Ladies Mile, the road leading out of Bergvliet is well known, but the story behind the name is obscure and not to be found on the internet. It is an interesting tale which deserves to be repeated. The story is after all about the very fabric of Cape Town.
In the beginning there was the estate Groot Constantia, granted to Simon van der Stel in 1682. It was a large parcel of land, too big to be practical even in those days of slave labour. Van der Stel died in 1712, and two years later the property was sold off in three portions named Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia and Bergvliet. There were other farms in the area as well, sharing the name Constantia in one way or another.
Groot Constantia Manor House (SJ De Klerk)
Bergvliet was sold in 1776 to Hendrik Eksteen who had a son of the same name. The son inherited the farm.
Klein Constantia belonged to Lambertus Colijn who married Leonora and then died leaving Leonora a wealthy woman. Leonora presumably sold Klein Constantia at this point. She had two sons, and she set one son up in Nova Constantia to the west of Spaanschemaat Road and one in Sweet...
