Mosterts Mill

Mostert’s mill was originally built in 1796 on the farm Welgelegen owned by Gysbert Van Reenen. It has had a few incarnations and has intermittently become derelict and been restored several times. It is a 3-story high typical Cape truncated-cone tower mill. The cap was thatched as was the threshing floor and house next to it. The original house was most likely the Miller’s house.

The tower is about 8 m tall and almost 8m in diameter. The first 2 metres are built in stone and the rest of unbaked bricks. The walls are 1.5 m thick at ground level, so the internal diameter is just over 5 and a half meters.

The farm on which Mostert’s mill stands was bought by Cecil John Rhodes in 1901. He bought several other farms to consolidate into his Groote Schuur estate. Farming had however been discontinued due to all the vines having been destroyed in the phylloxera epidemic at the Cape at that time.

The mill became derelict after being neglected for decades. In 1935 the Public Works Department undertook the first modern restoration of the mill.  They employed a Dutch millwrighting firm in order to restore the machinery. The mill was operated occasionally. It was declared as a national monument in 1940, but again fell into disuse during the years of WWII.

Friends of Mostert’s Mill was formed in 1993 to restore the mill. The second restoration was undertaken in 1995 and the same Dutch millwrighting firm was again employed to restore the machinery.

The mill was tragically severely damaged again, this time by fire in 2021 but has been lovingly restored once again by the friends of the Mostert’s mill

Rhodes avenue Mowbray

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