He spent much of the next few years under house arrest on his farm (he had signed up as a medical officer with the Boer army, during the Anglo-Boer war, and was soon captured by the British. His internment on Oak Valley was only granted on condition that he paid for the services of two British soldiers to guard him for the duration of the war!) Antonie Viljoen was a farmer extraordinaire growing everything from grape vines to potatoes. Among his many farming achievements were the purchase of the first deciduous fruit trees in the Elgin valley after realising that the area was ideally suited for the cultivation of apples and pears. He is regarded as the pioneer to establish the apple industry of the region. These were initially grown and maintained by his farm labourers, largely as their own separate concern, however they constituted the first known deciduous orchard in the region.C. Schoeman: The Historical Overberg. Traces of the Past in South Africa's Southernmost Region. Penguin Random House South Africa. 2017. p.26.D. Jansen, K. Leresche: Exploring the Cape Winelands. CTP. Penstock Publishing, South Africa. 2015. . The Elgin Wine Region, Oak Valley Estate. p.150.
