- Baardskeerdersbos
Baardskeerdersbos (or Baardscheerders Bosch, locally known as B'bos) is a village in the
Overberg region of theWestern Cape province ofSouth Africa .Geography
Baardskeerdersbos is located at coord|34|35|20|S|19|34|15|E|display=inline,title, about 20km east of
Gansbaai and 18km west of Elim, on the gravel road linking Gansbaai toBredasdorp . It lies on the southern slopes of a mountain called Perdekop ("Horse Hill"), at the base of the Boskloof ("Forest Gorge") through which a small river flows south off the mountain. Just south of the village the Boesmansrivier ("Bushman's River") flows from east to west; the Boskloof stream flows into this river.History
The first reference to this area by Europeans dates to 1660, when
Jan van Riebeek sent an expedition to explore the Overberg.cite web |url=http://www.gansbaaiinfo.com/destinations/baardskeerbos.html |title=Baardskeerdersbos destinations to visit |accessdate=2008-01-26 |work=Gansbaai Info |publisher=Gansbaai Tourism Bureau ] The farm "Baarscheerders Bosch" number 213 in theBredasdorp registration district, which included the village and the surrounding farmland and hillside, was surveyed for a Phillip Forie Senior in 1831; that original farm has since been subdivided considerably into separate farms,smallholding s and plots. [Original land grant diagram for farm Baarscheerders Bosch No. 213 Bredasdorp, Surveyor-General Cape Town diagram [http://csg.dla.gov.za/esio/viewTIFF?furl=/images8/81/10RVXR01.TIF&office=SGCTN 571/1831] (TIFF).] The current church in Baardskeerdersbos was built in 1921 and is a National Monument. For a long time the village remained rural and undisturbed, but recently it has been discovered as a quiet getaway particularly for residents ofCape Town ; several new houses have been built, and several more renovated.Name
The name "Baardskeerdersbos" in Afrikaans or "Baardscheerders Bosch" in the original Dutch literally means "Beard Shaver's Forest". The accepted explanation for this name is that a species of
solifuge inhabits the area, and that this insect is referred to as a "beard shaver" because it cuts hair to use for nest-building. The well-known cartographer and writerPeter Slingsby wrote a book entitled "Beard Shaver’s Bush: Place Names in the Cape" (ISBN 0-620-24965-X) which discusses the origin of this and many other place names.Notes
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