 1.9% | demographics1_title2 = [[Coloureds|Coloured]] | demographics1_info2 = 84.9% | demographics1_title3 = [[Indian South African|Indian]]/[[Asian South African|Asian]] | demographics1_info3 = 0.2% | demographics1_title4 = [[White South African|White]] | demographics1_info4 = 13.0% | demographics1_title5 = Other | demographics1_info5 = <!-- demographics (section 2) --> | demographics_type2 = [[First language]]s (2011) | demographics2_footnotes = <ref name="census2011" /> | demographics2_title1 = [[Afrikaans]] | demographics2_info1 = 90.0% | demographics2_title2 = [[South African English|English]] | demographics2_info2 = 4.9% | demographics2_title3 = [[Xhosa language|Xhosa]] | demographics2_info3 = 2.0% | demographics2_title4 = | demographics2_info4 = | demographics2_title5 = Other | demographics2_info5 = 3.0% <!-- blank fields (section 2) --> <!-- Other information -->| timezone1 = [[South African Standard Time|SAST]] | utc_offset1 = +2 | postal_code_type = [[List of postal codes in South Africa|Postal code]] (street) | postal_code = | postal2_code_type = [[Post-office box|PO box]] | postal2_code = 6690 | area_code_type = [[Telephone numbers in South Africa|Area code]] | area_code = 028 }} '''Van Wyksdorp''' is a small rural village in the [[Karoo|Klein Karoo]] of the [[Western Cape]] in [[South Africa]]. The nearest towns are [[Ladismith]] 45km (33km gravel), [[Calitzdorp]] 55km (52km gravel mountain pass), and [[Riversdale, South Africa|Riversdale]] 67km (45km gravel).
Van Wyksdorp has recently been host to the Jobs for Carbon project, where the indigenous [[Portulacaria afra|Spekboom portulacaria afra]] has been replanted on 800ha to aid restoration of the degraded [[veld]], within the [[Gouritz Cluster Biosphere Reserve]].
==History== The town was founded in 1897, on the farm Buffelsfontein - a parish of the Dutch Reformed Church.<ref name="dsapn">{{cite web |title=Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Public Domain) |url=https://archive.org/details/DictionaryOfSouthernAfricanPlaceNames |publisher=Human Science Research Council |page=453}}</ref> At a church meeting held on 27 January 1904, the name Van Wyksdorp was proposed and accepted due to the over 200 residents, with the surname [[Van Wyk]], living in the town and on surrounding farms.
The village of Van Wyksdorp currently has a population of around 800 people. A few of them are still direct descendants of Van Wyk. Over the years, the people living in the village have mostly relied on farming – including [[fruit]], [[sheep]], [[cattle]], and [[Ostrich|ostriches]]. They have benefited from a steady water supply throughout the year, provided by a mountain spring called "The Eye".
During the ostrich boom, Van Wyksdorp was once a centre of education in the Little Karoo. The school, built in 1912, had more than 200 learners at its peak, many of whom came from nearby towns. However, as railway connections to [[Ladismith]] and [[Riversdale, South Africa|Riversdale]] improved, those towns grew while Van Wyksdorp slowly became smaller and quieter, reaching its current size.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Van Wyksdorp Tourism {{!}} Home |url=https://vanwyksdorptourism.com/ |access-date=2025-04-04 |website=Van Wyksdorp Tourism |language=en-US}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Eden District Municipality}}
[[Category:Populated places in the Kannaland Local Municipality]]