In 1895 the Rhenish Mission Society established a reserve for the Bergdamara and Hai//om communities at the farm Gaub (//Gaub, Ghaub). The aim was to settle the nomadic people of the area and to acquaint them with agriculture. The farm measured 9000 ha and had large swampy areas. The missionary Kremer arrived at Gaub in July 1895.

The work at Gaub comprised two major fields, namely mission work, centered around the school and the church, and secondly, agriculture. Soon after the first buildings had been completed in 1897 the first persons were baptized in the church. During this time the palm-trees were also planted by the missionary.

Mr Wilhelm Detering was responsible for the agricultural development at Gaub. He had been sent out by the Rhenish Mission Society from Germany and arrived in August 1901. One of his duties was to drain the swampy areas, which were utilized for planting maize.

In 1903 the farm house, which was built from clay bricks was completed. Soon the first cattle also arrived from Otjisazu, Okahandja and Otjimbingwe. At this time over 40 families made a living from products, which they cultivated in their gardens at Gaub. They also kept some livestock. In return, a fee of 2 German Mark was to be paid.

During the Herero war of 1904-1905, Gaub was destroyed and plundered. As a measure of protection the missionary Kremer and Mr Detering, together with their families, were evacuated to the fort at Grootfontein, where the missionary died of malaria in April 1904.

In October 1904 a new start was made when the Deterings were allowed to return to Gaub. During the following years Gaub was rebuilt to become a major centre for agriculture and education. Trees, such as casuarenes, mulberries and pepper trees were planted to dehydrate the swampy areas. In addition, some banana and orange trees, which yielded precious fruit over the years, were cultivated. The stones and rocks from the fields were gathered and used for building walls around the vegetable gardens. The old cemetery was also moved to a new site on a hillock.

During the years 1906 to 1908 missionary work at Gaub was continued by the missionary Ferdinand Lang. In May 1911 Dr Heinrich Vedder arrived at Gaub to teach young evangelists and teachers. A school building, which was erected, served for adults in the mornings, for children in the afternoons and as a clinic in the evenings. Dr Vedder soon learnt the languages of the local communities, which enabled him to teach the different tribes in their mother tongue. One of the aims was to reach out to the Hai//om and Damara communities, who gradually settled at Gaub.

In 1912 a second agriculturalist, Mr Hermann Eickmeyer was sent to assist at Gaub. For 44 years the Eickmeyers lived at Ganachaams, which forms part of Gaub. After Mr Eickmeyer’s death in 1956 his wife stayed on in the old school building at Gaub.

In 1913 Dr Vedder discovered the famous cave at Gaub. Apparently the entrance to the cave only emerged after the extremely wet rainy season of 1911/1912.

Due to World War I all work at Gaub came to a halt. In 1919 Dr Vedder was deported to Germany but he returned to Namibia a few years later and continued his work at Okahandja.

In 1920 an effort was made by the Rhenish Mission Society to sell the farm Gaub for
£ 20,000. However, the deal did not materialize and in 1922 Mr Detering was sent back to Gaub. In 1925 the mission exchanged a portion of Gaub, known as Gaub West, in return for the farm Khorab, which belonged to the Tsumeb Mine. Because Khorab was much bigger than Gaub West, the Rhenish Mission was paid £ 800 in addition. Gaub now measured 12,000 ha. During these times the area was still swampy and malaria was common.

In 1932 karakul-sheep were brought in on an experimental basis. However, nothing was ever mentioned again about the experiment. Gaub was further developed and the meat and vegetables were sold to the mine at Tsumeb until its temporary closure in 1932.

In 1938 Wilhelm Detering’s son Karl moved to Gaub to assist his father. However, his assistance was to be of short duration as he was sent to internment camp at Andalusia in South Africa in 1940.The years 1941 until 1943 were extremely dry years so that Gaub’s maize fields did not yield any crops. The rainy season of 1944 was again so wet that it was impossible to plant maize at all. In 1945 Mr Wilhelm Detering died at Grootfontein.

During the forthcoming years the Rhenish Mission dispatched a number of farm managers to Gaub, the first of whom to arrive in 1950 was Mr Wilhelm Schüffner. He was followed by Mr Schütte in 1951. During the 1960s and 1970s Mr Gottfried Linde and his family acted as farm managers. During later years, Mr Ernst Albat and his family, who had started at Ganachaams in the 1960s, managed Gaub from Ganachaams. The old buildings at Gaub were no longer occupied on a permanent basis and were only used during occasional seminars and conferences. They gradually decayed and were also damaged by termites.

In 1989 the company Ohlthaver & List bought the farm and Gaub was renovated to become a guest farm. Mr Volker Steinstritter and his wife were the first to restore Gaub to its once glorious appearance. The original buildings were meticulously renovated and all new buildings were designed according to the same style, therefore retaining Gaub’s historic character.