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Wolvengat

human settlement in South Africa

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 25, 2019
Entity authorityQ13036293
Source-derived summary

Wolvengat, also known as Viljoenshof, is a village in the southern Overberg region, in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is situated 10 kilometres (6 mi) south of Elim and 35 kilometres (22 mi) southwest of Bredasdorp. It was originally named Wolfgat or Wolvengat in reference to the brown hyena, known as strandwolf in Afrikaans. However, when the local post office was established the authorities named it Viljoenshof in honour of DJ Viljoen, the Dutch Reformed (NGK) minister of Bredasdorp from 1904 to 1934; this name was then extended to the village. The original name Wolvengat was officially restored in 1991.

In the early 1900s the village had a school with 100 children, but by the early 21st century there was neither a church nor a school. The fertile soil, and the potential of using land for vineyards, explains the high property prices.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Wolvengat” is human settlement in South Africa. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Wolvengat, human and settlement, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1904, 1934, 1991—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Wolvengat, human and settlement is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “human settlement in South Africa” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 25, 2019. The linked authority identifier is Q13036293. Authority coordinates are -34.666, 19.683. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1904, 1934 and 1991.

Critical limits

Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Wolvengat”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Wolvengat primary sources, Wolvengat archive and Wolvengat research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Wolvengat”?
  2. What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Wolvengat” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.