Page 42 - Bulletin 21

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In 1926 the farm was divided into 5 portions (Lots A, B, C, D and Remainder) between the

five de Stadler brothers. Over the years these Lots were further subdivided which resulted in
small-holdings and plots. The portion with the original grant to Wieser, plus the homestead,

was awarded to my grandfather, Cecil de Stadler (Remainder.) (Fig. 2.9.)

It remained thus, until, from the late 1960s onwards, various portions of ground were sold to

developers resulting in: Sunnydale residential area, Milkwood Park, de Oude Weg,

Masiphumelele, Longbeach and Sun Valley Shopping Malls, Faerie Knowe, Wingate Heights
and Capri. However, the old family home has miraculously remained in our family. Why

miraculously? Well, it survived numerous mountain fires and in the 1960s my family sold the
property to Corlette Drive Property Co., which then went insolvent, so the family got their

portion of the property back. In addition to this, I was an only child, with no first cousins, so

there was no family rivalry when it came to the property.

After my grandmother, Ermin de Stadler, passed away, a series of tenants, haphazard

additions and awful fashion trends left their mark on the old Cape Dutch Homestead.

Restoration of the Old Homestead

It was in 1988/1989 that I, together with my husband at the time, Johann Brits, embarked on

the most rewarding yet challenging undertaking of restoring the now dilapidated old home

back to its former glory. (Figs. 2.10 – 2.14.) We were complete novices and did not have a
clue about the scale of the undertaking we were about to embark on.

How and where does one who is unqualified begin with such a venture?

Find a game builder, with nerves of steel, who is prepared to learn along the way too. Enter
Tony Moolenschot from Moolenschot Construction, and his talented team.

We spent hours walking around the old homestead, getting a feeling for it and looking for the

secrets and stories that it might tell. Lots of research was done in books. Studying old

photographs of the homestead were most revealing. Visiting villages such as Tulbagh with its