eendekuil

Eendekuil is located 30km north of Piketberg on the R44. The small hamlet, is ideally situated for exploring. Only 150km north of Cape Town the town nestles at the foot of Piekeniers Pass & the Cederberg, on the edge of the Swartland, near the “flower world” and only 80km from the sea.

Until the end of the Anglo-Boer War, Eendekuil was the terminus for the railway lines from Cape Town. It still serves as the railhead for the citrus crop of the Citrusdal district on the other side of the Olifants River Mountains.

Eendekuil is well known for the outstanding quality of Cheddar and Gouda cheese produced in its cheese factory. Milk is delivered from all the dairy farms scattered throughout the region.

Records exist of the surrounding farms being named and farmed and occupied from around 1700 and of the Dutch Governor Simon van der Stel inscribing his name on a rock at the nearby Heerenlogement on 25 August 1685.

The first written record of the name is in a farms register where the farm De Een Kuyl was allocated to one Lucas Visagie on 6 March 1775. Later reference is made to the farm as De Eende Kuyl.

There are two versions (1) that it refers to the many waterbirds in the area (the most plausible), and (2) that there were two ajacent farms being referred to as “De Eende Kuyl” and “De Tweede Kuyl” - the first and the second Pool [see here] (no written record hereof can be found).

By the time of town establishment, the farm is referred to as “Eendekuil” and is owned by Oubaas and Christiaan Burger.

* [De Eende Kuyl (Dutch) freely translated means The Duck Pool – whereas the English language does not have a word with the exact meaning of “kuyl” –(a “pit” ?) it refers to a natural occuring pool formed typically in a river. There still is such a natural pool in the Kruismans River where it runs through the current Eendekuil farm and which borders the town. The name “Eendekuil” being the modern Afrikaans translation from the Dutch]

The development of the Copper mines at O’Kiep in Namaqualand was the initial spark to build a railway line from Cape Town northward. Although another team built a railway line from O’Kiep, where the copper mines are, to Port Nolloth and finished it before the line from Cape Town could be finished, the line was initially built to Eendekuil, and later extended, but on 15 November 1902 the rail was finished to Eendekuil on land purchased from the farmers. The passanger train, known as the “Doekvoet Flyer” carry 2441 passangers in 1904 to and from Eendekuil

This immediately sparked the building of a hotel, which was a Wood and Corrugated Iron building, and which was operational already in 1902, known as the Eendekuil Hotel, and owned by Oubaas Burger. {The building is just a 100 meters from the current hotel and is occupied as a house.}

Telephone lines were built in 1901 and in 1902 the Post office opened, housed in the station building.

Roads linking the town with the Grey’s Pass (now known as Piekenierskloof Pass) were built in 1902 to 1904.

On 1 January 1912 the school opened with 18 children and in August 1913 a police station was built to serve the small population.