were especially popular for use on hats. Between 1875 and 1880, ostrich prices reached up to GBP1,000 a pair. The farmers of the region, realising that ostriches were far more profitable than any other activity, ripped out their other crops and planted lucerne, which was used as feed for the ostriches. The rising wealth also finally allowed for the completion of the Dutch Reformed Church - it was opened on 7 June 1879.
Owing to overproduction, the ostrich industry experienced a sudden slump in fortunes in 1885; the town's misery was compounded when it was hit by severe flooding during the same year, which washed away the nearby Victoria Bridge, which had been built over the Olifants River only the year before.
Second Ostrich Boom
The ostrich industry recovered slowly and it was not until after the Second Anglo-Boer War of 1899 to 1902, that a second and bigger boom started. It was during this period that most of Oudtshoorn's famously opulent "Feather Palaces" were built. This boom peaked in 1913, before collapsing in 1914. This was blamed on Henry Ford and the arrival of the motor car. Ladies wearing large hats with ostrich plumes found that such hats were not suitable and were blown off at car speeds (related by a local ostrich farmer). As a result, the region's economy was ruined, and most farmers returned to more traditional crops
