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 .
30-648: 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). 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. By 1670
60-478: 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
90-703: A glimpse of the river as the road crosses it. The river continues through private property parallel with Main Street; turn right opposite the entrance to SACS into Sans Souci Road and pick up the river again on the left just before Newlands Swimming Pool. From there, the Liesbeek River Trail takes you right through to Belmont Road in Rosebank. After passing under Main Road, the Trail passes Josephine Mill and
120-631: 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
150-541: A separate village or area of Cape Town after the 1830s. In 1864 the area was connected by railway upon the competition of the Cape Town to Wynberg line. 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. One of Cape Town's first municipal electricity stations
180-590: Is English, which is the first language of 84.3% of the population. 7.6% speak Afrikaans and 1.8% speak Xhosa . 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. Liesbeek River The Liesbeek River (also spelt Liesbeeck ) is a river in Cape Town in South Africa . It
210-485: Is Katherine Christie, and the western part is in ward 59 with councillor Mikhail Manuel, 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
240-504: 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
270-656: Is a river in Cape Town , South Africa . It is a tributary of the Salt River together with the Liesbeeck River and the Elsieskraal River . It rises in Arderne Gardens and flows underground initially beneath Main Road and the railway line, before continuing as a canal through Claremont and Rondebosch , then uncanalised through Mowbray , Observatory and Maitland after which it joins
300-536: 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. The Liesbeek, which is less than 9 km (5.6 mi) long,
330-461: Is situated in the oldest urbanised river valley in South Africa. The headwaters flow from the eastern slopes of Table Mountain above Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens where the vegetation is largely indigenous. The slopes of Bishopscourt have large properties, including Jan van Riebeeck's farm. Water abstraction occurs here, often to water residential gardens, causing the flow to reduce during
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#1732773206481360-511: Is the confluence of the Liesbeek and Black River 33°55′47.59″S 18°28′41.97″E / 33.9298861°S 18.4783250°E / -33.9298861; 18.4783250 . The Two Rivers Urban Park is located on land between the Liesbeek and the Black with heritage sites and designated public open spaces. The Black River empties into Table Bay at Paarden Eiland . The Liesbeeck is home to
390-536: Is the first formal park along the river's banks. Continue to walk along Riverside Road, then cross Edinburgh Drive and enter Paradise Park. The river comes down a cascade through the Park. A pedestrian bridge crosses the river, which you should use to follow the bank on the east side of the Park. Access to the Liesbeek River bank temporarily ends at the boundary of the Vineyard Hotel. This is the only major part of
420-403: 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
450-779: 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. The lamp
480-682: The Platanna , or African clawed frog, an amphibian that has been important in certain areas of medical research. Walking the Liesbeek It is perfectly possible to walk almost the entire length of the Liesbeek River on public footpaths. The whole walk is about 9.7 km in length, and should take about two to two-and-a-half hours. Starting from where the Liesbeek emerges from Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens in Bishopscourt , walk from The Hill Pre-Primary School on Winchester Avenue through
510-553: 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 ,
540-575: 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
570-1143: The Liesbeek Parkway, and follow the route of the river through Mowbray, under Settlers Way (N2) to the Two Rivers Urban Park. The path continues opposite the Valkenberg Hospital and the South African Astronomical Observatory to the gates of the River Club in Observatory . The confluence with the Swart (Black) River is in sight, which continues on through Paarden Eiland to empty into Table Bay . [REDACTED] Media related to Liesbeek River at Wikimedia Commons 33°56′11″S 18°28′35″E / 33.93639°S 18.47639°E / -33.93639; 18.47639 Black River (Cape Town) The Black River (Swartrivier )
600-599: The River that passes through private property. Leave the Park and walk up to Bucksburn Road; turn left onto Bucksburn, then right into Lothian Road. Follow Colinton Road past the Vineyard Hotel—you could call in to the hotel for a coffee and walk down through the hotel's grounds to the path next to the river, but you'll have to leave through the Hotel again as there is no other way out. Turn left into Kildare Road - you can catch
630-453: 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
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#1732773206481660-461: 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. The first permanent title of land in southern Africa was issued, by Van Riebeeck, to the four free burghers of Rondebosch. The area only obtained recognition as
690-472: The old Boschenheuwel arboretum. You can follow its route for the first 500 metres or so, to the point where it enters a private estate. Pick the river up again in Fernwood at the junction of Kirstenbosch Drive and St Albans Close; cross over to Riverside Road, where there is a path next to the river through Fernwood to the point where is passes under Edinburgh Drive. The Upper Liesbeek River Garden in Fernwood
720-712: The process to peacefully transition to South Africa's modern democracy. 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
750-593: The site of the Newlands Stadium , crossing back and forth over pedestrian bridges. It finally ends at the back of the Riverside Mall on Main Road Rosebank . From here, the path is informal, between the canalised bank and the grounds of St Joseph's Marist College in Rondebosch. From Belmont Road, the path eventually reaches the Liesbeek Parkway at the junction with Alma Road in Mowbray . From here, cross
780-508: 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
810-468: The summer months. In Newlands , there are smaller residential plots. South African Breweries and the Josephine Mill are located here. From Rondebosch , large sections of the river are canalised, and the short sections of the river that are not canalised are degraded by erosion as a consequence of the increased flow from the canalised sections. Below Rosebank and Mowbray , at Observatory ,
840-478: Was built in 1892 to supply power to the Rondebosch area, replacing the old oil street lamps with electric ones. 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
870-415: Was endemic in area between Rondebosch, Kenilworth and Wynberg before becoming extinct in the wild. 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
900-602: 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. The fountain was destroyed in a road accident in 2015 and rebuilt in 2020. 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
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