Morning all Here is part two of the Rondebosch saga: The story of Rondebosch would not be complete without the share of the non-European people and their aboriginal ancestors being given due recognition. The Bushman and the Bantu do not come into the picture. The Bantu were pillaging north of the Limpopo when Van Riebeeck was practising the arts of peace along the Liesbeek. They have no prior title to South Africa on any terms. The Bushmen had been scattered and decimated by the Hottentots and had accepted the role of the rogues of society with every man's hand against them. Theirs indeed is a pathetic history. The Hottentots, a light brown people, had migrated from Northern Africa down to the West Coast as far south as Agulhas. They must have been some quarter-million in number and had a simple primitive culture which Van Riebeeck praised highly. Their laws and customs were patriarchal, but women were accorded some respect and position. One of the most picturesque incidents in the Van Riebeeck Diary tells how the chieftains and their wives, mounted on oxen, rode in cavalcade to the Fort to be entertained by the commander whom they trusted and loved. They were an intelligent people who loved music and dancing and possessed great droves of sheep and cattle, but as their social structure was communistic and their way of life nomadic, imposed upon them by the necessity of going where the grazing led, they roamed the country in great drives and sweeps. Possessive title to land was a concept foreign to them, yet the various tribes often came into lethal conflict and, had Van Riebeeck not protected them against themselves their fratricidal wars would have exterminated them. The position was so bad that there were large bands of refugees and fugitives among them who were in hiding in the Cape Peninsula and along the coastline in caves and among the crags. They had become a menace and a danger to all, and at one time these desperadoes threatened the very existence of the settlement at the Cape. Van Riebeeck finally taught them a sharp lesson, to the relief of the peaceful tribes and the salvation of the Free Burghers. The idea of work was foreign to the Hottentot, a commendable way of life, but unfortunately impossible in civilization; slaves were therefore obtained mainly from the Portuguese, Dutch and British, who secured a monopoly of the lucrative slave trade. No Hottentot was ever enslaved. Many of these slaves came from the East and had long straight hair. They were often of superior culture and Van Riebeeck started a school for their children. When the slaves were finally emancipated under British rule there were some 40,000 of them, but many had already been freed and all would eventually have been so in terms of the regulations under Dutch rule. They mixed with the Hottentots and helped to form the coloured people of to-day. In regard to European admixture, Van Riebeeck imposed strict political and territorial apartheid and forbade private dealings between Europeans and Hottentots. While he frowned upon miscegenation he would not allow promiscuity and illegitimacy. The occasional cases of births from mixed "marriages" were therefore duly recorded in the baptismal registers. A very strong social sanction also developed early and it is safe to say that the European admixture while obvious in individuals is infinitesimally small in the race as a whole. The coloured people have thrived in the main. There are more than a million of them to-day and theirs is no mean achievement to have acquired most of the forms of European culture and languages in the short space of three centuries. It took our European ancestors longer to acquire Roman culture. In Van Riebeeck's time there were Coloured chieftains more or less settled about the Flats. There was Gogosoa, the fat captain in Rondebosch, and Doman lower down the Liesbeek, and as their descendants acquired the ways of civilization they made their contribution to the stability and progress of the country. There is every reason and inducement for the coloured people to join in acclaiming the foundation by which we have given them in generous measure a share in the heritage and tradition of Western civilization. Visit South Africa's Premier Genealogy Web Sites www.ancestry.mweb.co.za and www.familytree.co.za Join the Cape Town Family History Society www.ancestors.co.za/society/socweb.htm

SOME EARLY VISITORS TO RONDEBOSCH AND THEIR IMPRESSIONS For more than 300 years-even before the Free Burghers settled on the banks of the Liesbeek River-travellers have followed one route from the Castle to Rondebosch. In his book "Old Cape Highways", Dr. Mossop has established that "it is now beyond doubt that when we travel the Main Road to the suburbs by Sir Lowry Road, Observatory and Rosebank, we are-as far as the hillock at Rondebosch, now dominated by the Church of St. Paul-upon the very waggon road of Van Riebeeck's wood-cutters". Along this road have come through the centuries a vast multitude of people. In this article I have selected a few of the more famous of this multitude who have fortunately left behind them their impressions of Rondebosch and its environs, or whose visits have been recorded. Of necessity only those who visited Rondebosch up till the middle of the 19th Century have been included. These visitors came for a variety of reasons and made a variety of observations. It was the age when the traveller frequently put down his observations in book form, and we are fortunate that many of the impressions of these early travellers have been recorded in books which have become classics of our Africana. From the fascinating pages of their books it would seem that the majority of visitors journeyed to see the Company's Gardens at Rondebosch and Newlands. The village is barely mentioned before 1811, and the official visits of inspection were to see the conditions under which the Free Burghers were farming. It was for this purpose that Commissioner Rykiof Van Goens, Governor-General of Batavia, visited the settlement on the Liesbeek in March 1657. He improved the conditions and made provision for one of the settlers to be a burgher councillor. Nine years later, in December 1666, the Admiral of the French Fleet, Monsieur de Monde Vergne, was one of the first of a long succession of visitors who were entertained at Rustenburg, the Company's Country House at Rondebosch in the Gardens. He is said to have referred to it as being "well-built and very sumptuously furnished". The German, Peter Kolbe(n) who had been sent to the Cape to make astronomical observations, and who remained there from 1705 till 1713, has left a quaint description of the gardens at Rondebosch which deserves to be quoted in full. "Several beautiful country seats, vineyards and gardens are to be seen on almost every side of the Table-hill. The Company has here two very spacious, rich and beautiful Gardens. In one of 'em stands, erected at the Company's Expence, a noble Pleasure-House for the Governour, and near it a beautiful Grove of Oaks, called the Round-Bush from which this Garden takes its Name, being called the Round-Bush garden. The other Garden which is at some distance from this is called Newland because but lately planted. Both these gardens are finely watered by the Springs on the Table-Hill and the Company draws from 'em a very considerable Revenue. "Between these Gardens and contiguous to the foremention'd Stable, lies a lovely estate, called on Account of its Fertility, Bread and Wine. Between those Gardens likewise stands Lonwens famous Brew-house, erected by Jacob Lonwen who together with his family was transported to the Cape, at the Company's expence, for this very purpose." Some thirty years later another German, Otto Mentzel arrived and left a justly famous description of the Cape of Good Hope. Of the Company's gardens on the other side of the Devils Berg he says: "The first of these is about two hours or one German mile distant from the town, and is named the 'Ronde Boschje' from a circular plantation of young oak trees in the neighbourhood. My own opinion is that the garden has obtained this name from its own somewhat round appearance, for owing to the action of the South-East wind the branches of all fruit trees standing on the boundary lean towards the passerby. Within this garden there is a summer house of modest designe for the pleasure of the Governor and other prominent persons." Mentzel was extremely impressed by the success of the pomegranate which grew in the gardens, and has some pleasant remarks to make about the climate. "These gardens are watered by a stream, that flows from the Table Mountain and enters the Salt River. They are more attractive than the one in the town because they provide a finer view, and purer air. The neighbouring mountains cast cooling shadows and the frequent cloud coverings on top mitigate the heat of the sun. The prevailing summer winds are not so vehement nor so sudden in their onslaught as in the town." In 1769 Rear-Admiral John Splinter Stavorinus, who was in the service of the States-General of Holland, visited the Cape on his way to the Far East. He described the gardens "on the acclivity of the Devils Mountain, one of which is called Newland, and the other Het Ronde Bosch (The Round Grove)". He found both "adorned with shady walks and planted with a great number of fruit trees". At Newlands he was greatly impressed by an apricot tree "which was so large and had spread its branches so wide that more than twenty men could be sheltered under them, and it produced very good fruit at the same time". Stavorinus was almost alone among the visitors in remarking that "it is a great pity that these pleasant country seats are so subject to the violent attacks of the furious south-east winds which continually sweep down the mountain". Other travellers remark how comparatively sheltered this area appeared. About the same time Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, the famous French author of Paul et Virginie visited Cape Town, and mentioned that although the price of board and lodging was very high, one could always spend some days at his landlord's country house at "Driekoppjes or Rondebosch" without extra expense. It seems that some of the ordinary citizens of Cape Town already had country seats at Rondebósch. In 1772 the famous Swedish professor of Physics at Stockholm University, Andrew Sparrman, visited the Cape and stayed for some time at Alphen. He found a rare animal vivera putorius (probably a kind of genet) at "Mr Dreijer's farm at Rondebosch, situated nearer to the Cape than Alphen". Even old Rondebosch residents will no doubt be surprised to hear that in one of his "excursions between Alphen and Rondebosch near a marshy place in a dale", Sparrman came upon an animal with which he was totally unacquainted and realised that it was a hippopotamus or sea-cow, which had probably strayed from Zeekoe Vlei. Sparrman's Swedish colleague, Charles Peter Thnnberg, Professor of Botany at Upsala University, visited the Cape at about the same time, and as a botanist his impressions were largely related to plants and fruits. He refers to Rondebosch which he visited on the 30th June 1772, as "a villa belonging to the Governor", and says: "On this Eastern side, along Table Mountain, the South East wind does not blow so hard as at the Cape, for which reason both trees and shrubs grow here. Among other trees the pine (pinus sylvestris) was conspicuous by its elegant crown. Wild vines made a distinguished figure at this time with their red berries which resembled cherries and were eatable". Thunberg again visited Rondebosch in 1774 and remarks that the Governor has country houses at Rondebosch and Newlands "to which he may retire at pleasure, and unbend his mind when oppressed with the cares of state". On the 15th September 1795, Rondebosch received two famous visitors when the Cape was surrendered to General Craig and Admiral Elphinstone at Rustenburg. During the first British Occupation we have a description of Rustenburg by the famous Lady Anne Barnard. "At Rondebosch," she remarks, "is the pleasantest country house belonging to Government, four miles distance from the Cape." In one of her letters she writes: "All is sweet you know that grows in the neighbourhood of Constantia and Rondebosch." Also during the first British Occupation Robert Semple in his delightful book "Walks and Sketches at the Cape of Good Hope" describes a visit through Rondebosch to the Brewery of Mr. van Reenen. "A mile from Cape Town we passed the lines, a range of redoubts and blockhouses . . . Having passed the lines the road winds further to the right and in about half an hour brought us through an avenue of trees to Rondybosch the seat of the Lieutenant-Governor of the Cape. A little beyond Rondybosch we ascended a small rising ground towards the right and eontinuing to approach still nearer the hills, arrived at the Brewery, the estate of D. van Reenen, as well known and as famous at the Cape as that of Constantia; and here we stopped to take some refreshment. The house of Mr van Reenen though not yet compleated, is by far the most elegant of any building public or private in the whole colony. It was planned by Thibault a French engineer." Ten years later, in December 1811, the great English naturalist William Burcheil visited Rondebosch and left us a most charming description. "Rondebosch (Round-wood) is an assemblage of villas and gardens, distributed along the first part of the road; and here many of the inhabitants of Cape Town have their country seats. A little farther on, we crossed the Liesbeecks river, a plentiful streamlet, at a place called Westervoort Bridge. Hereabouts the country becomes exceedingly beautiful, every where shaded with groves, and large trees of luxuriant growth, between which are interspersed vineyards, gardens, and many handsome buildings. Turning to the right or westward out of the Wynberg road, we followed another equally broad and good, and delightfully shaded by large oaks. This led us by Nieuwlands (Newlands) at that time the seat of General Grey; but which has since become the official country residence of the Governor. Near this place is a beautiful spot called the Brewery where in the midst groves and plantations stands an elegant mansion built after the designs of Mons. Thibault, the government architect and surveyor." Rondebosch residents will perceive a familiar note when Burchell mentions that at Roodebloem "we felt the symptoms of an approaching hot day; but at Rondebosch, owing perhaps to a cool and more open situation, the thermometer fell to 73". Some years later, in 1838, Rondebosch began to assume its present character. Charles Bunbury, foreign secretary of the geological society, describes a drive to Muizenberg. "Our way," he writes, "lay at first along the foot of the Devils Mountain, and skirting the flats past the pretty little village of Rondebosch; in this part, the broad level road, bordered by high hedges, and shaded by oak or fir trees, the neat cottages and gardens by the wayside and the public houses with English names on their signs, put me much in view of my own country." A curious visit was paid to Rondebosch by Andrew Geddes Bain the great road engineer; when in search of coal he put down a borehole on the "Rondebosch Flats to test the lignite found there". A frequent visitor in the middle of the nineteenth century was Thomas Bowler, the artist who gave drawing lessons at "Bishops". Three of the pictures of Rondebosch subjects he painted at this time are illustrated in this booklet. Rondebosch has come a long way through the centuries from the days when Van Riebeeck settled the Free Burghers on the banks of the Liesbeek. It has not, however, lost the early charm and individuality which made such an appeal to these early travellers. More still to come kind regards Heather Visit South Africa's Premier Genealogy Web Sites www.ancestry.mweb.co.za and www.familytree.co.za Join the Cape Town Family History Society www.ancestors.co.za/society/socweb.htm

THE OLD ESTATES OF RONDEBOSCH AND DISTRICT The story of the development of Cape Town's southern suburbs does not differ greatly from that of any other expanding metropolis-large estates and farms gradually being subdivided for smaller gentlemen's country houses and finally for suburban dwellings and housing estates as the pressure of nineteenth and twentieth century population increases the value of land. Rondebosch of course was fortunate in having a millionaire landowner in the person of Cecil Rhodes who foresaw the advent of the "octopus" in the 1890's and secured so many acres of our mountain-side as an open space for all time. Yet however much the valley of the Liesbeek has been built over and cut through by roads and the railway, the limits of the original estates or grants can still be traced with little difficulty and for purposes of identification still appear on the surveyors' official maps. In another article the granting of land to the first nine Free Burghers in 1657 has been described-Stephen Botma's party choosing the Hollandsche Thuin on the west or mountain side of the Liesbeek River and Harman Remajenne and his followers selecting the Groenevelt on the east or Cape Flats side. Much as we should like here to link the exact location of these pioneer settlements with the lasting grants, this is beyond our scope though reference may be made to Prof. Eric Walker's Historical Atlas of South Africa. From 1658 onwards the area from Mowbray to Newlands, bounded by the Zwart Rivier on the east, was gradually covered by some twenty grants, including the farms of Groote Schuur and Rustenburg, government owned from the earliest times. Van Riebeeck tells us that corn was first grown experimentally outside the Company's Garden at Koornhoop in 1657, with scant success, and that the neighbourhood of the Great Barn was then tried. Van Riebeeck's own farm was further on at Boschheuvel, now Bishops Court. By the early years of the nineteenth century most of the estates known to-day had assumed their lasting boundaries along the Simonstown road and it must have been a pleasant journey to drive through Rondebosch with its high hedges, its rich farm-lands and the occasional homesteads and villas nestling among the trees, each with its attendant white cottages for the "Volk". To-day it is the Main Road and the railway line which most effectively divide Rondebosch and district from north to south. It was the natural curling line of the Liesbeek however which formed the boundary of most of the early estates in that part, even though the road followed much the same route as it does now. Where hereafter modern street names are mentioned in tracing boundaries, it should be understood that this is no implication that they were contemporary. In many cases they are the results of estate boundaries. WEST OF THE LIESBEEK. If we imagine ourselves coming from Cape Town then, the first estate which we shall pass on our right, stretching up the slopes of the Mountain, is Welgelegen. In its 18th century heyday this must have been one of the largest farms in the district, its north-eastern corner being near the junction of Durham Avenue with the Main Road at Observatory. Its southern boundary cuts through the present University ground above Lover's Walk at the corner of Woolsack Road. Westward it ran almost up to the King's Block House. Originally Van Reenen property-it was granted to Gysbert van Reenen in 1803-it passed to the Mosterts in the 1830's. About 1895, Rhodes bought it for his friend John Blades Currey who had been so good to him in his Kimberley days, and it subsequently became part of the Groote Schuur Estate. The old homestead was replaced by a Baker house long since, but the windmill, known as Mostert's Mill, built in the late 18th century, is now a national monument. Adjoining Welgelegen on the south and south-east was Zorgvliet of which nothing remains to remind us-not even a street name. This farm belonged to the Eksteen family and starting at Rhodes Avenue covered the area occupied lately by the lower Rosebank Showground and the S.A. College of Music (formerly Strubenheim). Running down to the Liesbeek it included most of the land of the present Vaccine Station, where there used to be a small lake under the railway line, while up the mountain side and along the boundary of Rustenburg, a peculiar tongue of land, much of the way only 300 feet wide, protruded for over half-a-mile. The original Zorgvliet homestead was in the neighbourhood of the Woolsack just below Rhodes Drive. The ancient farm of Rustenburg, residence of Governors till 1791, is dealt with in detail elsewhere and we need not discuss its history here. It extended up from the Liesbeek to embrace most of the University site and the Grotto. On the Main Road its northerly and southerly boundaries can be told from the position of Nursery Road and Highstead Road. Rustenberg House, now the Frank Joubert Art Centre, is a national monument. The historic Groote Schuur comes next. This again is receiving individual attention elsewhere and we shall only note what is essential to our purpose. A government farm from Van Riebeeck's day, it was sold to H. C. Herhold in 1791 and later to the fiscal, Willem van Ryneveld. In 1828, the judge Sir William Westbrooke Burton bought the small south-east portion called Onderschuur which he renamed Westbrooke; but five years later Abraham de Smidt the elder, who had bought Groote Schuur in 1829, repurchased it and restored the estate's earlier boundaries. These are marked to-day by Highstead Road, Church Street and the Main Road as far as the stream which runs between Groote Schuur and Klein Schuur'. Up the Mountain the boundary roughly followed this stream, veering northwards above Rustenburg until reaching the limits of Zorgvliet. When the elder De Smidt died, his son Abraham inherited Groote Schuur and his son William inherited Westbrooke. In 1878 Abraham, the younger, sold the estate but kept the narrow strip of Highstead, lying between Highstead Road and Glen Walk, while in 1886 William sold Westbrooke to G. Pigott Moodie, donor of the Rondebosch Fountain. Rhodes bought the property in 1893 and began the process of buying up the neighbouring lands until the Groote Schuur Estate comprised one great park on the slopes of Table Mountain from Rondebosch to Observatory-a precious inheritance for the people of the Cape. Klein Schuur early became a separate property and is one of the few estates with limits almost unaltered in spite of its being annexed to Groote Schuur. The stream on its northern boundary has been mentioned, while Klipper Road encloses it on the south side. Its highest point is a little above Rhodes Drive. Until a few years ago one could stand at its lower gate on the main road and look up the pleasant quarter-mile of farm land to the old homestead as it was a century or more ago, but to-day a pseudo-Cape Dutch house has been ruthlessly interposed. Through most of the 19th century the Logies occupied Klein Schuur, Alexander Logie du Toit, an adopted son, being the father of the eminent geologist of the same name. Above and to the south-west of Klein Schuur lay Mount Pleasant, which name dates from the early years of the second British occupation. The battlemented Victorian mansion in New- lands Avenue stands right at the bottom of a large estate which stretched from there nearly a mile up the mountain-side, bounded by Groote Schuur to the north and Papenboom to the south along the stream which flows so turbulently under Newlands Avenue in winter, a few yards beyond the present house. This house was formerly the official residence of the Imperial German Consul-General, the small portion of the original estate which still bears the name having been sold to the German Empire. The old homestead, which fell into ruin, stood near the farm buildings at the corner of the road to Rhodes Memorial some 800 yards up. In 1807 Lourens Cloete owned the estate while in the 1830's it belonged to J. J. Cruywagen. Below Mount Pleasant and bounded by Klipper Road, the Main Road, the Liesbeek and Anneberg Road, to below Montebello was Westervoort (Westerford). In the first part of the 19th century this belonged to the Cloetes and already by the 1830's the division into Groot and Klein Westervoort had taken place down the stream which used to flow down Alfred Street before being piped recently. The unofficial anglicisation of the name seems to have taken place early and is from sound rather than sense. The old Great Westerford after lying derelict for several years was pulled down to make way for the new Southern Life Building, while Klein Westerford is now Westerford High School. To the south of both Mount Pleasant and Westervoort lies Papenboom, also known as the Brouwery, for it was here that Cape beer was first brewed in 1696, the estate of 30 morgen being officially granted to Rugert Mensink for that purpose. Mensink died in 1700 but his widow and his son, who married Adam Tas's sister, carried on until forced to sell out in 1716 to Rudolph Steenbok. The estate changed hands again in 1725 and frequently through the century until Dirk Gysbert van Reenen, a son of the Welgelegen family, inherited it from his father-in-law Johann Hurter. Beer continued to be produced there for the Company until 1795 and privately thereafter, but the proprietor was not necessarily the brewer. The earliest brewery buildings are believed to have been the old Cannon Brewery above Newlands House. Papenboom was bounded on the north by Westervoort and Mount Pleasant and on the south, below Newlands Avenue, by the stream that runs between Palmboom and Kildare Roads. Above the Avenue the boundary ran southwards as far as the top of the present Ravensberg Avenue and then up the Mountain to embrace a large part of the present forest area, including the Newlands Reservoir. Dirk Gysbert van Reenen, a man of consequence and well known for his journey with Governor Janssens to meet Chief Gaika at the Kat River in 1903, commissioned the great architect Thibault to build him a beautiful house off Newlands Avenue in the neighbourhood of the present Foresters Arms. By great misfortune this fine house was later burnt down and the present house of the name bears no relation to it. As the result of the abolition of monopolies after the second British occupation, Van Reenen suffered serious material loss and was forced to sell a portion of his estate. He died in 1825 and his son Daniel inherited. By the 1840's Papenboom had passed to Rudolph Cloete. The fine water of Newlands Spring which rises close by, encouraged the continuance of brewing and the now disused Anneberg Brewery (1883) was Anders Ohisson's headquarters before he moved to the Mariendahi site in 1900. Ohisson also lived at Montebello, later the home of Sir Max Michaelis and now the site of the new S.A. College School. Newlands-originally Nieuwland, and laid out by W. A. van der Stel in 1 700-has the most aristocratic connections of any of our estates after Groote Schuur. Governor Rijk van Tulbagh built the house in 1771 and it remained a country residence for Governors for the next twenty years, famed for the beauty of its gardens. In 1791 however it was sold to Hendrik Vos. British Governors used it after 1806 and Cradock much improved the house. In 1819 however the roof fell in during a storm and Lord Charles Somerset rebuilt it at enormous expense, only to see it sold for a mere £3,000 in an economy drive. From 1830 to 1850 it belonged to J. J. Cruywagen who also owned Mount Pleasant. Until a considerable sale of land in 1852, the limits of the estate lay between Newlands Avenue and the Liesbeek and between Papenboom and the stream that runs between Hiddingh Avenue and Paradise Road. In 1859 Dr. Jonas Hiddingh, son of Judge Willem Hiddingh, bought the estate and it remained in the family for many years though leased to the Cape Governors after Dr. Jonas's death as his nephew and heir, Michiel Hiddingh, preferred to live in the Red House. As a hospital during World War I, it fell into disrepair but thanks to the artist Gwelo Goodman who leased it in 1920, it was restored to its former glory. In 1929 Goodman left to move into the old Cannon Brewery across the road, which he had bought and converted into a magnificent artist's residence. Beyond Newlands to the south lie Boshof, Fernwood and Paradijs (Paradise) an old Company's farm, granted to W. ten Damme as early as 1706 and belonging to the Van Bredas in the 19th century. The Barnards, Andrew and Lady Anne, had a country retreat here from 1798 to 1802. Van Riebeeck's farm Boschheuvel, renamed Protea by a later owner, H. C. D. Maynier, and now Bishopscourt, lies in the valley beyond. More to follow............. kind regards Heather Visit South Africa's Premier Genealogy Web Sites www.ancestry.mweb.co.za and www.familytree.co.za Join the Cape Town Family History Society www.ancestors.co.za/society/socweb.htm

Evening All Sorry about the delay on the next episode but here we go..................... EAST OF THE LIESBEEK We could go on further through Claremont but must return to take notice of the eastern, or Cape Flats side of the road and the Liesbeek as we approach from Cape Town. Passing by Koornhoop, scene of the first effort to grow corn outside the Company's Garden, we have Molenvliet between us and the river, while beyond lies Vredenburg bounded by Durban and Liesbeek Roads with the Camp Ground as its eastern limit. At the turn of the century Vredenburg was Julius Jeppe's Cape Town house. Rygersdal, believed to have been granted to F. Gerrits as early as 1660, stretched between the river and the Camp Ground from Liesbeek Road to the private road serving the Government laboratories and St. Joseph's School. In 1807 it belonged to H. de Vos and in 1817 to W. D. Jennings. In the 1830's it was split up into several well-known properties, notably Rosebank House, the home of the Hon. C. S. Pillans, Charlies Hope, owned by Mr. Joseph Sturgis, and Erinville, by Mr. W. G. Anderson of the firm of Anderson & Munson. In 1834 Charlies Hope was let to Sir Harry Smith, then Officer Commanding, and his fascinating wife Juanita; but in 1840 the Rev. John L. Fry, second Rector of Rondebosch, came to live there and was granted the whole of the Camp Ground as his glebe. In those days this extended down to Strathallan Road off Park Road and round to Sandown Park, hence the Glebe Road in this neighbourhood. From 1897 until the end of World War lit was under Imperial military ownership, whereafter it reverted to the Union Defence Department. It was finally sold along with part of the adjoining Erinville to the Cape School Board for the expanding Rustenburg Girls' High School whose new buildings there were occupied in 1932. Erinville, or Erin-go-Bragh, as Mr. Anderson originally had it, was later also military property and the residence of the Officer Commanding. The house was burnt out during the first World War and never rebuilt. The part on the Camp Ground is now Rustenburg School while that further west is occupied by government laboratories. Adjoining Rygersdal is the old estate of Ekelenburg, now spelled Ecklenberg, of which but a small surviving portion at the corner of Belmont and Erin Roads still bears the name. This grant was made to Jacob Cloete in 1658 and extended as far as College Road southwards and from the Liesbeek to the Camp Ground. Later it actually crossed the river towards the Main Road where Rosendal used to stand. In the mid- 18th century Ds. Franciscus Le Sueur held the estate, while from 1810 the Hon. Hendrik Cloete owned it for many years. The homestead, like so many others in those days, was burnt down in the 1850's. In 1835 Cloete sold a good portion of the estate to John Bardwell Ebden (d. 1875), celebrated Cape man of business, who built a new house Belmont, upon it. He was succeeded by his sons Charles H. and the Hon. Alfred Ebden. After the death of the latter in 1908 it was bought by a syndicate which in turn sold it to the Marist Brothers in 1917 for a new school, St Joseph's. Crossing now to the Camp Ground Road, we must notice Bonair which, while not ancient, did in 1845 stretch from Barkley Road to the Black River between Park and Silwood Roads. Silwood, between Riverton Road and the Black River, includes a grant made to J. C. Mokke in 1797. Across Silwood Road is the Diocesan College, occupying the site of the farm Woodlands. The original grant made to Jan F. Peens in 1791 was only two morgen but later owners added to it by obtaining further grants. By 1831 this larger farm was in the name of William Hawkins, and in 1849 Bishop Gray bought it for his newly founded school which had outgrown accommodation at Protea. East of Bishops lies Lutgensburg, bounded by the Black River, Milner and Sandown Roads. This was granted to J. W. Lutgens in 1799 but was divided in 1828. The name survives in the Lutgens Vale Township. Returning to the Liesbeek area, we come next to Roodenburg, later Myrtle Grove, lying between College and Rouwkoop Roads. On some maps the old estate is shown extending across the river to the main road where Liesbeek House used to be, though this area is more naturally a part of Groote Schuur. Already named Myrtle Grove in 1807, when it belonged to a Mr. Hopley, it passed to William Hawkins before he acquired Woodlands and then in the 1830's it came into the Home family. To-day Myrtle and Grove Roads remind us of its name. Rouwkoop, another ancient grant, was given in 1660 to none other than Harman Remajenne, the leader of Harman's Colony of Free Burghers in 1657. It is interesting to note that the name Rouwkoop means money paid to buy one's release from a contract. The old homestead, partly burnt and not likely to survive long, was till recently a private hotel. The estate lay between Rouwkoop Road on the north and Dulwich Road and Dundee Terrace (Vale Road) on the south. The Liesbeek is again the natural boundary but a small piece of land was at one time added on the west bank. Further east and on the other side of Sandown Park lies the large wedge-shaped estate of Weltevreden. Bounded on the north by Sandown Road and on the south by Avenue de Mist, it extends as far as the Mayfield Estate. The original house, residence of Sir John Truter, chief justice 1812-1827, stood a few hundred yards down the present Weltevreden Avenue for which it was demolished to make way. After the Truters, the estate belonged to the Savage family, the Duncans of Juta's and through marriage to the Homes family. Canigou, originally Welkom, takes its name from a peak in the Pyrenees. Granted to F. S. V. Le Sueur in 1818 it soon afterwards became the property of General Sir John Bell whose son Charles Davidson Bell, the surveyor and artist, lived there until about 1873. In 1900 the Rondebosch Boys' High School bought it from Mr. G. T. B. Twycross. The old house was used as a boarding house for many years, but though now rebuilt the name still survives, while another old house on the estate, Oakhurst, has given its name to a girls' school founded just fifty years ago. The original compass of Canigou was from the boundary of Weltevreden down to Keurboom Road but including a little less than half of the present Keurboom Park. Sunnybrae Estate was originally part of it, being bought by the Duncans after the sale of Weltevreden in the 1880's. Keurboom, granted to I. A. van Schoor in 1807, extended from Keurboom Road to St. Leger and St. Michaels Roads while eastwards it stopped just beyond Columbus Road. On Palmyra Road it bordered on Questenburg later called Mariendahi. That Jan Stegmann was owner in the 1840's accounts for Stegmann Road, leading to the estate from Claremont. The old house is still there shut in by newer dwellings on Keurboom and Palmyra Roads. The area between Palmyra Road and the Liesbeek is covered by two estates. The first Moeders Bewys must have originally been part of Questenburg which lies to its south. It can be defined however as bounded by the railway line, Dundee Terrace, Pinewood Road, Camp Ground and Palmyra Roads; and the fence between Kelvin Grove Club and Newlands Cricket Ground. It was originally the property of the Dreyer family, Hendrik C. Dreyer living there in 1848. About 1870 James Brodie bought the area which he nostalgicly named Kelvin Grove. Mariendahi, formerly Questenburg and Louwvliet, was the properyt of the Hon. Jacob Letterstedt for many years after 1845. He established a brewery on his estate but was one of the several who sold out to the all-powerful Anders Ohlsson who established his principal factory at Mariendthl in 1900. The Western Province Cricket Club ground was opened in 1888 and the Rugby ground in 1890. The boundaries are most complicated but may be traced by following the Liesbeek, Dulwich Road, the railway, the northern fence of the cricket ground, Palmyra Road, Stegmann Road, Vineyard Road to Corwen Street and thence a line to the top of Sans Souci Road and down that road to the river. Adjoining Mariendahl on the south-west is Sans Souci. This small estate was in the 1830's the country residence of the Hon. Hamilton Ross, though of much earlier origin. Having a common boundary with Mariendahl from Vineyard Road to the bridge over the river in Sans Souci Road, on the south-west it reaches to Kildare Road and then shares a boundary with the Vineyard Estate. The Vineyard is a narrow strip between the river and Protea and Collington Roads. The original house has been much altered for the present-day hotel but the Andrew Barnards lived there for a time in 1800. Beyond Sans Souci and the Vineyard we come to Veld Huijzen, one of the oldest estates being first granted in 1660. When Sir John Herschel, Bt., the astronomer, made his stay at the Cape from 1834 to 1838, he bought this property, renaming it Feldhausen. The name was later changed to The Grove and it is now a private hotel at the end of Grove Avenue, Claremont. The obelisk commemorating Herschel's observations stands near by at the foot of Obelisk Road. Before concluding, mention must be made of the Albion Mill Estate which lies between the Main Road and the Liesbeek from Westerford Bridge to Schweppes' factory. The Albion Mill was situated where the mineral water factory is now making valuable use of the clear waters of the famed Albion Spring which rises there. Another water mill, derelict these many years, is in Boundary Road opposite the Brewery. This was Letterstedt's or Josephine's Mill, being named after Jacob Letterstedt's daughter. This article cannot claim to be more than an introduction to a very considerable but fascinating subject and it will have achieved its aim if it has explained something of the origins and circumstances of Rondebosch topography in relation to the men who helped the natural features to form it, and has also shown where to begin further research into the estates and properties of old Rondebosch. kiind regards Heather Site Co-ordinator for: www.ancestry.mweb.co.za www.familytree.co.za coming any day now www.stamboom.co.za coming soon Visit South Africa's Premier Genealogy Web Sites www.ancestry.mweb.co.za and www.familytree.co.za Join the Cape Town Family History Society www.ancestors.co.za/society/socweb.htm

More History on Rondebosch THE HISTORY OF "DE GROOTE SCHUUR" In the month of September 1902 there appeared in the pages of the now defunct "Owl" a reprint of an historic instrument. It was the famous Last Will and Testament of that large- hearted statesman, the Right Hon. Cecil John Rhodes. Clause 13 and Condition III thereof, dealing with the landed property of the Testator, are of such extraordinary interest as to be worthy of reproduction:- "13. I give my property following, that is to say, my residence known as 'De Groote Schuur' situate near Mowbray in the Cape Division in the said Colony, together with all furniture, plate and other articles contained therein at the time of my death and all other land belonging to me situated under Table Mountain, including my property known as 'Mosterts' to my Trustees hereinbefore named upon and subject to the conditions following, that is to say:- "III. The said residence and its gardens and grounds shall be retained for a residence for the Prime Minister for the time being of the said Federal Government of the States of South Africa to which I have referred in Clause 6 hereof, my intention being to provide a suitable official residence for the First Minister in that Government befitting the dignity of his position, and until there shall be such a Federal Government may be used as a Park for the people." Although South Africa was not federated as contemplated by the Testator, yet his Trustees, it may be recalled, in placing "Groote Schuur" at the disposal of the Union Government as a residence for the Prime Minister, based their action on the spirit rather than on the mere letter of the condition in the Will. Many thousands of visitors, both South African and from overseas, have for years past spent hours of delight in roaming over the delightful grounds of "De Groote Schuur", so generously placed at their disposal. They have admired the unrivalled view of the mountain- or lingered with feelings of pleasure near the paddocks watching the interesting occupants of the "Zoo". Amongst this multitude of visitors there must surely be many in whom interest in the history of this beautiful estate must have been awakened-more particularly its early and, if it may so be termed, its intermediate history. The writer, in whose family the property was for some thirty-six years, spent part of his life at "De Groote Schuur". He has made a study of its history and has consented, it must be confessed, with a feeling of diffidence, to commit to paper some account, traditional and otherwise, of the estate, especially with regard to its past ownership. It is to be regretted that many misconceptions would appear to prevail as to the various proprietors-even in quarters where one would naturally expect to meet with strictly accurate details. The name "Schuur" or "de Schuur" is frequently mentioned in that deeply interesting "Journal" of Van Riebeeck. They were granaries or magazines used for the storage of produce. One of the largest of these "Schuuren" is said to have been situated on Van Riebeeck's private property. Its locality is described as being "under the Bosch Heuwel" (the present Bishops Court property at Protea). This may have been the scene of the startling occurrences which the terse and quaintly practical old journal chronicles as follows:- "October, 1661. The Company's agriculturists shot a lion near the 'Schuur'. Three others are still roaming about among the agriculturists and are daily doing damage among the latter's cattle. During the night one robbed an agriculturist of two of his sheep and another shoving open the door of the house, carried off the dog from inside." "De Groote Schuur" estate, situated at De Ronde Doom Boschje (Rondebosch of to-day) was originally the property of the Dutch East India Company. The buildings now forming the stables were then utilized as a storing house or magazine in which were deposited the tithes in kind which all owners of land were bound to deliver to the Company. It is on record that the massive walls forming the quadrangle were at one time furnished with loop holes for the purpose of defence against attacks of the Natives. On the neighbouring estate, "Mount Pleasant", are some ruins, half buried in vegetation, amongst which it is believed may still be seen walls loop- holed, said to be the remains of an old outpost. The dwelling-house of "De Groote Schuur" was at no time otherwise used than as a residence for the Superintendent-in-Chief of the Company's "Schuuren". There were three of the latter at Rondebosch, namely (I) "De Groote Schuur"; (2) "Dc Onder Schuur" (now Westbrooke) and (3) "De Kleine Schuur". They were all originally one property, and it is a curious coincidence that they should again at the present time be reamalgamated, so to speak, to form a Government estate. The last overseer of the property under the Dutch East India Company was named Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr, the ancestor of the Cape branch of that family. He came from Eppenburen in Holland. His first employment was in the Company's Military Service, thereafter, as De Villiers' Geslacht Register informs us, he became "baas van's Compagnie's Post de Schuur". Hofmeyr died there and was interred in a small private cemetery of pathetic interest. The writer well recollects it, some five and thirty years back, as situate in the midst of a poplar thicket (since cleared away). The other graves on the spot were those of former residents on the estate and of slaves; on a few of the headstones traces of inscriptions could, with difficulty, be recognised. Hofmeyr's grave is referred to in the Will as follows :- "The grave of the late Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr upon the said property shall be protected and access be permitted thereto at all reasonable times by any member of the Hofmeyr family for the purpose of inspection or maintenance." The Company, being desirous of replenishing its coffers, had decided upon disposing of De Groote Schuur. It was purchased by a Burgher named Hendrik Christiaan Herhold, for 53,000 guldens (Indian Currency). The deed of grant, in freehold, is dated 21 November 1791, and is signed by the Acting Governor-Johannes Isaac Rhenius. The grant stipulates that the proprietor is not at liberty to fell the trees planted along the wagon road. The road here referred to was the Main Road to Newlands, which in those days passed over the property, between the homesteads of Groote Schuur and Onder Schuur and behind that of De Kleine Schuur, there joining what is now known as Newlands Avenue. It was during Herhold's ownership of the estate that the Kleine Schuur property was separated from it. Traces of the public road over De Groote Schuur it is said, may still be found here and there. Passing cver two intermediate transfers we find one under date 16 November 1802, in favour of Wi' em Stephanus van Ryneveld, who had purchased the estate from J. P. Baumgardt for 50,000 g dens. The new proprietor was a man of note and prominent Civil Servant, having held office L nder the Dutch Government, and also under the English, after the capitulation of the Cape in 1795. He was the Chief Fiscal and Attorney General as well as President of the Court of Justice and of the Orphan Chamber, and member of the Court of Policy under the Dutch Administration. The Deed of Capitulation of the Cape bears his signature as one of the eight Commissioners appointed for that purpose, A treatise on the subject of the improvement of cattle is attributed to Van Ryneveld; it is said to be one of the earliest books published at the Cape. During his ownership of De Groote Schuur many magnificent oaks, firs, poplars, etc., were planted. Indeed, in a memorial to the Government, it is set forth how much he had accomplished in that respect-a man after old Simon van der Stel's own heart, in point of fact! On the 14 August 1812, Van Ryneveld died; the Government Gazette of the period contains an eloquent tribute to his memory and an expression of irreparable loss to the Colony. During his proprietorship of De Groote Schuur he had succeeded in obtaining from the Government an enlargement of his property in the shape of three additional freehold grants of adjacent land. The first of these bears date 2 November 1803, and is signed by Jan Willem Janssens, the last Governor under the Dutch regime, who was destined a couple of years later to suffer disastrous defeat, after an heroic struggle on the plains of Blaauwberg. His caligraphy is a striking one, some of the letters of the signature measuring nearly two inches in height. It is curious that this title deed is not actually made out in favour of Van Ryneveld but in that of the "President of the College of Orphans and Fiscal"-offices held by him at the time. The grant required that the grantee was to plant trees on the land within five years-which obligation, as we have seen, he amply fulfilled. The two remaining grants are dated 26 June 1811, and signed by the English Governor du Pré, Earl of Caledon. It may here be stated that the grant of the adjoining land named Mount Pleasant in favour of Pieter Laurens Cloete, bears even date. Mount Pleasant is said to have been a fine homestead, at which hospitality was dispensed on a lavish scale. Tradition has it that money was buried on the property. The writer still remembers excavations having been pointed out, the work of those who expected to reap a rich harvest but were doomed to disappointment. This house was destroyed by fire and the ruins may still be seen in places; in some parts huge trees have grown up amongst the walls. Solitude reigns supreme, the only living creatures being the birds and ubiquitous squirrels. Remains of the fine orchard may here and there be found in the shape of fig or chestnut, half wild now, or a grape vine, clinging to the moss-grown stem of a poplar. Van Ryneveld had also acquired the place De Kleine Schuur. He was thus a landholder on a fairly extensive scale and had possessed influence enough to induce the Dutch Government Lo free him from the irksome servitude of a thoroughfare over De Groote Schuur. The Government Resolution approving of the cancellation of servitude is dated 4 April 1804. The proprietor relinquished ownership of a piece of ground between Kleine Schuur and Westervoort for the purpose of the alternative route. It is amusing to find, from the rough chart attached to the Resolution, with what care and precision it is pointed out how stony and unsuitable the old road was, whilst the proposed new one is represented as "very good and without a single stone". In 1813 De Groote Schuur and De Onder Schuuren were sold by Van Ryneveld's executrix and purchased by a gentleman named David George Anosi, who got transfer on 19 February that year. De Kleine Schuur was bought by Marthinus Cerf. Transfer is dated 26 February 1813. A subsequent proprietor of the latter, named Alexander Logie du Toit, in whose time the place was planted with splendid vineyards and orchards, carried on a wine-making industry with very fair success, it is said. Serious inaccuracies had been found to exist in regard to the area of De Groote Schuur assigned thereto by the original surveyor. Under a Government Proclamation of 1814 a re-survey was made by Mr. Louis M. Thibault, Inspector of Buildings and Fortifications and Surveyor, better known as the associate and intimate friend of the famous sculptor, Anton Anreith. Thibault framed an amended diagram, setting forth the true area of the property. De Onder (Lower) Schuur, situated immediately below De Groote Schuur, formed part of the latter, and was sold in 1822 to Mr. E. A. Buyskes by Anosi. Buyskes, in turn, sold it in 1831 to Judge Wm. Westbrooke Burton, of the Supreme Court at the Cape who changed the name of the property to Westbrooke. Judge (later Sir William) Burton died in London in 1888, at the ripe age of 94. Mr. Anosi disposed of De Groote Schuur to Mr. Abraham de Smidt, transfer having been effected on 20 January 1832. Mr. de Smidt served in the Government Department of Lands and Woods (altered in 1828 to that of the Surveyor-General), was Secretary to the Land Board and a Member of the Legislative Council. During 1832 he also acquired Westbrooke, purchased from Judge Burton. For many years Westbrooke was utilized by the Colonial Governors as a summer residence, amongst the number being that sturdy warrior, Sir Harry Smith, and Lieutenant-General Hay. Mr. de Smidt had remodelled the homestead of De Groote Schuur in the year 1842, after a serious bush fire which occurred in 1836. He substituted a slate roof for the original thatched one after the walls had been slightly lowered. The estate was greatly improved during Mr. de Smidt's time. The Grahamstown Journal of October 1845 and the Cape Monthly Magazine in 1870 devoted considerable space to a description of its charms. The proprietor is mentioned as taking great pride and pleasure in the upkeep of the place, especially its gardens and trees. He was a musician of some talent and had exercised great taste in the selection of musical clocks of ingenious construction, of which there were several at Groote Schuur. The finest specimen, evidently of French make, consisted of a musical box on which rested an ornate gilded clock, so arranged that as each hour was struck a musical selection was played. The top of the clock formed a platform with an oak tree and trapeze, on which a ballet girl danced on a slack-rope. Grouped on the platform were figures with various musical instruments. The mechanism actuated these puppets so as to move their hands on guitars, cymbals and the like, at the same time moving or nodding their heads in time to the music. This unique ornament is happily in Cape Town to-day, and permission was very kindly accorded the writer to photograph it. Another interesting object was an upright pianoforte of singular pattern, being furnished in its lower part with barrels actuated by clockwork, after the style of a modern musical box, the only manner in which it differed from the latter being that instead of the usual steel notes or "comb" the barrel-pins acted on the pianoforte wires exactly as the hammers from the keyboard did. Mr. de Smidt would frequently, it is said, cause astonishment to such of his audience not in the know. He could play on the keyboard the identical tunes performed by the barrels. Having started a selection he would, after a few bars, lift his hands from the keyboard and set the mechanism going, previously adjusted so as to continue the melody at the point at which it had been interrupted! A large portion of the adjoining estate, named Rustenburg (also originally the property of the East India Company) had also been purchased in 1833 by Mr. de Smidt. This estate was granted in freehold to Mr. Jan Hoets in 1804 and on one portion of it was situated the Belvedere (now known as Mr. Rhodes' summerhouse) practically in ruins at the time the place was merged in De Groote Schuur Estate; and so also was one of the old Dutch seats. The avenues of oaks and firs have gradually been sacrificed in the past for the unromantic yet necessary purpose of fuel. The traditional history of the Belvedere is rather interesting. There, on moonlit nights the folks of a bygone age were wont to meet at picnics and dance parties whilst a stringed band dispensed sweet music from the platform or gallery of the building. The estate Welgelegen, referred to in the Will as Mostert's, was granted in 1803 to Gysbert van Reenen in freehold. It had a fine old homestead, vineyards and orchards and an interesting little walled cemetery. Many of the old features, including a windmill and this cemetery, still remain; indeed a very conspicuous feature in Rhodes' character was the reverent attitude he exhibited at all times towards the resting places of the dead. This is the more striking in these somewhat utilitarian times in which the vandalistic actions of those responsible for the care of the ancient cemeteries of Cape Town have been adversely criticised, and deservedly, too. Welgelegen in time passed to the family of Mostert, from whom it was purchased by Mr. Rhodes. The magnificent memorial, it may be pointed out, is situated on the Welgelegen Estate. But to return to De Groote Schuur proper, Mr. Abraham de Smidt, Snr., died in 1868. Under his Will De Groote Schuur became the property of his nephew, Mr. Abraham de Smidt. W's son (father of the writer). The new proprietor was for some time Surveyor-General of the Cape Colony, and was an artist of great ability. Westbrooke devolved upon the testator's brother, the Hon. W. A. J. de Smidt, M.L.C., who was at one time Under-Colonial Secretary and later High Sheriff. The transfers of both places are dated 21 November 1868. De Groote Schuur was let from 1873 to 1876 as a residence during the summer months for the Governor, Sir Henry Barkly. Finding the responsibility entailed in the efficient maintenance of this large property too burdensome, Mr. de Smidt decided to dispose of it. The work of its sub-division into lots was entrusted to Mr. (later the Rt. Hon.) J. X. Merriman, Government Land Surveyor, in 1878. The sale took place on 9 December, the house lot being purchased by the late Mrs. 3. A. van der Byl, formerly of Fairfield, Caledon. Transfer was passed in the following year. The greater portion of the estate was acquired in lots by different individuals. Mr. A. de Smidt retained a portion, on which he afterwards erected the house Highstead. Mrs. van der Byl altered the name of De Groote Schuur to The Grange. It was at one time occupied by Sir Hercules Robinson, Governor (later Lord Rosmead) during the summer. Mr. Rhodes had leased it in 1891 and later purchased it, transfer being dated 8 September 1893. He gradually acquired the remainder, or at any rate, the greater portion of the lots sold in 1878. He most fittingly restored the ancient name of the property. Westbrooke was sold in 1886 in the estate of the late Mr. W. de Smidt. Both this place and the adjoining De Kleine Schuur afterwards became the property of the late Mr. G. Pigott Moodie, whose son sold them to the Union Government as a site for the Governor-General's residence. The writer now proposes to place before readers some account of De Groote Schuur during the period of his residence there. The homestead, though an imposing and massive-looking edifice, could not by any means be described as an ideal residence. The reception rooms and apartments on the ground floor were commodious and lofty, but the bedrooms on the first floor were almost uninhabitable in summer owing to the stifling heat. This defect was attributable to the injudicious lowering of the walls and substitution of a low-pitched slate roof for the old thatched one. Passing through the hail and traversing a paved courtyard we arrived at a double flight of steps, surrounding a cistern formerly supplied with water from a central jet. These steps gave access to a series of terraces with hedges of dwarf roses, syringa and old fig trees. Two of the first-mentioned trees had ancient bells (said to have been slave bells) suspended from them. The top terrace contained accommodation for poultry in the shape of two substantial buildings furnished with massive conical-topped pillars supporting picturesque green railings. On this terrace, too, were a couple of huge fig trees. Tradition had it that an unhappy slave, weary of servitude, had in bygone days terminated his wretched existence by hanging himself from one of these trees. The writer has a vivid recollection of his youthful terrors when passing this fatal spot after nightfall. This last terrace gave access to an extensive grassy courtyard with a circular fountain in its centre. On the left side of the courtyard was a building styled "the Cottage" (originally the slave quarters). This Cottage was utilized as quarters for the Governor's staff whenever he occupied De Groote Schuur as a summer residence. On the opposite side of the courtyard could be traced the remains of demolished buildings, also former slave quarters. The whole of the back quarters, terraces and courtyard were enclosed within very substantial walls. A quaint relic of former days may be briefly referred to here. This was an antique coach of huge size, formerly the property of Mr. A. de Smidt, Snr. It was provided with steps, folding up inside and at the back was a platform for the accommodation of two footmen. Needless to relate, this vehicle was never utilized during the period under review, but had been relegated to a special shed (literally built around it) and left to the tender mercies of spiders and dust. Occasionally some member of the household or a friend would pay a visit to the shed and braving the cobwebs, curiously scan the deserted relic. It could very fittingly have been compared to one of the mail coaches, so graphically described by Dickens in his chapter "The Story of the Bagman's Uncle" in the immortal Pickwick Papers. The orchards on the property were in those days very extensive. Many of the trees were of huge size, especially the saffron-pear and plum trees. Other fruits that throve well were chestnuts, medlars, guava and loquat. A circular fish pond, having a miniature island in its centre, was a conspicuous object in the old garden. Its walls may yet be traced at the foot of the main hydrangea walk. It was supplied with water from the springs situated in the Glen. Latterly it proved an impossibility to retain the water in the pond owing to the roots of the enormous poplars in the neighbourhood causing cracks in the cement with which it was paved. The main avenue leading to De Groote Schuur was originally entered through massive gatepiers having ancient cannon at their feet. The latter were removed by Mr. A. de Smidt to whom representations had been made that the space between the pillars was too narrow to meet the requirements of the increasing traffic. The two lesser pillars yet remain in situ. The cannon were removed by Mr. de Smidt to his property Highstead where, it is believed, one of them may still be seen lying prone on the roadside just below the dwelling house. The Glen on De Groote Schuur was originally called the Wolve Gat (Wolf Hollow). About the middle of the 19th century a large wolf trap might still have been seen there. This Glen is still a charming spot, but many of its chief charms have passed away. During Mr. A. de Smidt's ownership of the estate the Glen was his especial pride and he took considerable trouble to preserve its natural beauties. Indeed, as the writer recollects the spot, it was a most beautiful dingle, unexcelled for sylvan grandeur. Amongst the oak and poplars were to be found some of the largest and choicest specimens the Colony had produced. The trunks of several of these were moss- and lichen-covered for some distance from the ground, presenting a truly beautiful appearance. In those days the hydrangea plants were not found further up the Glen than the top of the main walk facing the fish pond, at which spot there was a delightful arbour surrounded by ferns growing amid rockwork. How wonderfully the ferns, especially the maiden-hair varieties, flourished in the Glen! This fern was found in rich masses of most luxuriant growth on the steep northern slope, in some spots completely covering the ground like a carpet. Here, too, the Newlands Creeper (of the Asparagus family) twined round the saplings and foliage or about the moss-covered boulders. The arum lily and autholiza also grew in profusion. Many acts of wanton spoliation were wont to be perpetrated here by ruthless trespassers, the pity of it being that the fronds of the ferns quickly withered after removal from the damp ground. This shady dingle was an ideal spot in which to while away a couple of hours on a hot summer's afternoon. The springs located in the head of the Glen constituted the sole water supply of De Groote Schuur as well as of Westbrooke. About Christmas-tide the forest would re-echo with the quaint insistent cry of the "Pietmijn-vrouw", a bird of the cuckoo tribe, whose voice consists of three clear notes in the descending chromatic scale. This bird is very rarely seen, as it has a habit of frequenting the tops of the highest trees; this may account for its ornithological name, cuculus solitarius. The back and outside of the wings are dark brown, the breast and under parts white or light grey. Mention must also be made of another plant which throve in the Glen, and that was the wild vine, also called the monkey-rope (Baviaan touw). The naturalist, Le Vaillant, tells us that the latter name was given to this creeper in consequence of its pendulous stems being utilized by the baboon in order to gain access to the tree-tops to feed on the berries of the plant. In the Glen the rope- like stems were in many specimens nearly one hundred feet in length growing from the highest branches of the enormous trees. In some places the foliage would so densely cover the tree tops as almost to exclude the daylight. One of these "ropes" which hung from a tree about midway down the sloping bank, had been severed and a cross-bar or rough cradle affixed to its end. By means of this it was possible to swing across the Glen-an exhilarating pastime, with just a spice of danger about it. The wild coffee tree, with its dark glossy foliage and crimson-coloured kernels greatly added to the beauty of the scenery. During the severe north-west gales in the winter, havoc would occasionally be wrought in the Glen. Huge trees were uprooted to crash down and spread destruction amongst the vegetation. The fallen tree stems would bridge the hollow. But a more mischievous agent than the wind was soon to appear on the scene and that was the woodman armed with his keen axe! After the sale of the property by Mr. De Smidt the purchasers of the Glen lots caused many of the trees growing on the hill and also in the hollow to be felled or lopped. The result of this vandalistic treatment was disastrous as far as the sylvan beauty of the Glen was concerned. The wild vine disappeared for ever. The only plant that profited by the change was the prolific and unlovely poplar scrub, which rapidly sprang up in those places formerly denied to it by reason of the shade. The ousting of the ferns was speedily effected. The recent extensive planting of hydrangea within the Glen area was well planned. For a certain portion of the year at least the "azure glory" of their blooms beautifies the place, compensating in great measure for the loss of its former natural charms. The homestead, as originally rebuilt by Mr. Rhodes, the design of which was adopted to match the old house of 1825, was destroyed in a disastrous and mysterious fire on 15 December 1896, but most fortunately the richest contents of the house were preserved. Though deeply grieved at his loss, the owner's characteristic stoicism did not desert him. Without delay the restoration of the ruined portion was put in hand and completed in 1899. The original scheme of design was preserved, but as a precautionary measure a tiled roof was substituted for the former thatched one. The tiles were specially selected so as, from a distance, to resemble thatch as much as possible. Thus, phoenix-like, arose from the ashes a perfected dwelling, with the appearance of which most of us are by this time familiar. In conclusion let us realise how fortunate it is that this magnificent estate did not fall into the hands of the land-jobber or jerry-builder as unhappily has been the fate of many another fine property in the Cape Peninsula. The consequences of such a fate would have been too lamentable to contemplate. kind regards Heather Visit South Africa's Premier Genealogy Web Sites www.ancestry.mweb.co.za and www.familytree.co.za Join the Cape Town Family History Society www.ancestors.co.za/society/socweb.htm