History of Pinelands

Province; Western Cape
Coordinates:33.9335° S, 18.5086° E
Area: 5.86 km2
Municipality; City Of cape Town

Garden Cities

Pinelands was established as a suburb on the farm “Uitvlugt’ which belonged to the Department of Forestry where there were several thousand hectares of pine plantations. Sadly this enterprise was not an economic success. Although the new township was to be called Midwood, the name Pinelands is derived from the existence of these plantations. Pinelands was established at the instigation of Richard Stuttafordin in 1920. He donated a large sum of money to start the development fund. A non-profit organisation was formed and all profits were returned for the benefit of the inhabitants. The land was granted to “The Garden Cities Trust” with the founding Deed of Trust signed in 1919. Great pains were taken to ensure a high standard of architecture and safety for traffic. The layout of the suburb was based on the town planning ideas of Sir Ebenezer Howard and this was the first planned town area in South Africa. Post the epidemic of The Spanish flu, he devised a way to plan homes to avoid overcrowding and slum conditions which was believed to lead to the spread of disease.

Groceries delivered

The first thatched house in Pinelands at 3 Mead Way was built in 1922. This house and the whole street were declared a national monument in 1983. The Pinelands Library was built in 1924 but in 1929 there were still no shops in Pinelands and shopping was done when the grocer rode around the suburb with his wares on horse-drawn carts. Milk came from the local Peacocks farm. A vegetable stall was eventually built in 1929 at Central Square.

Lights and water in the “new” suburb

Municipal services were still rudimentary with no water-borne sewerage. However, The Ditchfield Sanitation Company operated an efficient bucket system. By 1923 electricity had been installed and residents could elect to have either electricity or piped gas. By 1929 there were only 10 street lights.

Houses for returning servicemen

At the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Pinelands Development Company began to build houses for returning servicemen. 224 homes were built to the highest standard of workmanship and no two houses are exactly alike
Pinelands became a fully-fledged municipality in 1948, it is still one of the few areas in Cape Town where alcohol may not be sold.

Things to see and do in Pinelands

Garden of remembrance in the central square
Oude Molen eco village

WEATHER IN PINELANDS TODAY

all listings in pinelands

Useful Numbers in Pinelands

Police: 021 506 2022
Municipality– 0860 103 089
Traffic department: Pinelands municipality-0860 103 089
Fire: Epping – 021 534 1387
Water:0860 103 089
Electricity:0860 103 089
Ambulance: 10177
Post office; Athlone Post Office-021 697 1201
Library:021 530 7160
Closest hospital; Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital-021 506 5111
Pharmacy; Clicks Pharmacy – Central Square-021 531 5929
SPCA: Cape of Good Hope SPCA-021 700 4140
Pinelands Town Hall:021 444 5799
Schools: The Blue School – Pinelands Primary School-021 531 3674

Pinelands North Primary School-021 531 3414
Cannons Creek Independent School-021 531 0912
Pinelands High School-021 531 7410
Pinehurst Primary School-021 531 2783
Grace Primary School-021 532 1816
Nutcracker Pre School-021 531 3674
Meerendal Pre-primary School-021 531 8445
Pinelands Montessori Preschool-021 486 9035

Ratepayers association:021 531 5604.
The City of Cape Town Public Emergency Communication Centre is available 24/7 For all life or property threatening emergencies, call 021 480 7700 from any phone or 107 from a landline or report online at https://bit.ly/3o4Ji3K

Pinelands