He was born in Malmesbury in the Boland, hence the Cape Dutch style buildings on the farm. At the time of purchasing the farm he was a stockbroker in Johannesburg and came to live on the farm in 1923. He was very successful in breeding race horses.

William his eldest son, born in 1912 joined his father in 1931. Farming activities centred around citrus, groundnuts, beef cattle
And a small Ayrshire dairy herd. Butter was made for own use and Milk was sold in town for the first time in 1936, 50 gallons per day
Delivered by mule cart.

Ken Smit present owner of the farm, joined his father William in 1972. Cotton was the main crop but dairy provided regular income. By this time a bakkie had replaced the mule cart.

Milk pasteurisation and marketing through chain stores were commenced with in 1983. The dairy herd was sold in 1996 and milk was bought in by means of tankers. Today, almost 60 years later, Moorddrift Dairy supply the full range of dairy products throughout Limpopo Province, part of Mpumalanga and Gauteng, operating a fleet of over 40 refrigerated vehicles and employing a staff of 140. the factory, of the most modern in the country and capable of processing 9000 litres per hour, has its own laboratory for taking milk samples for quality control purposes.

Ken’s parents, William and June are still active with the beef herd. Ken is married to Tersia and they have three children, one son and two daughters. When Stephen who will be the fourth generation takes over, Ken and Tersia will have more time to devote to developing of the game farm.