History Webs

For the Drakenstein Valley

Reference

SA Garden & Home, August 1977; Paarl Post 8 December 1978.

Paarl Rock's cannon

The VOC cannon on Paarl Rock is an old ship's cannon - one of several used to signal the arrival of ships in Table Bay harbour, and to summon men to defend the Cape settlement.

The granite rocks

Five types of granite have been identified on Paarl Mountain. The most common is the coarse grained Bretagne Granite, named after Bretagne Rock.

Other campsites

In the 1800s and early 1900s, before motorised transport made family holidays in distant places more affordable, many families camped on Paarl Mountain during school holidays. Some of the camp sites were at Meulwater, Oukraal, Pienaarskamp, Groot Oukraal, Tredouxkamp, Elsiesbos, Waboomkop and at Kanariedam.

Mountain road

Paarl Mountain has two access points from Main Street: the one in Suider Paarl near the KWV's head office, and the other in Noorde Paarl near the outskirts of the town. The road - Jan Phillips Drive - was built in the 1920s and was the brainchild of one of Paarl's wagon builders, JF Phillips.

Meulwater and the ladies of Paarl Beautifying Society

The 4,5 ha wild flower reserve at Meulwater on Paarl Mountain was one of the many projects launched in 1932 by the ladies of the Paarl Beautifying Association. The society's first president was Miss H Cillie, former headmistress of La Rochelle Girls' High School. The association was concerned that alien plants would eventually destroy the mountain's indigenous bulb and fynbos species. They decided to establish a wild flower garden at Meulwater, a campsite on Paarl Mountain. The small group of women did all the work themselves - planting, sowing, pruning and growing cuttings. They collected plants, bulbs and seeds from all over the Boland area. Special work parties were organised during the planting and growing seasons. WWII brough an unexpected windfall - Italian POWs to help them build the garden's pond, stone bridge and pathways.