The oldest windmill in South Africa is the De Nieuwe Molen mill in Cape Town, built in 1782.

Prior to the British occupation of the Cape in the Battle of Muizenberg in 1795, only mills controlled by the Dutch East India Company were allowed.

The restored mill was opened on 1 February 1936 by Dr Lorentz, the Minister Plenipotentiary and Envoy Extraordinary to the Netherlands.

The ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister, General Hertzog, and flour was ground for the guests.

[4] On 18 April 2021, the mill was gutted in a fire that had started on Table Mountain and destroyed several buildings, including one of the libraries of the University of Cape Town.

[9] The windshaft carried a clasp arm brake wheel,[13] which had a diameter of 770 millimetres (2 ft 6 in) and had 47 cogs.

[9] It drove the single pair of millstones,[13] via a lantern pinion stone nut,[14] which had 16 staves.

[9] Mostert's Mill is situated on the M3 close to the University of Cape Town on the slopes of Devil's Peak where it was a prominent landmark.