Page 154 - Bulletin 19 2015

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The inspector visited the property at the end of winter and described what he referred to as
three cottages in unflattering terms. There were 20 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and 3 WCs. The

floors were mostly below ground level and there were a few foundations with joists resting

mainly on the ground. Some of the rooms had a ceiling height of 7ft and in some damp had
risen to a height of 6ft. Permission was given to demolish. What lay behind this exercise is

unclear but for whatever reason the building was not demolished and remains as a fine
example of Kalk Bay’s long history. A year after applying for permission to demolish Rose

Taylor sold the property to George Frederick Le Sueur.

Onaway

At the time Rose Taylor bought the property in 1920 it was subdivided as shown in Fig. 3.42.

The odd shape of the subdivision arose from the existence of a high rock shelf which dropped

steeply to the ground level on which Kimberley House stood. It made for a natural division of
the plot. Bertha Williams applied to have a house built on this erf (88652) in 1922. (Fig.

3.43.) Next to it is the holiday house The Wigwam which was connected to the water supply
in 1905 and demolished around 1940.

This charming 3-bedroom house was designed for Bertha Williams by the well-known

architect Douglas Hoets and built by J Long for £750. By 1931 it was known as Onaway –
the name of a native American tribe largely from Michigan where there are many records of

an Orr family. In 1939 Onaway and Kimberley House were bought by Georg Frederick Le
Sueur and in 1944 by Robert Harold Orr (known as Harold), the son of John Orr of

department store fame. It was at this time that Kimberley House was re-named Craigside.

The Orr family had a long connection to St. James and Kalk Bay with various members of the
family owning not only Kimberley House, Kimberley Cottage and Onaway but Larboard

Watch and Cloete’s Cottage as well.