Pinelands, Cape Town

Pinelands is an affluent

The layout of Pinelands is based on the then revolutionary Garden Cities methodology of town planning by the British town-planner, Sir Ebenezer Howard. It was originally a Victorian era farm named Uitvlugt that had thousands of pine trees planted in it, and was later deemed an economic failure by the Department of Forestry. In the aftermath of the outbreak of the bubonic plague in Cape Town in February 1901, the colonial health authorities invoked Public Health Act of 1897 and quickly established a location in Uitvlugt forest station (modern day Pinelands). Black Africans living in District Six were rounded up under armed guard and taken to the location of Uitvlugt. This area was initially established primarily to quarantine Black Africans who were forcibly relocated after the outbreak of the disease, furthering efforts of the government at the time to push Black and Coloured communities to the outskirts of the city. This marked the beginning of forced removals in Cape Town in the twentieth century.

Almost 22 years later, the land was then granted to "The Garden Cities Trust" and the founding Deed of Trust was signed in 1919. One of the first members of the trust, Richard Stuttaford (head of the department store Stuttafords), made a £10,000 gift donation to serve as capital, and a loan of £15,000 from the government was invested in Pinelands. The trust brought in an overseas expert, Albert John Thompson, in 1920 to design the area.

The first (thatched) house in Pinelands to be occupied was 3 Mead Way and was built in February 1922. The house and entire street, including The Mead were declared a national monument in 1983. The original township area is currently a proposed heritage area. Pinelands converted to a municipality in 1948 and in 1996 merged into the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. The old Pinelands Town Council offices now accommodate the Pinelands Subcouncil.

According to the

In Pinelands there are three public primary schools, each of which is commonly known in the community by a colour: Pinelands Primary School ("The Blue School"), Pinelands North Primary School ("The Red School") and Pinehurst Primary School ("The Green School"). Pinelands High School is a public high school, centrally located in the suburb. Cannons Creek Independent School is a private combined primary and high school. Grace Primary School is a Christian primary school embracing a Charlotte Mason education philosophy.^[5] There are three private pre-primaries in Pinelands: Meerendal Pre-Primary, La Gratitude Pre-Primary, Learn and Play Centre Pre-School and Old Mutual for their employees. The high school campus of Vista Nova (a school for children with cerebral palsy and other special needs) is located in the suburb. The Pinelands Campus of the College of Cape Town while located in Maitland is on the northern edge of Pinelands and draws students from all over Cape Town.

Pinelands has sporting facilities including

In January 1949, the municipal council assumed a coat of arms, designed by F. de Beaumont Beech.^[6] It registered the arms with the Cape Provincial Administration in July 1954^[7] and at the Bureau of Heraldry in July 1979.^[8]

The arms were : Or, on a chevron Gules, between three fir-cones Sable, slipped and leaved Vert, three annulets Or (i.e. a golden shield depicting, from top to bottom, two black fir-cones with green leaves, a red chevron displaying three golden rings, and another black fir-cone with green leaves). The crest was a squirrel holding an acorn, and the motto was Fides – prudentia – labor.

• Huis der Nederlanden

• The History of Pinelands, Cape Town

• Pinelands Hockey
• The Pinelands Catholic Church Website
• Old and recent photos of Pinelands, Cape Town
• Pinelands Community Directory
• Councillor Brian Watkyns website