Eerste River, Western Cape

Eerste River
Eerste River Show map of Western Cape Eerste River Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 34°0′S 18°43′E / 34.000°S 18.717°E / -34.000; 18.717
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
Municipality	City of Cape Town
Area [1]
• Total	5.86 km2 (2.26 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	39,237
• Density	6,700/km2 (17,300/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Coloured	81.7%
• Black African	16.0%
• Indian/Asian	0.5%
• White	0.2%
• Other	1.5%
First languages (2011) [1]
• Afrikaans	73.9%
• English	12.9%
• Xhosa	8.9%
• Other	4.3%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	7100
PO box	7100
Website	http://eersteriver.co.za/

Eerste River (Eersterivier in Afrikaans,^[2] meaning "first river") is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa and a suburb of the City of Cape Town. It forms part of the Eastern Suburbs zone of the city situated behind the Stellenbosch/Vlaeberg Hills on the eastern outskirts of the metropolitan area.

It lies on the R102 (Van Riebeek Road) about 40 km from Cape Town and 8 km from Cape Town International Airport on the N2 route.

Eerste River started off as many different farms and expanded vastly after the 1980s. It is a diverse town; many of its almost 40,000 residents originally immigrated here from elsewhere. Among its beauty is the area called Penhill, hidden from the town and filled with nature.

Schools in Eerste River include the Afrikaans-medium Eersterivier Secondary School. Other schools in the area include R R Franks Primary (formerly Methodist Primary), Forest Heights Primary School, Palm Park Primary School, Stratford Primary School, Spurwing Primary School, Tuscany Glen Primary School, Melton Primary School, Helderkruin Primary School, Tuscany High School, Forest Heights High School, and in the surrounding areas Kleinvlei High School and Malibu High School.

Population statistics indicate that the suburb has close to 40,000 residents, but other estimates are closer to 52,000 when Kleinvlei, Palm Park and Penhill are included to the municipality - which are all still considered suburbs of Eerste River by locals and many visitors alike.

Delft, Blackheath, Wesbank and Brentwood Park used to be a part of the town, but as the towns grew, all were given their own municipalities.