When it's hot, it's Hellington hot
2008-04-24
Lise Beyers
WHAT is in a name? A rose would smell as sweet by any other name. So William Shakespeare’s poem goes. And so with the naming of anything, this proverb is too true, and in the case of Wellington, it is no different. Wellington was first known to the early settlers as Limiet Vallei, as it was on the border of the frontier of the Cape Colony at the time. It was later changed to Val du Charron, which loosely translated means Wagenmakers Vallei. This was due to the booming wagonmaking trade which it shared with its big sister Paarl. But once the village took shape it was decided to name this little jewel of the Boland in honour of Sir George Napier, then Governor of the Cape Colony. When approached to name the village after himself, Napier being a modest man, declined this act of goodwill, and instead suggested that it be named after the Duke of Wellington, commander of the British Forces during the Peninsula War against France, who later defeated Napoleon at Waterloo. Why Napier shortly after this decided to have his name loaned for the establishment of Napier in the Overberg, is still unsure. Though the Duke of Wellington never had the privilege of visiting his namesake, he did visit the Cape Colony in 1797 incognito as Lieutenant Colonel John Wellesley. Instead of taking up plush quarters at the Castle, he opted to stay in an informal residence in Long Street. Apart from Wellington seeming an appropriate name for the time, the peaks of the Limiet Berg above the village clearly make a ‘W’. But for many years after Wellington was officially named, locals, especially those opposing the British regime, continued to call the town Die Vlei. But now, almost two centuries after the town’s official naming, Wellington seems to have once again undergone a name change. And this time not in lieu of a war hero, but due to its extreme heat in the mid-summer months. Entering Wellington from Paarl at Piet Retief Street, visitors are welcomed by the town’s name board now reading Hellington. And this name does make sense, as the mercury in Wellington is known to rise well over 40 degrees in the summer months, making it almost impossible to survive the height of summer. So, whatever people have called this town throughout the past centuries, Wellington remains a picturesque village nestled against the Limiet Mountains, amongst rolling hills of vineyards. It may well be true that Wellington has had a name change several times, but the fact remains that it is indeed hellington hot there.
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