We found this brief article from the Randburg Sun when it fell out of an an old book. It was published in the late 1990s and explores the fascinating history of Randburg.
The earliest inhabitants of the area now called Randburg were tribesman roaming the open veld. Examples of their Iron Age craftsmanship can still be found on some of the local koppies. Little is known of the culture and history of these early people.
What we call ‘history’ – that is what is documented and recorded – starts in Randburg in the middle of the last century. In the 1850s four farms were settled by Boer pioneers. These were called Klipfontein, Driefontein, Olievenhoutspoort and Boskop, and were later subdivided amongst the sons of the farmers, as was the usual tradition. The original farm Driefontein extended from the Northern Boundary of Bryanston to the present Braamfontein! It was later subdivided into nine plots by his sons.
Charles Rocher, a Frenchman from Bordeaux, bought one of the sections and named it after his mother town. He was one of the early pioneers of the Cape deciduous farming on the Transvaal. Some of the older plots in the area still have fruit trees growing in groves. A portion of the Boskop farm was brought by the famous Rand entrepreneur, Dale Lace, who converted a farmhouse into a ‘country residence’, as was the style of the time. In 1929 Tom Kelly restored the home and named it ‘Hy-Many’ which is presently being considered as...
