We are very grateful to Trish and Murray Myhill for sending us "The Mill Hill Story". The article was compiled about fifteen years ago by the late Jilly Hayes, former mayoress of Sandton, and explores the rural roots and development of this upmarket Johannesburg suburb. Mill Hill is located to the west of Bryanston and to the north of Randburg.
Little more than fifty years ago guinea fowl, ringhals, plovers, a few sheep, cows and a pony far outnumbered the families living in this area. A windmill provided water and Coleman lamps light at night. The nearest shop was the "One Stop Cafe", a long trek along Main Road to what is now Randburg.
In 1934 Dr Rodney Bridges, then Senior Geologist for the Corner House Group of Mines, purchased fifty acres, being portion 87 of the farm Driefontein III. He named his newly acquired land "Mill Hill", after the school he had attended in north west London. A year later, Gus and Marge Emery purchased the adjacent portion of the Driefontein farm and named their new home Silvaplana. The Emery family still owns half of this property. The other half is now San Sereno.
The Corner House Johannesburg (The Heritage Portal)
Rodney and his wife Barbara built a small thatched cottage in a corner close to Main Road. Their two sons, Digby and Wiggie, were brought...
