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. [2]
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," referring to a circular grove of thorn trees growing on the banks of the Liesbeek River. [2] [3] [4] By 1670 the area's name had been shortened to "Rondeboschje" in the Dutch East India Company's (VOC) records.
In 1657, the first group of VOC employees gained free burgher status, four of whom were granted land along the river and founded "Stephen's Colony" in the area now known as Rondebosch. [5] The first permanent title of land in southern Africa was issued, by Van Riebeeck, to the four free burghers of Rondebosch. [2]
The area only obtained recognition as a separate village or area of Cape Town after the 1830s. [2] In 1864 the area was connected by railway upon the competition of the Cape Town to Wynberg line. [6] By the time of the 1875 census Rondebosch had a recorded population of 1,902 residents. The 1891 census recorded a population of 3,378, and by the time of the 1904 Cape census the area had a total population of 6,035, of whom 4,312 were recorded as being literate. [2]
One of Cape Town's first municipal electricity stations was built in 1892 to supply power to the Rondebosch area, replacing the old oil street lamps with electric ones. [7]
On 4 May 1990 the 'Groote Schuur Minute’ was co-signed in Rondebosch by the then leader of the African National Congress, Nelson Mandela, and then State President of South Africa, FW de Klerk, as a commitment to a peaceful negotiation process to end Apartheid. Thereby starting the process to peacefully transition to South Africa's modern democracy. [2] [8]
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.
The flower Erica turgida, was endemic in area between Rondebosch, Kenilworth and Wynberg before becoming extinct in the wild. [9]
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. [10] 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. [11] The fountain was destroyed in a road accident in 2015 [12] and rebuilt in 2020. [13]
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 Katherine Christie, and the western part is in ward 59 with councillor Mikhail Manuel, both members of the Democratic Alliance. [14]
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 (1950-1991), 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 towards the city across Table Bay, the skyline from left to right consists of Devil's Peak, the flat summit of Table Mountain, the peak 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.
Wynberg is a southern suburb of the City of Cape Town in Western Cape, South Africa. It is situated between Plumstead and Kenilworth, and is a main transport hub for the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town.
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.
Kenilworth is a suburb in Cape Town, South Africa.
Kenwyn is a residential suburb in the Southern Suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. It is south of the N2 and next to the M5 freeway. The surrounding suburbs include Wetton, Rondebosch East and Kenilworth.
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 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 and is thus named Main Road for much of its length. 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.