The first owner of ""Koetzenburg"" was Dirk Coetzee to whom 24 morgen along the Eerste River were accorded by Simon van der Stel in 1682. The well-known Marais family acquired the farm in 1833 and owned it until 1960 after which it was bought by the University of Stellenbosch. The best known of the Marais' was Johannes Henoch (""Oom Jannie""). He was the owner from 1893 to 1915 and thereafter his widow until 1954. ""Oom Jannie"" had made his fortune on the diamond diggings and later invested a large part of his wealth in Stellenbosch and its surroundings. He was, inter alia, instrumental in the founding of the Burger and his 100 000 made the transformation of the Victoria College to a university possible.