On Saturday, 30 August 2025, a large group of members and friends of Durbanville Heritage Society met at the Aurora Methodist Church Hall and were fortunate to listen to Mr Bruce Esau, horticulturist and conservationist at Avondale Gardens, share his work on the conservation of Renosterveld in the Durbanville area. In his enthusiastic and inspirational …
TALK ON THE CONSERVATION OF THE RENOSTERVELD IN DURBANVILLE Read More »
On Saturday 26 July, members and friends of Durbanville Heritage Society were entertained by Professor Mike Bruton as he shared his research on the life and times of Charles Darwin with a detailed account of his visit to the Cape of Good Hope in 1836. Along with the most interesting slide-show presentation, Professor Bruton exhibited …
TALK BY PROFESSOR MIKE BRUTON ON DARWIN IN SOUTH AFRTICA. Read More »
At 10h45 on 24 September 2025, a group of 15 members and friends, with two younger children, met at the foyer of the Taalmonument against the Paarl Mountain, to meet our friendly guide. After a brief introduction on the history of Afrikaans, celebrating the first century of recognition as an official language of the country, …
DURBANVILLE HERITAGE SOCIETY TAALMONUMENT EXCURSION Read More »
On Saturday 28 June, members and friends departed from the Durbanville library on an outing to Stellenbosch to visit the Rupert Museum. During a short guided tour, work from the Rupert collection could be appreciated. The Johannesburg station panels, painted by Pierneef impressed the group. After this visit, the group departed to meet at the …
DURBANVILLE HERITAGE SOCIETY STELLENBOSCH EXCURSION Read More »
The Durbanville Heritage Society committee took the initiative to replace the commemorative plaques for the plinths at Pampoenkraal Heritage Square with information on the history of the plain and the old drinking trough in English, Afrikaans and Xhosa. These plaques were unveiled during a ceremony on Saturday, 31 May 2025. The wording on the plaques …
UNVEILING OF COMMEMORATIVE PLAQUES AT PAMPOENKRAAL HERITAGE SQUARE Read More »
Wednesday evening 26 March 2025, at Meerendal farm tasting room, Marius Breytenbach shared his interesting research on the significance of the early farmhouses and werfs in the Tygerberg to DHS members and guests. According to his research, these early farmhouses represent a cultural transition preceding the construction of the gabled Cape Dutch farmhouse style. Many …
Jaco Maritz (Chairperson) Georina Westraadt (Deputy Chairperson) Lynn van der Merwe (Events) Henk Lourens (Heritage consultant) Cahlan Williams (Heritage consultant) Ilse Viljoen (Professional assistant) Duminy Marais (Ward committee member) Margaret Oosthuizen Petro van Zyl Denise Robinson Yolande Snyders
On Saturday, 17 August, Deon Cloete the managing director of the Winelands Airport addressed the Durbanville Heritage Society. After an introduction informing attendees about his extensive experience in the aviation industry, Mr Cloete gave a brief history of the Fisantekraal Airport, which is the site at which the planned Winelands Airport will be situated. It …
Saturday, 1 June on a bright, sunny winter’s morning, a team of Durbanville Heritage Society committee members assisted and supported Duminy Marais, Jaco Maritz and Mike Mungoni in the cleaning of the Centenary monument on Pampoenkraal plain, Durbanville. The monument was vandalised with white paint some time ago and the team used a pressure spray …
CLEANING OF THE CENTENARY MONUMENT AT PAMPOENKRAAL PLAIN, DURBANVILLE Read More »
Quite a large group of members and friends joined the Durbanville Heritage Society on Saturday 24 February 2024, for a very interesting talk by Marius Breytenbach, who is conducting research for a PhD on the first farms in Durbanville. After an introductory talk on his research so far and the history of the farm, Marius …
DURBANVILLE HERITAGE SOCIETY VISIT TO MAASTRICHT 24 FEBRUARY 2024 Read More »