Established in 1808 by Moravian missionaries, JF Kohrhammer and JH Schmitt. Named after the biblical Mamre (Gen. 13:18) – a name said to mean ‘fatness’ or ‘amid the oaks.’ The Earl of Caledon, Governor at the Cape asked them to establish a mission station. It was first known as Groene Kloof after the Dutch India Company established a military outpost there in 1701 and abandoned it in 1791 by withdrawing all military outposts. The outpost was called De Kleine Post.