| De Doorns | |
| Pushpin Map: | South Africa Western Cape#South Africa |
| Coordinates: | -33.4833°N 60°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | South Africa |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Western Cape |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Cape Winelands |
| Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
| Subdivision Name3: | Breede Valley |
| Subdivision Type4: | Main Place |
| Established Title: | Established |
| Leader Title: | Councillor |
| Leader Name: | Daniel Teswin Willemse |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 7.6 |
| Population Total: | 11278 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Racial makeup (2011) |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Black African |
| Demographics1 Info1: | 40.0% |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Coloured |
| Demographics1 Info2: | 51.5% |
| Demographics1 Title3: | Indian/Asian |
| Demographics1 Info3: | 0.6% |
| Demographics1 Title4: | White |
| Demographics1 Info4: | 6.0% |
| Demographics1 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics1 Info5: | 1.9% |
| Demographics Type2: | First languages (2011) |
| Demographics2 Title1: | Afrikaans |
| Demographics2 Info1: | 64.0% |
| Demographics2 Title2: | Xhosa |
| Demographics2 Info2: | 25.2% |
| Demographics2 Title3: | Sotho |
| Demographics2 Info3: | 3.7% |
| Demographics2 Title4: | English |
| Demographics2 Info4: | 2.5% |
| Demographics2 Title5: | Other |
| Demographics2 Info5: | 4.5% |
| Timezone1: | SAST |
| Utc Offset1: | +2 |
| Postal Code Type: | Postal code (street) |
| Postal Code: | 6875 |
| Postal2 Code Type: | PO box |
| Postal2 Code: | 6875 |
| Area Code Type: | Area code |
| Area Code: | 023 |
De Doorns is situated in the Breede Valley Local Municipality, Cape Winelands District Municipality in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
It lies in the Hex River Valley on the N1 national route, 32 km north-east of Worcester and 40 km south-west of Touwsrivier. It is in the centre of an export grape growing region, surrounded by over 200 table grape farms.
The town takes its name from the farm "De Doorns boven aan de Hex Rivier" (‘the thorns on the upper Hex River’), known as early as 1725. The area was declared a sub-drosty of Tulbagh in 1819 and the farm became the seat of the area's own drostdy in 1822.
The De Doorns farm was bought by the government of Cape Prime Minister John Molteno in 1875, to build a railway station for the rapidly expanding Cape Government Railways. The line was immediately built through De Doorns, connecting it to Cape Town on the coast and reaching Montagu Road (later Touws River) in 1877, on its way to Kimberley. Around the station, the hamlet of De Doorns would later develop.[2] [3]
The area around the town became an important region for table grape farming. It had the necessary infrastructure for exporting its produce, and the longest harvest season in the world - December to April. During the second Anglo-Boer War (1899-1902), the town and its railway infrastructure played an important supporting role. The stone blockhouses which were built to protect the vital railway link are still found in the valley.[4]
A village management board was instituted for De Doorns in 1933 and municipal status attained in 1951.[5]