Originally called Twelve Mile the exact distance from Cape Town it was renamed Bellville in 1861 in honour of Charles Bell, Surveyor General of the Cape at that time. Charles Davidson Bell was also the designer of the famous Cape triangular stamps. Bellville boasts excellent leisure and sporting facilities, including one of the finest cycle tracks in the country, an Olympic Standard Bank swimming pool and a 2 000 seat open air amphitheatre.
Agricultural activities range from intensive crop production and mixed farming in winter rainfall and high summer rainfall areas to cattle ranching in the bushveld and sheep farming in the arid regions. Maize is most widely grown, followed by wheat, oats, ...