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Newlands (Nuweland) is an upmarket suburb of
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
,
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...
. 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.


History

Little is known of the inhabitants, likely Khoekhoe clans such as the ǃUriǁʼaekua, of the area prior to the arrival of the
Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...
and the establishment of Cape Town and the
Cape Colony The Cape Colony ( nl, Kaapkolonie), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope, which existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with ...
in 1652. Then Governor of the colony, Willem Adriaan van der Stel, was granted land for an estate in 1700 which he named De Nieuwe Land or Nieuwland. The estate was sold in 1791 and changed hands a number of times until 1826. In the 1860s the estate was leased to the British Colonial Government so as to act as a country residence for Cape Governors during which time it is thought that Newlands Village was established. A railway line to Cape Town central, extended from Salt River, was opened in the neighborhood on 19 December 1864.


Notable locations

It is best known for
Newlands Cricket Ground Newlands Cricket Ground (known as Six Gun Grill Newlands for sponsorship reasons) in Cape Town is a South African cricket ground. It is the home of the Cape Cobras, who play in the Sunfoil Series, Momentum 1 Day Cup and RamSlam Pro20 competi ...
and Newlands Stadium, a
rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
and football venue. It is also the original home of Ohlsson's Cape Breweries, which is still located next to the rugby grounds. The original Ohlsson's Anneberg Brewery site is now location of the SACS grounds. The only remainder of the original brewery is the Josephine Mill, which used a water wheel to grind the grain for the brewery. This is now a historic monument. Next door to SACS is the Montebello Design Centre located within the historic stables of
Cecil Michaelis Maximilian Gustav Alfred Cecil Michaelis (born: 19 August 1913 - died: 3 May 1997), was an artist who also practised in glass and ceramics, and a philanthropist who encouraged crafts and design. He was the only son of Sir Max Michaelis, a South Af ...
's estate and bequeathed to the University of Cape Town. The pipeline from the Table Mountain spring which supplies the Newlands Brewery runs under the historic Cardiff Castle Building which is located in Newlands Village. The Liesbeek River runs through Newlands, past the Vineyard Hotel, and was the original water source used to make the first European-style beer in southern Africa. Friends of The Liesbeek maintain a walk along the river bank, past landmarks in the area. The distinctive southern half of Newlands, bordering the suburb Bishopscourt, is known as Fernwood, after a farm estate which used to occupy this area. The original manor house of this estate still exists, but is now used as a parliamentary sports club. In 1967 the first Spur Steak Ranch was opened on Dean Street in Newlands.


Parks

The neighborhood is the location of a number of notable parks such as
Newlands Forest Newlands Forest is a conservancy area on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, beside the suburb of Newlands, Cape Town. It is owned and maintained by the Table Mountain National Parks Board, along with the City Parks Department of Cape Town, a ...
and
Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden Kirstenbosch is an important botanical garden nestled at the eastern foot of Table Mountain in Cape Town. The garden is one of 10 National Botanical Gardens covering five of South Africa's six different biomes and administered by the South A ...
s. Newlands Forest is incorporated within the
Table Mountain National Park Table Mountain National Park, previously known as the Cape Peninsula National Park, is a national park in Cape Town, South Africa, proclaimed on 29 May 1998, for the purpose of protecting the natural environment of the Table Mountain Chain, an ...
. The forest is a popular outdoor recreation area which includes surviving remnants of indigenous afro-temperate forest and endangered Granite Fynbos, as well as extensive
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...
plantations. There are also historic sites including the Woodcutter's Cottage and Lady Anne Barnard's Path. Newlands is home to the indigenous frog species Rose's ghost frog and sandellia, a tiny frog that lives in the waters of the Liesbeek river.


Newlands spring

The fresh water springs in Newlands have played an important role in the development and history of the area. The springs are locally renowned for the high quality of the water they produce. It is still a popular practice for Capetonians to collect water at the springs. The main spring is located at the
South African Breweries South African Breweries (officially The South African Breweries Limited, informally SAB) is a major brewery headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa and was a wholly owned subsidiary of SABMiller until its interests were sold to Anheuser-Bu ...
brewery on the corner of Main and Letterstead Road. A second popular spring was located on Kildare Road but was closed during the
Cape Town water crisis The Cape Town water crisis in South Africa was a period of severe water shortage in the Western Cape region, most notably affecting the City of Cape Town. While dam water levels had been decreasing since 2015, the Cape Town water crisis peaked d ...
in 2018 following a physical altercation between water collectors. Other reasons given for its closure by the municipality was that the council found water collection difficult to regulate at the site and due to complaints from locals about noise and traffic congestion. The water at the springs have played an important role in the brewing industry with South Africa's first licensed brewery being set up in the area at Papenboom in 1694. Water from the springs were also used to power water mills from the mid-1800s on wards.


Education

It is home to a number of schools, including the oldest school in the country,
South African College Schools The South African College Schools (colloquially often known as “SACS”) is a public English medium primary and high education institution situated in Newlands - part of the Southern Suburbs region of Cape Town in the Western Cape province ...
(SACS) Junior and High Schools as well as Groote Schuur High School and Sans Souci Girls' High School. The Imhoff sports grounds of Westerford High School (which borders the neighborhood) is also located within Newlands. The Peter Clarke Art Centre is located in south eastern corner of the neighborhood.


Notable residents

* Alexander du Toit (1878-1948), geologist. *
Edward Neville Syfret Admiral Sir Edward Neville Syfret, (20 June 1889 – 10 December 1972) was a senior officer in the Royal Navy who saw service in both World Wars. He was knighted for his part in Operation Pedestal, the critical Malta convoy, in the Second Wor ...
(1889-1972), naval officer and admiral. * Eric Rosenthal (1905-1983), historian. *
Cecil Michaelis Maximilian Gustav Alfred Cecil Michaelis (born: 19 August 1913 - died: 3 May 1997), was an artist who also practised in glass and ceramics, and a philanthropist who encouraged crafts and design. He was the only son of Sir Max Michaelis, a South Af ...
(1913-1997), artist and philanthropist. *
Barry Streek Barry Streek (30 August 1948 – 21 July 2006) was a South African political journalist and anti-apartheid activist. Early life and education Barry Streek was educated at Michaelhouse in Kwazulu-Natal after which he completed his national serv ...
(1948-2006), journalist and anti-apartheid activist.


References

{{Authority control Suburbs of Cape Town