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...
