Rondebosch | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 33°57′48″S18°28′35″E / 33.96333°S 18.47639°E | |
Country | South Africa |
Province | Western Cape |
Municipality | City of Cape Town |
Main Place | Cape Town |
Area | |
• Total | 6.42 km2 (2.48 sq mi) |
Population (2011) [1] | |
• Total | 14,591 |
• Density | 2,300/km2 (5,900/sq mi) |
Racial makeup (2011) | |
• Black African | 16.5% |
• Coloured | 9.6% |
• Indian/Asian | 6.1% |
• White | 62.7% |
• Other | 5.0% |
First languages (2011) | |
• English | 84.3% |
• Afrikaans | 7.6% |
• Xhosa | 1.8% |
• Other | 6.3% |
Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
Postal code (street) | 7700 |
PO box | 7701 |
Area code | (021) 685/686 |
Rondebosch is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is primarily a residential suburb, with shopping and business districts as well as the main campus of the University of Cape Town.
Four years after the first Dutch settlement at the Cape in 1652, the first experimental crops were grown along the banks of the Liesbeek River (at that stage called the Amstel or Versse Rivier).[ citation needed ] In October 1656, Jan van Riebeeck visited Rondeboschyn, whose name derived from a contraction of Ronde Doorn Bossien, meaning a circular grove of thorn trees. [2] [3] In 1657, the first group of Dutch East India Company employees gained "free burgher" (free citizen) status and were granted land along the river in the area now known as Rondebosch.[ citation needed ]
Rondebosch lies between the slopes of Devil's Peak in the west and the M5 freeway in the east; it is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, which lie along the eastern slope of the Table Mountain massif. The suburb's western border with the Table Mountain National Park is defined by the M3 freeway. To the north are the suburbs of Rosebank and Mowbray, while to the south are Newlands and Claremont. The eastern border of Rondebosch is the M5 freeway; beyond the freeway are Sybrand Park, Athlone and Rondebosch East.
The Southern Line railway divides Rondebosch in two; the only road within Rondebosch that crosses the railway is the Belmont Road bridge. Main Road (the M4) runs north-south through the area west of the railway, while Campground Road runs in the same direction east of the railway. The third north-south through route is Milner Road, further east close to the M5.
The area around the intersection of Main Road and Belmont Road is Rondebosch's main commercial area, with several small shopping malls and two supermarkets. Also located in this area is Rondebosch railway station, which is the main public transport facility in the suburb. A smaller commercial area lies just to the east on the corner of Belmont and Campground Roads; there is also a row of shops along Belvedere Road in the southeastern part of the suburb. The rest of the suburb is used for educational and residential purposes, with the residential areas being generally denser further to the west where the influence of the University of Cape Town is felt.
Two canalised streams run from the slopes of Table Mountain through Rondebosch; the Liesbeeck River runs northwards between Main Road and the railway, while the Black River runs in a northeasterly direction through the eastern part of the suburb. The terrain is generally flat east of the railway line, while to the west it slopes upwards towards Devil's Peak.
On the slopes of Devil's Peak above Rondebosch is the main campus of the University of Cape Town.
The historic Groote Schuur estate in Rondebosch includes presidential and ministerial residences with Cape Dutch origins. The Groote Schuur building is the biggest, rebuilt by Cecil Rhodes according to a design by Herbert Baker after a fire in 1896. The presidential residence, Genadendal (formerly Westbrooke), also dates back to Cape Dutch times.
The home of Simon van der Stel (first governor of the Cape Colony) is now part of Rustenburg Junior School. This building dates back to the 17th century, although it has undergone many alterations over the years. Its summer house, dating from 1760, remains as a monument just below the university. Other historic buildings in the area include the Rondebosch Town Hall, now occupied by the Rondebosch Library, and St. Paul's Church, which was designed by Charles Collier Michell.
Rondebosch Common, once a military campground, is a national monument and an important fynbos conservation area.
The Baxter Theatre in Rondebosch is Cape Town's second biggest theatre complex, after the Artscape Theatre Centre in the city centre.
The historic centre of Rondebosch is the Main Road, with the Victorian cast iron Rondebosch Fountain being a historic landmark. Originally known as the Moodie Fountain, it was one of South Africa's first electric streetlights. It was built by the Saracen Foundry in Glasgow and presented to the community by George Moodie as a gift in 1891. [4] The lamp was first turned on, on 25 April 1892 and was initially powered by Moodie's private power plant until a municipal power plant on the Liesbeeck River was completed. [5] The fountain was destroyed in a road accident in 2015 but is being rebuilt. [6]
Rondebosch is in the City of Cape Town municipality, within the Protea Sub-Council (Sub-Council 20). The eastern part of the suburb is within ward 58 and the ward councillor is Sharon Cottle, and the western part is in ward 59 with councillor Ian Iversen, both members of the Democratic Alliance.
Rondebosch was the parliamentary seat of Sir De Villiers Graaff, the leader of the opposition United Party, and later that of Frederik van Zyl Slabbert, leader of the opposition Progressive Federal Party.
The western part of Rondebosch is dominated by the main campus of the University of Cape Town. Rondebosch is also notable for a high density of schools. Originally the Rondebosch Town Hall the Rondebosch Public Library is a notable landmark in the neighbourhood.
Western Province Cricket Club is the largest sports facility in Rondebosch, catering for many different sports, including tennis and hockey. The University itself has facilities for most sports. Other facilities include Rondebosch Golf Club and Rygersdal Football Club. Next door to Rondebosch is Newlands, home to the Newlands Stadium for rugby and soccer, and Newlands Cricket Ground.
Parks in Rondebosch include Keurboom Park and Rondebosch Park. Rondebosch Common is also a popular recreational park.
According to the 2011 census, 14,591 people live in Rondebosch. 62.7% described themselves as "White", 16.5% as "Black African", 9.6% as "Coloured" and 6.1% as "Indian or Asian". The predominant language is English, which is the first language of 84.3% of the population. 7.6% speak Afrikaans and 1.8% speak Xhosa. [1]
In the second half of the 20th century, Rondebosch was a whites-only area in terms of the Group Areas Act, an Apartheid law that enforced segregation.
Devil's Peak is part of the mountainous backdrop to Cape Town, South Africa. When looking at Table Mountain from the city centre, or when looking at the standard picture postcard view of the mountain, the skyline is from left to right: the spire of Devil's Peak, the flat mesa of Table Mountain, the dome of Lion's Head and Signal Hill.
Groote Schuur is an estate in Cape Town, South Africa. In 1657, the estate was owned by the Dutch East India Company which used it partly as a granary. Later, the farm and farmhouse was sold into private hands. Groote Schuur was later acquired by William De Smidt, and remained in the family's possession until it was sold by Abraham De Smidt, Surveyor General of the Cape Colony, in 1878, and was bought by Hester Anna van der Byl of the prominent Van Der Byl / Coetsee family. In 1891 Cecil Rhodes leased it from her. He later bought it from her in 1893 for £60 000, and had it converted and refurbished by the architect Sir Herbert Baker. The Cape Dutch building, located in Rondebosch, on the slopes of Devil's Peak, the outlying shoulder of Table Mountain, was originally part of the Dutch East India Company's granary constructed in the seventeenth century.
Kraaifontein is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa and is located on the north-eastern outskirts of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality.
The M5 is an expressway in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. It connects Milnerton on the Western Seaboard in the north to Muizenberg in the south, and crosses both the N1 and the N2. For part of its length, from the N1 interchange to Plumstead, it is a limited-access freeway (motorway). From Mowbray to Muizenberg, it is parallel to the M4 Main Road.
The M3 is an expressway in Cape Town, South Africa, connecting the upper part of the City Bowl to the Southern Suburbs and ending in Tokai. For most of its route it parallels - though further to the south and west - the M4, which was the original road connecting central Cape Town with the settlements to the south.
The Liesbeek River is a river in Cape Town in South Africa. It is named after a small river in the Netherlands. The first "free burghers" of the Dutch East India Company were granted land to farm along the river in 1657, shortly after the first Dutch settlers arrived in the Cape. The river was originally called the Amstel or Versse Rivier. It is the first river that Jan van Riebeeck named.
Newlands (Nuweland) is an upmarket suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It is located at the foot of Table Mountain in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, and is the wettest suburb in South Africa due to its high winter rainfall. The neighborhood of Bishopscourt is situated to its south west, Claremont to its south east, and Rondebosch to its east and north east.
The Southern Suburbs are a group of Anglophone suburbs in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. This group includes, among others, Observatory, Mowbray, Pinelands, Rosebank, Rondebosch, Rondebosch East, Newlands, Claremont, Lansdowne, Kenilworth, Bishopscourt, Constantia, Wynberg, Ottery, Plumstead, Diep River, Bergvliet and Tokai. The area is also commonly referred to as the Cape Peninsula, often including the towns further South such as Fish Hoek.
Observatory is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa, colloquially known as Obs. Bordered by Mowbray to the south and Salt River to the northwest, the area is best known as a student neighbourhood associated with the nearby University of Cape Town and Groote Schuur Hospital. It takes its name from the South African Astronomical Observatory headquarters, built in 1829 by the Royal Observatory.
Mowbray is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa and lies on the slopes of Devil's Peak. Mowbray is at a junction of several major Cape Town highways and has an important multi-modal public transport interchange at Mowbray railway station. Its original name was Driekoppen.
Rosebank is one of the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa, located between the suburbs of Mowbray and Rondebosch.
Crawford is a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, located to the east of the City Centre (CBD) on the Cape Flats to the south of the N2 highway. The suburb is surrounded by the suburbs of Lansdowne, Rondebosch East, Athlone, Belthorn Estate, Rylands, and Belgravia. The main roads through the area are Jan Smuts Drive (M17) and Turf Hall Road (M24) linking to the M5. Thornton Road was for many years the main thoroughfare for this suburb and a hotbed for anti-apartheid activity in 1976 and 1985. Thornton Road is the location of the Trojan Horse Memorial in honour of those killed in 1985. Crawford is served by a railway station of the same name on the Cape Flats Line.
Rondebosch railway station is a Metrorail station on the Southern Line, serving the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town.
Rondebosch East is a residential suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) south-east of the city centre. As the name suggests, it is located to the east of the neighbouring suburb of Rondebosch. As of 2001 it had a population of approximately 4,600 people in an area of just over 1 square kilometre (0.4 sq mi). A large common, similar to but smaller than Rondebosch Common, is located in the center of the suburb.
Lansdowne is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa. situated 10 kilometres southeast of Cape Town City Centre, surrounded by the suburbs of Rondebosch East, Crawford, Wetton, Claremont, Kenwyn and Athlone. Lansdowne is served by a railway station of the same name, on the Cape Flats Line.
Rondebosch Fountain is an ornamental Victorian drinking trough for horses, standing on a traffic island on the intersection between Belmont Road and Main Road in the centre of Rondebosch in Cape Town, South Africa. It was declared a National Monument on 10 April 1964.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Cape Town:
The M4 is a long metropolitan route in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality in South Africa. It connects the Cape Town CBD with the Cape of Good Hope via Wynberg, Muizenberg and Fish Hoek. Originally, it was the main route connecting the Cape Town CBD with the Southern Suburbs. From the CBD to Kirstenhof, it is parallel to the M3 Freeway.
The M9 is a long metropolitan route in the City of Cape Town, South Africa. It connects Sir Lowry's Pass Village with Wynberg via Somerset West, Firgrove, Macassar, Khayelitsha and Nyanga.
The M5 is a long metropolitan route in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa. It starts in KwaMashu in the north-western townships of Durban. It passes through the townships of KwaMashu, Newlands East, Newlands West, Ntuzuma and KwaDabeka. It then passes through the industrial town of New Germany and the leafy towns of Pinetown and Queensburgh before entering Durban and ending with the R102 in the Umbilo industrial area.