Michell's Pass is a mountain pass in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

province of South Africa which approaches the town of Ceres from the south-west, connecting it to

Tulbagh Tulbagh, named after Dutch Cape Colony Governor Ryk Tulbagh, is a town located in the "Land van Waveren" mountain basin (also known as the Tulbagh basin), in the Winelands of the Western Cape, South Africa. The basin is fringed on three side ...

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Englan ...

and the

Breede River Valley Breede River Valley is a region of Western Cape Province, South Africa known for being the largest fruit and wine producing valley in the Western Cape, as well as South Africa's leading race-horse breeding area. It is part of the Boland borderin ...

. The pass is traversed by the R46 road and the Ceres branch line railway, which was re-opened for use by the Ceres Rail Company and seasonally by Transnet Freight Rail in terms of an agreement between the Ceres Rail Company and Transnet in 2012. From its western entrance near Wolseley the pass ascends to the summit at an elevation of , before descending a short distance into Ceres.Ceres Rail Company: The Story So Far
(Accessed on 16 June 2017) Ceres tunnel

The road pass was planned by

Charles Collier Michell Lieutenant-Colonel Charles Collier Michell, Royal Guelphic Order, KH (29 March 1793 in Exeter – 28 March 1851 in Eltham, London), later known as Charles Cornwallis Michell, was a British soldier, first surveyor-general in the British Cape Colon ...

, Surveyor-General of the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is ...

, for whom it was named. The pass was constructed in 1848 by

Andrew Geddes Bain Andrew Geddes Bain (baptised 11 June 1797 – 20 October 1864), was a South African geologist, road engineer, palaeontologist and explorer. Life history The only child of Alexander Bain and Jean Geddes, both of whom died when Bain was still a ...

. In 1938, the road was widened and paved. A railway branchline from Wolseley through the pass to Ceres was constructed from 1910 and opened to traffic on 20 May 1912. The north portal of a tunnel at the top of the railway pass is situated near the road and railway entrances to the town.''Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway'', Statement No. 19, p. 187, ref. no. 200954-13 The extension of the railway line from Ceres to

Prince Alfred Hamlet Prince Alfred Hamlet is a small town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It was founded by Johannes Cornelis Goosen, who was born in the Klein Drakenstein and came to the Warm Bokkeveld as a young farmer. In March 1851 Goosen bought t ...

was only opened to traffic seventeen years later, on 10 April 1929.''Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway'', Statement No. 19, p. 189, ref. no. 200954-13

References

{{Reflist, 30em Mountain passes of the Western Cape