Beaufort West (Afrikaans: Beaufort-Wes; Xhosa: eBhobhofolo) is a town in the Western Cape province in South Africa.

[3] It is the centre of an agricultural district based mainly on sheep farming, and is a significant town and logistical support hub on the N1 national road.

One of those who first farmed them, John Molteno, was a young Anglo-Italian immigrant who then founded the town's first bank in 1854 and went on to become the first Prime Minister of the Cape.

He is honoured in the local museum, which houses a display of awards presented to him and a replica of the original heart transplant theatre.

In 1849, Sir John Fraser (son of the local Dutch Reformed Church minister) observed and famously documented a herd of Springbok that took three days to pass the town.