Page 149 - Bulletin 19 2015

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stoep enclosed. Otherwise, today named Beaufort Villa, it looks much as it did in Sir John
Molteno’s time. (Fig. 3.35.)

Kimberley House – later Craigside, and Kimberley Cottage

Next along Main Road stood Kimberley House, now called Craigside (2 Quarterdeck Rd),
and Kimberley Cottage (2 Main Rd). It is easy to assume that the house and road next to it

were named for the Kimberley diamond mines but it is almost certain that they were named
for the Secretary for the Colonies, Lord Kimberley. He had approved the call led by Molteno

for responsible government at the Cape in 1872.

The original erf (88659) was bought by James Hutchinson in 1842 and sold on to major Kalk
Bay property owner Alexander Maderose, who in turn sold it to Sir John Molteno in 1876 for

£415. It was a very big house and with Beaufort Cottage would surely have provided
sufficient accommodation even for the Molteno family. (Figs. 3.36 & 3.37.) The property has

a long and interesting history. John Molteno was knighted in 1883 on his retirement from

politics and died in 1886. Kimberley House was inherited by his wife Lady Sobella (Minnie)
Molteno who sold it to John Alexander Gibson in 1893. Gibson probably had ideas of

opening an hotel or boarding house. The 1895 Argus Year Book shows that well known

Muizenberg hotelier Isidore Hirsch was running the Kimberley Villa Private Hotel, although
it seems to have been a short-lived venture.

The year before he died unexpectedly, James Lowrie Williams bought the property on 3
November 1897, having taken a substantial £2,500 mortgage from Stephen Trill. His widow

Bertha Mary Elizabeth Williams had usufruct and the Williams family ran this guest house

until 1920. The early years must have been difficult for the widow and her four children. A
1903 application to court for funds from her husband’s estate shows the annual income from

Kimberley House was about £300 but rates were nearly £50, and £100 was spent on upkeep.