Wine, governorship... and a little light corruption...

In my previous blog I wrote about the Governor of the early Cape Colony, Simon van der Stel, who gave his name to Simon's Town and Simon's Bay, the setting for my second novel. He had six children, among whom was a son called Willem Adriaan who became Governor after his father (touch of nepotism?!) in 1699.


Like his father, Willem Adriaan acquired a fertile parcel of land (30 000 hectares) to develop an estate. Vergelegen (from the Dutch, meaning "far away") was a day's horse ride from the main colony, situated beneath the Hottentots Holland mountains. Apart from wine, Willem Adriaan was interested in agriculture and cattle farming and proved to be an innovative farmer. He was also struck by the uniqueness of the Cape flora, and sent samples of aloes and other unusual plants back to Holland for study. But he was not above some sharp business practice along the way. He spent company money on Vergelegen's vineyards and fruit orchards, he grabbed lucrative supply contracts for himself, he bought wine cheaply from his neighbours and re-sold it at inflated prices, and he wasn't averse to bribery. Things got so bad that a petition was raised by his fellow burghers and sent to the Dutch East India company headquarters back in Holland. In the end, the evidence of wrongdoing was so clear he was dismissed from his post and returned to his homeland in 1706.

But... he left a magnificent estate which still bears the mark of his vision, and which we can enjoy to this day. Rolling vineyards, a Cape Dutch homestead, a beautiful Octagonal garden in the French geometric style, and a set of mammoth Camphor trees that are over 300 years old and protected as National Monuments...
And the wine is superb!