Welcome to Roeland Street- discover the history

By Deborah Marondo

Roeland street is located in the Eastern precinct in Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa. Although Roeland street is not one of the popular streets in Cape Town, it is home to historical buildings like the Western Cape Archive Record and service,The South African Parliament, St Mary’s church, and other interesting places to explore.  

 

 

                                                       Picture: PC Deborah Marondo

 Joshua Jacobs (51) a car guard In Roeland street, Cape Town says that every morning there is a group of people handing out food to the homeless people that stays in the intersection of Roeland and Canterbury street. He witnesses how these homeless people die, because they are being exposed to the cold weather.

 

         PC: Deborah Marondo

                                    Joshua Jacobs (51) car guard, Roeland Street, Cape town.

 

The Kimberley hotel tragedy

The Kimberly hotel is one of the oldest hotels in Cape Town. It was built in 1895 and is 114 years old. The Kimberley backpacker's hotel is situated on the corner of Buitenkant and Roeland Street in Cape town, CBD district. Federick Cherry was an Irish architecture who arrived in Cape Town in 1890. One of his works was to redevelop the Kimberley Hotel. Today the Kimberley Hotel is a backpacker lodge and bar. The Kimberley hotel was once a starting point for horse drawn carriages leaving Cape Town to Kimberley.  The Hotel has 11 bedrooms and a balcony to see the beautiful view of Table Mountain and sunset. The hotel is far from being a 5star hotel, however the pub Barney’s Bistro which offered good food from hamburgers to nachos and drinks at an affordable price that benefits tourist, local Capetonian residents and students. Students had a 10% discount special. A tragedy that happened in July 13 that will never be forgotten is the death Rosa Carlyle-Mitchell a UCT theatre student who the balcony of the hotel around 9pm in the evening. She was celebrating her 21st birthday on the day that she passed away.  Residents of Roeland Street testified that they saw a girl sitting on the balcony drinking, but they are unsure if that girl is Rosa. Since the incident occurred the Kimberley hotel does not allow guests to sit on the balcony.

      Kimberly hotel backpackers, 46 Roeland Street. 28-03-2022. PC Deborah Marondo.

 

 Vida e caffé – life and the coffee

Vida e café is a privately operated coffee company and one of its branches is on no. 62 Roeland Street, Cape Town. Vida e caffè is one of the successful franchises in South Africa with more than 320 stores in Africa. The name of the cafe is a mix of Spanish and Italian.  Spanish- vida~life. Italian – e caffè~and coffee

The café offers the real European expresso bar culture and breakfast. Their coffee is 100% Arabic beans, they sell Ice coffee, coffee capsules, and coffee machines. Many people in Roeland Street make a stop to Vida e caffé for a quick coffee and brunch stop before heading to work or school.

                   On the right of Roeland street is 62 Vida e caffè. PC: Deborah Marondo.

 

Harold Cressy High school

 Cape Town secondary school was founded in January 1951, and later after two years, it was renamed Harold Cressy high to pay tribute to Harold Cressy, who had passed away in 1916.  Harold focused on bettering education for coloured people. The school was and is still situated in district six, where the majority of the residents were coloured people. The Group Areas Act of 1950 forced the nonwhites to relocate to the Cape Flats and District six was classified as a white-only area.

The school faced pressure to relocated to the Cape.

Flats, however, the school resisted and to stay in D6. The decision was seen a lesson to remind people to always stand for their rights as citizens of the City.  The school thrived in the face of an oppressive political system of Apartheid. In 2014, August Harold Cressy was declared a Provincial Heritage Site by the Western Cape Council.

 

 Side view angle of Harold Cressy High school 103, Roeland Street, Cape Town. PC: Deborah Marondo

 

Another Institution to look at in Roeland Street is The Cape Peninsula University of Technology. The Roeland Street campus is the administration and research station for many students in the faculty of information and design. The Roeland Street campus offers teaching and learning space for students studying journalism, public relations, photography and other courses.

 

CPUT Roeland street campus/ Administration and Research Centre. PC: Deborah Marondo.

 

The Western Cape and Record Service that we see today, was the Roeland Street prison many years ago before it was demolished. The main entrance and the wall are what’s left of the prison. The Roeland Street prison was the largest in the city. One of the challenging times in prison was the hit of the influenza epidemic in 1918. The disease affected both prisoners and wardens, and the prison turned into a hospital. About ten percent of prisoners lost their lives. On execution days crowds gather outside to watch the flagpole. There was a black flagpole that rose minutes after execution. Today the flagpole is replaced by the South African national flag. The Roeland Street prison was moved to Steenberg, Tokai, and is now called Pollsmoor.

              Front of the Western Cape Archive and Record Service. PC: Deborah Marondo

 

Reference 

 vida e caffè. (n.d.). vida e caffè - life & coffee. [online] Available at: https://vidaecaffe.com/.

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