Concordia Hostel - Heidelberg (Gauteng)

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Built: 1916

Architect: Wynand Louw (1883-1967)

Building contractor: Johannes Stephanus Joubert (1870-1949)

Status: Demolished c. early 1960s



Concordia was the second church-owned hostel built specifically for boys at the Hoër Volkskool in Heidelberg. After the success of Transvalia, the church proposed a second boys’ hostel, but the request was initially refused by the Administrator in October 1914 because of the country’s strained finances following the 1914 Rebellion. It was later approved, and the cornerstone was laid on 22 April 1916. The completed hostel accommodated 83 boys and three teachers at an original cost of £7 791.1.0. In 1918 it was enlarged by the addition of a study hall and music rooms, bringing the total cost with all improvements to £11,000.

Like the other Volkskool hostels, Concordia was owned and administered by the Nederduitse Gereformeerde / Hervormde Kerkraad and leased to the Education Department. It continued to serve Hoër Volkskool pupils for more than four decades until the church board decided in 1959 to sell the three ageing properties (Transvalia, Concordia and Excelsior) to the Province. The original Concordia building was eventually demolished, but its name was carried over to one of the new provincial hostels erected in 1965 on the former Concordia and Excelsior sites.

Sources
  1. Lotz, P.W. (1952) Geskiedenis van die Ontwikkeling van die Onderwys aan Blankes in die Distrik Heidelberg, Transvaal van 1839 to 1950. (thesis)

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