Boesmanspad, prior toe 1868, belonged to three brothers van Eeden, who were exclusively dedicated to the promotion of viticulture. From about 1818, Cape wines enjoyed preference in the British market and the price of dry wine was 4 15s per leaguer. In 1868, with the election of the first liberal government in England, this preferential status was lost to a policy of free trade and the result was a collapse of the price. The consequence of this was that the owners of Boesmanspad, three brothers’ van Eeden, and the owner of Nooitgedacht, the other large wine farm, suffered bankruptcy. Today there are a total of nine owners of Boesmanspad.

On the boundary of Nooitgedacht and Boesmanspad, is an old Bushman foot-trail, which comes over the mountain. Against the mountain on the Bonnievale side is an old Bushmen camp. The Bushmen used this thoroughfare for two purposes : namely, to conduct raids in the Breede River Valley and secondly, according to legend, to provide an access route to the tin in the Rivier-Zonder-End mountains. To obtain the tin, the Bushmen followed a route along the aforementioned trail (Boesmanspad) through Boesmansdrift and along the Boesmansrivier and into the Rivier-Zonder-End mountains in search of tin they apparently needed for their arrowheads.

Free translation from "Bonnievale tot vandag" 1922–1947 (DL van den Berg)