Britstown

Britstown is a small farming town in the Central Karoo region of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It lies on the N12, 98km north of Victoria West and is named after Hans Brits, an early settler on the farm, Gemsbokfontein. In 1877 a community centre and a church was built on a section of this farm. In 1885, the Smartt Syndicate built two dams in the area and started a private irrigation scheme, producing lucerne and wheat. This scheme with the syndicated karakul farmers, provided a boon to the area until the 1961 floods destroyed the Irrigation Board Dam. It was rebuilt by the Government in 1964. De Aar is the nearest big town and lies 50 km East of Britstown on the N10. The nearest camping to the town, is at Kambro (w131186), about 20 km North on the N12.

Britstown lies exactly halfway between Cape Town (via Three Sisters) and Johannesburg (via Kimberley) on the N12.

“Britstown on route N12, approximately 183km southwest of Kimberley and 88km north of Victoria West. Hans Brits who accompanied David Livingstone (19th-century explorer and missionary) on one of his journeys, decided to settle on the site on which the town would develop. In the late 1970s, the increasing number of hunters and fortune seekers on their way to the diamond fields, prompted the establishment of the village and some trading stores. In 1877, a portion of the farm Gemsbokfontein, belonging to Hans Brits was purchased by a group of farmers who also built a Dutch Reformed church. The town, like Strydenburg is one of the main junctions on the De Aar – Upington –Namibia railway line. Named after Hans Brits, the owner of the farm on which the town was founded. (Introduction to the Karoo by TV Bulpin )” - Chris Smit, 2024/09/27

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