Newlands and the Westerford part of Rondebosch have been home to many interesting historical characters.
The origin of Newlands is that Willem Adriaan van der Stel, Simon van der Stel’s eldest son, built Nieuweland (on a site now occupied by Newlands House), and established a large garden there. Newlands House eventually replaced Rustenburg as the country residence of Governors and its gardens were legendary amongst eighteenth century visitors to the Cape.
The Westerford area of Rondebosch was part of the farm ” Westervoort” granted to the first free burgers in the Cape. In time it was divided into several plots – including the sites now home to Westerford School, Great Westerford and Westbrook.
The following articles record some of the historical people and places associated with the area and will hopefully enrich residents understanding of this special suburb of Cape Town.