On 2,240 hectares (5,500 acres) there is a unique combination of vineyards, orchards, nature reserves, mountain corridors and rivers.
The historic homesteads on the Estate, part of the Cape Dutch heritage,[3] are Boschendal Manor House, Goede Hoop, Rhone, Nieuwedorp, Old Bethlehem, Champagne and the Cecil John Rhodes Cottage.
In the meantime, farmers needed alternative forms of agriculture and the lucrative fruit industry in California provided a suitable model for the Cape.
In 1892, shipping magnate Percy Molteno developed and introduced refrigerated cargo space on Union-Castle shipping lines, between the Cape and the largest consumer markets in Europe, which revolutionised the industry and made the export of fresh fruit an attractive proposition.
Rhodes immediately left for Kimberley, the centre of his diamond interests and remained there during the four-month siege.
He held the position for 22 years and consolidated the company's holdings: selling off the Wellington farms and acquiring Excelsior and Bien Donné in Groot Drakenstein.
In 1937 De Beers decided to sell Rhodes Fruit Farms and it was bought by Sir Abe Bailey, three years before his death.
During Bailey's short interlude as owner, Appleyard remained in charge of the fruit farms and lived at Goede Hoop.
John Manning, the new general manager, built a new cannery in 1951, a sawmill in 1953 and purchased the farm, Bethlehem, in Groot Drakenstein.
In 1969, Frank Robb persuaded Anglo-American, De Beers and Rand Selection Corporation Ltd to become majority shareholders in Rhodes Fruit Farms.
Anglo American started divesting itself of the cannery, dairy, piggeries and its fruit interests in the late 1990s, eventually selling off all the lands along the Berg and Dwars Rivers.
On Estate 19 stands the historic Rhodes Cottage, designed and constructed in 1902 as a country retreat for mining magnate and empire builder by Sir Herbert Baker, the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades.
Boschendal The Estate continues to be a major source of employment for local communities and the development of Boschendal will generate R 100 million for investment in the local community projects such as nutrition and health, education and skills development, agricultural, heritage and environmental support.