The name of this town literally means “The Rest” and is an indication of how it came about. When in the early eighteen-hundreds one Petrus Meiring found a pass through the Swartberg Mountains, travellers, before tackling the daunting route, used to outspan at a favourite spot near a mountain spring. In 1900 this outspan, which was situated on Meiring’s farm, was proclaimed a town and retained its traditional name of De Rust.
The pass became known as Meirings Poort, now a world-famous tourist attraction.
De Rust is a serene, Victorian little village scarcely touched by the passage of time and as yet undiscovered by rapacious developers. Its people breed ostriches and grow fruit and grapes from which wines are made. At the Stompdrift Dam carp is fished while it is also a venue for swimming and other water sports as well as bird watching from a boat. De Rust boasts quite a few historical buildings, of which the Dutch Reformed Church is but one.