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Full name: Thomas William Fannin Lifespan:  c.1830 Ireland - 1865 Heidelberg (died aged 36) Occupation: Land surveyor Thomas Fannin was a British settler in Natal who worked as a government land surveyor and is best remembered for laying out the town of Heidelberg (Transvaal) shortly before his death. He was the eldest son of Thomas Fannin, Esq. (c. 1793-1852), who arrived in Natal from the Cape in 1847 and purchased a large farm called "Buffels" (or similar) in the Dargle area near Pietermaritzburg. His brother  John Eustace Fannin became a government surveyor. John Eustice Fannin (1834 England - 1905 Belgium) arrived in Natal in 1847, where his family settled in Dargle. He became Government Surveyor. Married Etherea G. Gower in 1868. Fannin was active as a surveyor in Natal and ventured into the northern Transvaal for work. In the early 1860s, while returning from surveying expeditions further north (where he had contracted malaria), he passed through the area near the fa...

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 Reproduced in MH Kunneke' s unpublished resea...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:  Hans Heinrich Mundt Lifespan:  1833 Germany - 1922 Pretoria Occupation: businessman, transport rider, 'poskontraktant', farmer Wife:  Maria Hermiena Dorothea van Soelen (1832-1881) HH Mundt (Photo of photo by Aletta Bethell) Timeline Biography Mundt was a German immigrant settler (arriving in 1852), landowner, and minor mining figure in 19th-century South Africa. He initially farmed in Fauresmith (OFS) where he married widow Maria van Soelen (according to Geni ) in 1866. He had two sons (Heinrich & Ernst Wilhelm), a daughter (Magadlena Maria Hendrika), a stepdaughter, possibly two stepsons (one was Ds. Ennis), and another daughter born after their arrival in Pretoria. (Pretorius, 1889). The Mundts moved to Hartebeestpoort in 1874. In 1879 Mundt was awarded the postal delivery contract between Pretoria and Lydenburg. Pretorius (1989) says his wife was Hermina Dorothea Ennis. Silverton Silverton began as a simple outspan (overnight stop) for travelers on th...

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...

This post discusses the general farm price fluctuations as noted by Eric Rosenthal in his 1959 book, Other Men's Millions . The various booms and slumps are quite complex and varied from area to area. It is not a comprehensive analysis, but merely a discussion of Chapter 22 - Farm price frenzy . Map of the Cape fof Good Hope by Johannes Nieuhof (1672-82)   Contextual timeline Jan van Riebeeck sells Boschheuvel - 1665  (high prices) Shortly after Jan van Riebeeck departed from the Cape, public notices were posted on November 24, 1665, at the Fort, in the town, and across the countryside. These announcements stated that the agents acting for the former Commander planned to sell his land - located below Boschheuvel - to the highest bidder on the following Saturday. The auction would be held in the large hall of the Fort. Van Riebeeck's property consisted of 101 morgen of cultivated land, complete with a barn (schuur), and is widely believed to have encompassed the area that later...