Trails

The centenary of any school is always cause for much celebration and, indeed, reflection regarding the particular journey of that institution. Clifton School will be celebrating its centenary in 2024 and, already, exciting plans are afoot to prepare for its ‘coming of age’.

American author, Steve Berry, asserts that “A concerted effort to preserve our heritage is a vital link to our cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational and economic legacies – all of the things that quite literally make us who we are.” It is in this spirt that Clifton approaches its history and heritage.

Clifton was founded as a boys-only preparatory school in 1924 by Harry Stubbs, who was the then recently retired headmaster of Durban Preparatory High School. Still full of vim and verve at 60, Harry decided to open, in his own home in Lambert Road, a primary school that would act as a feeder primarily to Hilton College and, later it seems, to Michaelhouse. To ‘prepare’ the boys, if you will, for the rigours of these venerable institutions of education. The school was named after the eponymous school of that name in Bristol, as well as in memoriam of a deceased nephew. The ‘Prep’ grew rapidly after World War II and quickly became firmly established in the Durban suburb of Morningside. In 2001, the Board of Trustees took the bold decision to expand into a high school and, in 2002, 16 Grade Eight boys formed the nucleus of the new College.

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The weekend of the 24/25 June 2017 saw the launch of the Jozi Walks initiative of the Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA). Individuals, community organizations, tourism companies and NGOs joined hands in offering a series of free and innovative walks through Johannesburg, north, south, east and west. It was exciting, fun and  showed off Jozi at its best over a two day celebration of the Jane Jacobs walk my city philosophy.  

60 people joined Brett McDougall and Kathy Munro of The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation (JHF) on a Sunday afternoon for a three hour guided walk through the eastern Joburg suburbs of Orchards, Maryvale, Sydenham and Orange Grove. The theme was 'Louis Botha Corridor of Creativity'.

The walk started at the Orchards Project at 6 Pine Road where we launched Jozi Walks and told our guests about the JHF. Everyone was armed with a map. Roger Chadwick of the Orchards Project spoke about the opportunities for public street art in the neighbourhood with the walls along Louis Road and the Spark Gallery turning creative graffiti into an art form. Our first stop was at the 1946 communal hall of the North Eastern congregation of the Jewish Community, the forerunner of the Pine Street shul; today it is the 24 Carrots building and has passed on to new uses and hands but the façade of golden, facebricks and the style of the 40s’ with contemporary street art enhancing the frontage is worth close inspection. This was the moment for a group photograph.

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Fifty years after van Riebeeck landed at the Cape, the Tygerburg hills were occupied by loan farms. Within these farms was an outspan with a good strong spring of sweet water that became an important stopping place on the road to the north.

This stopping place became known as Pampoenkraal (Pumpkin Patch) and a village was laid out in 1806. On the 2nd September 1836 it was renamed D’Urban in honour of the Governor of the Cape from 1836 to 1838, Sir Benjamin D’Urban. Unfortunately the following year, Port Natal changed its name to Durban. This caused some confusion, such as that carrying on today with towns having similar names like Ladismith (Western Cape) and Ladysmith (KZN). To avoid this, the name was changed to Durbanville in 1886.

Up until the mid-19th century D’Urban was a farming centre with a church, school and no doubt a trading store. Prosperity arrived with the founding of King Brothers Wagon Works. These works expanded to take up half a block, extending from Church Street and running between Durban and Gladstone roads up to the carpark between Durban Road and Scher Street. It was said by some to be the greatest wagon works in South Africa and at its height employed 80 people. The business closed before the First World War.

A wagon business needs a blacksmiths and Baxter Brothers started their establishment around the same time. Their works were situated where the Caltex fuel station is at the corner of Wellington Road and...

It is believed that the first VOC explorer, Abraham Gabbena, first stepped into the area approximately 5 years after Jan van Riebeeck had established his re-provisioning station. Apparently he was dazzled by the shimmering morning light emanating from the wet granite rocks in the area. He named them “Peerl” and “Diamandt”. The Khoe referred to these huge outcrops as “Tortoise Mountains”. 

The Het Gesticht Museum at Number 112, Main Street, Paarl was where a contingent of members and friends of the Durbanville Heritage Society met our Tour Guide, Hybre Van Niekerk, on 17th October 2015. 

The Het Gesticht Museum at Number 112, Main Street, Paarl (Durbanville Heritage Society)

The Museum, set back from the Main Road and facing the mountains in the east, was the home of the 4th oldest church in South Africa. The Het Gesticht Church, completed in 1814, was built by the Paarl landowners to minister to the spiritual needs of approximately 80 slaves and their families from Mozambique and the British and Dutch East Indies who worked on the surrounding farms. In the beginning High Dutch was the “Lingua Franca” to the congregants until 1819 when the London Missionary Society sent Rev Evans to be the new minister and English was added into the services.

During the restoration of the church instituted by Heritage Western Cape prior to it becoming the museum...

Walking Cullinan's Heritage Trail is the perfect way to get to know the history of this remarkable town. Enjoy Part 1* of the trail below, get excited and start planning your next trip! Thank you to the Cullinan Heritage Society for sending all the details through.

* We have broken the trail into two parts 

Map of the Cullinan Heritage Trail

Most of the historical places of interest in Cullinan are within easy walking distance of each other. Start at the History Room situated in the Cullinan Tourism and History Building. On show in this building are objects of historical interest from the village's and mine's past. There is also a DVD with photographs from 1902 as well as footage from a newsreel, dated 1912. The building is situated behind the miners' cottages in Oak Ave. (H13 on the map)

History Room Cullinan (Cullian Heritage Society)

Leave this building and make your way back to Oak Ave, turn left and on your left are the miners' cottages built in 1906 to house the staff of the Premier Mine. Most of these houses are now restaurants or gift shops. The first house on your right was built for the Nederlandsche Bank in about...