Durbanville
Town
From Top: View of Durbanville Nature Reserve; left: Dutch Reformed Church; right: Onze Molen Mill; left: Rust-en-Vrede Wine Farm; right: King's Court House.
Durbanville Show map of Western Cape Durbanville Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 33°49′57″S 18°38′51″E / 33.83250°S 18.64750°E / -33.83250; 18.64750
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
Municipality	City of Cape Town
Established	1825[1]
Area [2]
• Total	27.41 km2 (10.58 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[2]
• Total	54,286
• Density	2,000/km2 (5,100/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [2]
• Black African	5.5%
• Coloured	10.1%
• Indian/Asian	1.0%
• White	82.2%
• Other	1.2%
First languages (2011) [2]
• Afrikaans	58.9%
• English	37.2%
• Other	3.8%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	7550
PO box	7551

Durbanville, previously called Pampoenkraal, is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, part of the greater Cape Town metropolitan area.^[3] Durbanville is a semi-rural residential suburb on the north-eastern outskirts of the metropolis surrounded by farms producing wine and wheat.

History

Precolonial period (before 1652)

The first modern humans indigenous to the Cape area included the Khoina and the Khoisan tribes. The indigenous people lived in the Cape and its surrounding coastal areas dating as far back as 60 000 years ago.^[4] They migrated from the interior of the country, what is today the Northern Cape province, and from Botswana and Namibia to the Cape.^[5]

Dutch colonial period (1652-1795)

Durbanville's inception can be traced to a fresh water spring located in the town. The spring is currently situated behind the Durbanville Children's Home.^[6] The spring was designated by the VOC (Dutch East India Company, Dutch: Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie) in the mid-1600s to be used as a water replenishment station for travelers on their way from Cape Town to the interior of southern Africa. In 1661 rhinoceros and ostrich were known to inhabit the area.^[7] Durbanville was originally known as Pampoenkraal (from the Afrikaans words pampoen meaning pumpkin, and kraal meaning corral - an enclosure for livestock). This name was attributed to the town because of a pumpkin patch which grew alongside a dam located behind the current Town Hall. Due to the natural spring, Pampoenkraal became a preferred resting place for travellers before continuing on their journey into the interior.^[7]

During the late 1600s, the VOC allocated farms to free burghers situated around the town.^[7] Some of those farms are still in existence today, many of which are renowned for their wine production. These include Bloemendal, Meerendal, Diemersdal and Altydgedacht.

British colonial period (1795-1902)

The first portions of land were earmarked as residential properties and allocated in 1806, signifying the start and development of Durbanville.^[7]

In 1825 a group of local farmers requested permission from Lord Charles Somerset (governor of the Cape Colony at that time) to build their own church. The Dutch Reformed Church was commenced in 1825 and inaugurated a year later on 6 August 1826. A small village grew between the church and the outspan (overnight stop). During 1836 the inhabitants of Pampoenkraal petitioned the Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir Benjamin d'Urban, for permission to rename the village D'Urban in his honour. Permission was duly granted and the new name persisted until 1886 when it was renamed to Durbanville in order to avoid confusion with Durban - a major port city in the east of South Africa.^[7]

Durbanville had its own court house, jail and magistrate from the 1870s and became a Magisterial District of Bellville. The court house complex still exists in altered form within the Rust-en-Vrede complex, originally erected in 1850. A village management board was established in 1897 and a municipality in 1901. The first mayor elected was John King.

The village grew rapidly after the turn of the 19th century and a local wagon industry developed. The King Brothers Wagon Works' used to be South Africa's biggest wagon works. At the turn of the century, it employed more than 200 men, which just about accounted for the entire village.

Post-Apartheid (1994-)

In 1996, Durbanville lost its municipal status and was dissolved into the Tygerberg Municipality along with Bellville, Parow and Goodwood as part of the transition in local government. As of 2000, Durbanville was amalgamated into the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality and is effectively a suburb of the City of Cape Town. Although Durbanville is now part of the City of Cape Town it is still a town in its own right

Durbanville today

Over the past years, Durbanville has seen considerable development in the greater area which has seen the town evolve from a rural area into a large residential area, with a strong suburban character evident in its leafy neighbourhoods, parks, greenbelts and sophisticated infrastructure.

Due to its location on edge of the metropolis, the town has experienced a growing demand for secure country living, resulting in the development of a number of gated communities, the most prominent being Pinehurst Garden City, Graanendal and Clara Anna Fontein. These developments have further boosted the property values in this upmarket area and as a result, Durbanville is now regarded as one of the most sought-after addresses in the northern suburbs of Cape Town.^[8]

In spite of the influx of infrastructure and residential development in Durbanville, it has consistently remained a largely residential area (compared to its neighbouring suburbs) and still strongly preserves its distinctly "semi-rural" and scenic feel given that it is still mostly surrounded by farmland.

Geography

Durbanville is situated in the northern suburbs of Cape Town, approximately 28 kilometres (17.4 mi) north-east of the city, bordered by Bellville to the south, Brackenfell to the south-east and Kraaifontein to the east. It lies at an altitude of between 100 m (328 ft) to 240 m (787 ft), in the vast rolling hills of Tygerberg and Koeberg.^[9][10]

Economy

Situated on the rural-urban fringe, the urban economy of Durbanville largely based on retail, hospitality and real estate co-exists with the traditional rural economy largely based on agriculture and rural tourism. The rural economy continues to be a central part of the local economy with the main farming categories including viticulture, dairy and wheat. The town also functions as a service hub to the satellite settlements of Fisantekraal, Philadelphia and Klipheuwel.

Culture

Historical attractions

Rust-en-Vrede Art Gallery, Wellington Road

Owing to the rich history and heritage of the town, Durbanville boasts its fair share of historical features and attractions largely situated in the CBD and its immediate surroundings including:^[28]

• Rust-en-Vrede Art Gallery on Wellington Road (built in the 1840s and was originally used as a prison and police headquarters, then a magistrate’s court)
• Onze Molen Windmill
• Durbanville Synagogue
• Durbanville Dutch Reformed Church
• Original Cape Dutch houses on historical streets such as Church Street, Gladstone Street, Main Street, Oxford Street, Queen Street and Scher Street

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census, the population of Durbanville was 54,286. The following tables show various demographic data about Durbanville from that census.^[2]

Gender

Racial Makeup

Home Language

Education

The town has the following public high schools:

• Durbanville High School (an Afrikaans-medium school)
• Fairmont High School (an English-medium school)
• Stellenberg High School (a dual-medium school) - although it is located in Bellville, it falls under Durbanville’s feeder area.

There are numerous primary schools, including:

• Durbanville Preparatory
• Durbanville Primary
• Eversdal Primary
• Gene Louw Primary
• Kenridge Primary
• The Valley Primary

The area also has a number of private schools:

• Curro Durbanville
• El Shaddai Christian School.
• Meridian Pinehurst
• Reddam House Durbanville

Healthcare

Durbanville is served by Mediclinic Durbanville, a private hospital owned by one of South Africa's largest private healthcare groups, Mediclinic International.^[29]

Durbanville is also served by the Durbanville Community Day Centre (also known as Durbanville Clinic) operated by the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness. For public hospitals, residents of Durbanville normally use the Karl Bremer Hospital in Bellville or Tygerberg Hospital in Parow.^[30]

Transport

Nature Reserves

The two nature reserves in Durbanville include the Durbanville Nature Reserve situated adjacent the racecourse along Race Course Road and the Uitkamp Wetland Nature Reserve situated in D'Urbanvale, north of Durbanville.

Sports

Horse Racing

A view of the Hollywoodbets Durbanville Racecourse from the Durbanville Nature Reserve

One of the main attractions which draws visitors to Durbanville is the Hollywoodbets Durbanville Racecourse, established in 1922 and is one of the only two horse race courses in the Western Cape along with Kenilworth in the Southern Suburbs. Situated just south-west of the CBD, it has a left-handed oval course with a circumference of around 2200m and a home straight of roughly 600m.^[35]

In August 2022, Cape Racing announced Hollywoodbets as the naming rights sponsor for the Durbanville and Kenilworth racecourses, and as a result the Durbanville Racecourse is now known as the Hollywoodbets Durbanville Racecourse.^[36]

Notable people

• Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Thawte and second self-funded space tourist.
• Amore Bekker, radio personality, author, MC and columnist.
• Jody Williams, winner of Idols season 4
• Daniele Pascal, French Chanteuse, Actor and Playwright, and owner of Villa Pascal Guest House (B+B) and Theatre
• Annelisa Weiland, actress. Played Hilda de Kock on popular South African soapie 7de Laan for almost 20 years.
• Duane Vermeulen, rugby union player for Western Province, Stormers and the Springboks.
• Jack Parow, Afrikaans rapper.
• Zanne Stapelberg, international operatic soprano.

Coat of arms

The Durbanville municipal council assumed a coat of arms, designed by Ivan Mitford-Barberton and H. Ellis Tomlinson, in April 1948,^[37] and registered them at the Bureau of Heraldry in February 1981.The National Archives and Records Service of South Africa (NARSSA)

The arms, derived from those of Sir Benjamin d'Urban, were : Or, on a chevron between in chief two six-pointed stars Sable and in base a bunch of grapes proper, three garbs Or. In layman's term, the shield is gold and depicts, from top to bottom, two black six-pointed stars, a blue chevron bearing three golden sheaves of wheat, and a bunch of grapes.

The crest was a red sphinx charged with three golden rings, and the motto Sit nomine digna.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Durbanville.