Archistori

Full name:  Theunis Dirksz Van Schalkwyk / Theunis Dircksen van Schalckwijck Lifespan:  c.1639 Netherlands - bef.1717 Cape Occupation: Musketeer, soldier, fish & liquor merchant, farmer, carpenter, high-ranking official. He is considered the progenitor ( stamvader ) of the Van Schalkwyks in South Africa.  He was the first person to bring the surname (originally from the place name Schalkwijk in the Netherlands) to the Cape as a permanent settler. His surviving son Dirk became the direct male-line ancestor. Theunis was a prominent early Cape settler and one of the wealthiest free burghers of his time. Born in Zeeland, Netherlands (possibly Schalkwijk), he arrived at the Cape on 13 April 1664 (or circa 1665) (on the  Nieupoort ) as a busschieter (musketeer/soldier) in the service of the Dutch East India Company (VOC). He was granted burgher rights shortly thereafter, marking his transition to independent status. A versatile and enterprising man, Theunis...

Built:  c.1753 : c.1780s (renovations) : 1792 (mill) What began as an 11-acre loan farm in the late 1600s eventually evolved into the prestigious estate it is today. Once a portion of the original Groot Constantia, the property was transformed over centuries from a simple farm into a sophisticated botanical landmark. The name “Alphen” (along with the larger Constantia estate) is conjectured to derive from VOC ships - the Alphen and Constantia - that once anchored in Table Bay. The Cloete family held ownership for 150 years, adding various structures like the mill and slave quarters that still stand as part of the modern hotel and commercial complex. Aerial photo. (Source: Alphen Hotel) The estate was steered by a lineage of Hendrik Cloetes, each leaving a unique mark - from a wine pioneer to a man who adopted a British lifestyle and changed his name to Henry (Hendrik Cloete). His wife, the Afrikaner Deliana Van Warmelo , famously served as a Boer spy. While Henry hosted high-rankin...

Aka: Doren Fontijn View from the Yeoville ridge: suburban development on the farm Doornfontein in distance. (Source: Grocott & Sherry's, Album of Johannesburg, 1898) Notes Owned by B.C. Viljoen In 1853 the inspection commission received requests for inspection from the occupiers of several tracts of land on the Witwatersrand, who wished to obtain title to them as owners' farms ( eigenaarsplaatsen ). Reports submitted included one for "Doren Fontijn" owned by Mr Barend Viljoen. It was listed as having one spring and being 6 hours from Pretoria (the nearest town). It was inspected with riding times: North 16 min, West 15 min, South 30 min, East 45 min. Barend Christiaan Viljoen (1807 - 1859) married Judith Cornelia Theresia Booysen (c.1807 Graaff-Reinet - c.1861 Cape) A diagram of the farm in 1853 which only roughly corresponds to the later surveyor's map. ( Copy of the Sketch accompanying the inspection report. Reproduced in MH Kunneke' s unpublished resea...

Full name:  Johan Hendrik Wilhelm (Harry) Struben (also known as Henry William) Lifespan: 1840 Germany - 1915 Cape Town Occupation: Transport rider, prospector, farmer, politician, cattle breeder, horse breeder, author See:   Johan Struben (father),  Fred Struben  (brother), Edward Struben (brother) Harry Struben Timeline Biography Name:  While many historical records and biographies commonly refer to him as Hendrik Wilhelm Struben, the full formal name often includes "Johan" as a prefix, likely in honor of his father Johan Hermanus Marinus Struben - a common Dutch/German naming convention in the family. The "Johan" is sometimes dropped in English-language accounts. (under correction) Harry Struben married Mary Lydia Cole (bef. 1848 England - 1928 Cape Town) in 1868. Harry and his younger brother Fred Struben were pioneering German-South African prospectors, miners, and entrepreneurs whose work on the Witwatersrand directly contributed to the events...

Built: 1813 Front facade. Photo c.1910. Cape Archives E2438. Back of house. Photo c.1880. Notes The farm was originally granted in 1709 to a free Black settler named Evert van Guinea, but it passed through various owners before Isaak Bosman acquired it. The house was built by Jacobus Bosman, son of Isaak Bosman. The stepped gables were removed and the thatched roof replaced with corrugated iron. Evert van Guinea (c.1639 Guinea - 1688 Cape). His de facto wife was Hoena (Anna) van Guinea. They had a daughter Zwarte Maria Evert (1663 - 1713) who became a wealthy landowner. Evert was one of the earliest free Black settlers (vrijswart or manumitted slave) at the Cape of Good Hope - freed in 1659. He was a farmer and market gardener. Isaak (Izak) Bosman (1732 - 1812) married Susanna de Villiers (1736 - 1818) in 1756. She was from the prominent de Villiers Huguenot line (daughter of Abraham de Villiers and Susanna Gardiol. Isaak was the progenitor (stamvader) of the Bosman family branch ...

Aka: Die Erf, Zevenwacht, Langverwacht Built: 1800 Status: razed by fire in early-1900s. Source: Cape Archives E2436 Notes Zevenfontein, or 'Die Erf' as it was also called, belonged to Pieter de Waal. His parents, Arend and Maria Margaretha de Waal, lived here until 1866. The De Waal family intermarried with Bosmans. Pieter de Waal (1798 Kuils River - 1870 Kuils River). Pieter de Waal and his wife Susanna Gertruida Louw had a large family, including notable descendants like politician David Christiaan de Waal. Arend (Jacobus) de Waal (c.1775 Kuils River - 1861 Kuils River) Maria Margaretha Bosman (1778 Stellenbosch - 1866 Kuils River) The dwelling house on the farm Langverwacht burned down at the beginning of the twentieth century. Langverwacht was originally granted in 1688 to French Huguenot Jean le Roux. From the late 1700s/early 1800s, ownership shifted multiple times. Pieter de Waal acquired both farms in the 19th century (he bought Langverwacht around 1829 and later Z...

Built: 1880 Source: Netwerk24 Location Notes The farmhouse was built in 1880. In 1928 the Bestbier family purchased the wine estate. The farm appears to have been  sold by public auction  on 8 July, 2025. Property description: Remainder of Portion 2 (a Portion of Portion 1) of the Farm Goede Hoop, No. 220 in the Stellenbosch Municipality, Stellenbosch Division, Western Cape Province. 155ha of which 58ha is vineyard. The improvements on the farm consist of a main dwelling, an office, a cellar with tasting room, a church, garages and twelve worker's houses. Source: Goede Hoop Wine Estate on FB

Built: c.1750 Status: Demolished in c.1945 Photographer: Arthur Elliot, 1913. T-shaped plan. Sketch by Willem Malherbe. Source: Vassa History Saxenburg (also spelled Saxenborg in older records) is one of South Africa's oldest wine estates, located in the Polkadraai Hills area near Stellenbosch (close to Kuils River in the Western Cape). Its history spans over three centuries. In 1693 it was officially proclaimed as a farm when Governor Simon van der Stel granted the land to Joachim Sax, a Swedish free burgher (settler). This makes it one of the earliest privately owned farms in the Cape Colony after the VOC began releasing land to free burghers to boost agriculture and supply ships. In 1705 ownership passed to Oloff and Albertus Bergh (also Swedish-origin settlers), and the name "Saxenburg" emerged from these early owners and the Sax family connection. The first vines were planted around 1707, establishing it as a wine-producing farm. During the 1700s - 1980s the farm c...

Location: East Rand Established: 1917 Sunshine Settlements was a small-scale agricultural or smallholding settlement scheme established around 1917 on the East Rand, near Johannesburg. It was promoted as an idealistic or utopian land development project, aimed at providing affordable land for small farms, homes, or semi-rural living amid the industrial mining boom of the Witwatersrand region. It was situated about 24 km from Johannesburg, close to East Rand towns such as Boksburg, Germiston, and Benoni. The land benefited from good soil and proximity to railway lines, which would have facilitated access to markets in Johannesburg and the mining centers. It was part of a broader trend post-Union (1910) and around World War I, where land settlement projects targeted white settlers (including returning soldiers, poor whites, or those seeking alternatives to mine work) to encourage rural or peri-urban development on the Rand's outskirts. It was a private or semi-private venture divid...

Koelkap Farm, Piketberg. Sketch by JC Poortermans, 1849. (Africana Museum 6364) Contextual Timeline Overview Land use and ownership have long reflected the lifestyle and basic needs of communities. When land is developed through effort and expense to yield greater future harvests, it leads to more settled communities and associated land ownership. Various systems of land use and ownership have been implemented since 1652.  Documentation was issued to individuals specifying conditions, which could vary. Over time, documents were issued for three types: grazing rights, loan farms, and freehold farms. In 1813, this was replaced by the perpetual quitrent system, which is still in use today. F rom 1652, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) considered itself the owner of all land under its control, except for freehold farms and plots. Successive governments continued this view. As early as 1655, specific Cape Town residents were permitted to establish gardens and keep animals. Permits were...