Mostert's Mill

Mostert’s Mill was built in 1796, and is the only working mill in South Africa. It is located on De Waal drive, in the Mowbray area of Cape Town.

Windmills were often damaged by strong winds in the Cape, and in 1717 the Dutch decided to erect a more efficient, durable windmill and they did so by sending out masons and carpenters, with bricks and other materials. There was also a mill near my school (Oude Molen Academy of Science & Technology) which was called “Oude Molen”, but all that remains of this mill is the name of the place. That mill was built in 1830 by W.Raunch.

Mosterts Mill, near the main campus of UCT, is a truncated tower mill with a revolving cap made of thatch, that allows the sails to turn into the wind. This mill was owned by Gysbert van Renen who actually named the mill after his son-in-law, Sybrand Mostert. Mosterts Mill was originally owned by the Mostert family, who then sold it to a Mr. Wilks, who later sold it to the famous Cecil Rhodes.

In 1986, the windshaft of the windmill broke and the sails came crashing to the ground. The Vernacular Architecture Society of South Africa stepped in and started a campaign aimed at preserving the mill. The mill was then restored to its working conditions at the cost of R245,000.

Mostert's Mill is a three story tower. At ground level the mill/tower is 7.94m in diameter and 6.68m in height. The first 2.28m of the mill (from the bottom up) is built out of random stone, and the rest of the tower is built from unbaked bricks. At ground level the walls are 1.15m thick, giving the mill an internal diameter of 5.64m. Its sails are 6m in length and 1.75m in width, fitted with a wind board on the leading edge of the sail- this was a unique feature that no other in windmill in South Africa had. The windmill has four common sails which operate at 12.5 to 15 revolutions per minute.