BARRY HOUSE ON RIVERTON
Accommodation Services in Robertson

He was duly baptised Robertson Barry Masuriek by Dr Robertson, with Joseph Barry being one of his seven sponsors. The Honorable Joseph Barry was elected as the Swellendam representative and moved to Cape Town. The village itself grew up around the Dutch Reformed Church and the Barry’s store and wine cellars which became a meeting and trading place for the farmers in the district. As there were no English churches in the Overberg at the beginning of the 19th century, services were held in both languages in the Dutch Reformed Churches. The town grew and several private schools were started. In 1912 the Robertson congregation sent a delegate to the historic conference in Bloemfontein at which the National South African Jewish Board was established. Dr. Hanf put the epidemic down to lack of isolation of the sick and the water that became polluted in the open water furrow system. Robertson has the oldest irrigation scheme in South Africa. Lucerne, grain, wine and fruit were now grown under irrigation. Ostriches and racehorse breeding were also introduced but with the collapse of the ostrich feather market at the outbreak of WW1, farmers changed to fruit, grain and dairy farming. Currently with the poor return on wine more fruit trees are being planted in the valley. The largest employer was Barry Handelshuis which had originally been the Barry & Nephews, Hoop River Trading Store before the town was founded. After the Boer War in 1902, Hamilton Barry (Joseph Barry’s grandson) had taken over as manager of Barry Bros, with his older brother George Joseph managing the Montagu store and distillery. The beginning of the First World War in 1914 saw a disproportionately high number, for the size of the town, young men leave their peaceful rural surroundings for the horrors of war at the Front Line in France. The firm also owned the dried fruit company and several farms. After much indecision, Hamilton Barry eventually declared that as his family motto, Boutez en avant, was good enough for the Barry’s it would be good enough for Robertson. He purchased what is now the Robertson museum (that collapsed during renovations) and named it Druids Lodge in Morris the Anglican Priest, and John Lewis the brother of Stakesby. A century after Robertson was founded it boasted a Primary School for Boys, the Primary School for Girls and the High School with a boarding house. The photo on the right is the Robertson School Board of The first pre-primary school was started by Philippa Barry at the Robertson airfield in the early 1970s. First in an ordinary home and later a double storey children’s home was built that is now the Old Herberg apartments. When new premises were needed for the expanding school in 2001, Dr Fonnie Bruwer and Duncan Barry (Joseph Barry’s great, great grandson) signed surety to buy the Commercial Hotel and adjacent double storey house in Hope Street to convert into a school to serve the community with a quality education from Nursery school to Grade In 2005 one of the tenants caused a fire that destroyed the top floor.