Saturday 28 December 2019

More than Conquerors


CAPE ARGUS - 1939, January 28
“Never allow a failure to be your final effort; make it a stepping stone to another attempt. Accept a defeat as a challenge to your manhood, a call to a renewed endeavor, to a firmer resolution. Let it be said of you, as it was said of one of the greatest soldiers of history, ‘He profited by defeat as other men profited by victory.’” – Colonel Edward H. Joy, Congregational Church, Rondebosch
During the Great War soldiers were wont to say that it was mental agony to fight an unseen enemy. To be shot at and not to see your assailant is to be at a tremendous disadvantage; to see him face to face is to take his measure and to know how to act. In the great spiritual warfare, which goes on for your soul you realise that your foes are not flesh and blood but the spirits of wickedness, and in your constant defeat you cry, ‘Can I overcome?’ Yes, cries the Word of God. We are more than conquerors through our faith in Christ Who loved us.” – The Rev. RW Wighton, Baptist Church, Observatory

Friday 27 December 2019

Claremont's Commercial Growth


CAPE ARGUS - 1939, December 12
A Rise in valuation from £3,089,895 in 1930 to £5,000,000 this year is in itself a pointer of prosperity in which Claremont residents can well take pride. The suburb can look forward to the future with tremendous confidence. 
The reasons for this confidence are based on the opportunities for building expansion in this suburb. On the new estate on the mountain side of the railway and on both sides of Lansdown-road are sites which will provide for hundreds of houses. The Flats side offers opportunities for the houses of the small business man.
Christmas shoppers are not obliged to “go to town” for their purchases these days. Claremont’s shops, during the last few years, have undergone a transformation almost unheard of among the suburbs. Two years ago, Claremont’s narrow, congested main road was condemned – today she has the finest suburban street in the Peninsula.
The housewife may now park her car outside a shop and make her purchases at her leisure. And the shops and bazaars can provide all she needs from kitchen utensils to suites of furniture. The money spent by shop-owners on alterations has rewarded both the shoppers and themselves.
Shoppers, sight-seers and residents who travel to the city daily can have little fault to find with the transport facilities provided in Claremont. Last year 878,000 people used the road transport service between Cape Town and Wynberg. This year the figure has mounted to 1,000,000. There are 34 buses on the line, and a daily service to cater for all the needs of the residents.
Schools are a vital part of the make-up of a prosperous suburb, and Claremont has been fortunate in this respect. There are four large private schools. The Western Province Preparatory School and Herschel High School have been catering for the younger generation in the suburb for a number of years. Lansdown Preparatory School, recently opened, now solves part of the School Board’s problem of how to cope with the growing school population.
There are building plots in the suburb to suit all pockets. The low wage earner can buy his plot for £200 or £300; his rich employer for any price up to £750 a plot. And Claremont’s plots are generous. Instead of the usual “100 by 50” piece of ground the would-be house owner will probably find his plot measures as much as 20 feet more in both directions.
Wise building regulations prevent “jerry-building.” Each house must be different. The wisdom of the regulations can be seen and appreciated during a drive through this picturesque suburb, where the man with a family has realized the value of buying, instead of renting, his own house.
Water supply difficulties, which so plagued the very early residents of the suburb, have disappeared. Water is to be had in abundant quantities for gardening as well as household purposes. With good soil for their gardens, moderate rates to pay, excellent electricity facilities and fine sites for their houses the residents are well pleased with their choice of a home. A swimming bath, to cost about £25,000, will, it is hoped, soon add to the attractions of the suburb.
Nature, too, has helped in Claremont’s commercial growth. The Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, which draw people not only from the Peninsula but from all over the world, are within reach of the residents. Nearer at hand are the beautifully planned public gardens. The Keurboom Park which is still in the course of construction, will provide yet another beauty spot as well as a “lung” for the suburb. Claremont has been fortunate in having these places within its boundaries.
It is expected that Claremont’s European population of 7,000 will soon pass the 10,000 mark for there is room for a population many times the size of the present one and the suburb’s progress must result in more and more people being attracted to it. Claremont advanced to the municipality stage in 1883, before which it was controlled by a village management board. Today its Ratepayer’s Association administer the suburb with wisdom and foresight – a guarantee of future prosperity.
***
Buy Smart Summer Shoes at ATKINS Shoe Store in Main Road, Claremont & Wynberg.
Try GROVE Dress Salon for your Summer Frocks.

Coloured Carnival

CAPE ARGUS - 1906, December 18
A Grand Monster Coloured Carnival will take place at Green Point Track 
on New Year’s Day, January 1st, 1907, 
starting in the Afternoon at 2 o’clock sharp, 
and at 7.30 in the Evening.
List of Events
  1. Best Dressed Minstrels or Masquerading Troupe
  2. Combined Chorus
  3. Grand March Past
  4. Cake Walking (Single & Double)
  5. Step Dancing
  6. Buck and Wing Dance
  7. Clog Dance
  8. Best Comic Song
  9. Best Sentimental Song
  10. Banjo Solo
  11. Guitar Solo
  12. Brass Band Competition

The Judges of all Events will be independent Gentlemen connected with no Troupe competing.
Entrance Fees: 5s. for each Troupe. This includes every item on the Programme. All Solo Competitors must be connected with some Troupe competing.
Entry Forms can be had on application from the Assistant Secretary, Mr. B. Baron, 26, Bromwell Street, Woodstock, and 38, Burg Street, Cape Town; or
Mr. W. B. Robinson,
Secretary of Green Point Cricket Club,
Green Point Track,
Green Point

All entries close on Wednesday, December 19th, 1906.

Mistletoe but No Girls

CAPE ARGUS - 1939, December 19
With the masses of mistletoe in the trees where they are bivouacking 
there is not a single girl in the active battle area 
to enable it to be put to the traditional use.
Nevertheless, all the bivouacs, even the outposts, from where the Germans are visible, are now decorated with mistletoe, and the ancient cry, “Kiss me, sergeant.” is heard once more in the land.
Those on outpost duty over Christmas are taking the precaution of having turkey and plum pudding beforehand, and several feasts have already taken place. Yesterday a regiment with marching orders said goodbye to the turkey, geese and chicken they had been fattening, and a wonderful spread, enlivened by French wines, was had for all.
HIDE AND SEEK
Now the men do not mind if they have to fall back on hard tack if they happen to be on outpost duty on Christmas Day. While British and French forward posts continue the game of hide and seek with German patrols in no-man’s-land, in the Maginot fortresses the French garrisons will also celebrate Christmas.
Small Christmas trees spread their decorative branches in all Maginot messes, and the presents of varying quality they carry will be diced for on Christmas Eve by men not on duty. Afterward there will be midnight mass in an underground chapel.

Thursday 26 December 2019

Herr Adolf Hitler at a Christmas Party


THE STAR Johannesburg - 1938, January 4
An unconventional picture of Herr Hitler at a Christmas party in Berlin. On the left is Herr Philipp Bouhler, Reich Leader and Chief of the National Socialist Party Chancellery, and on the right Herr Hederich.


A Strange Christmas - Friend & Foe Fraternise


CAPE ARGUS – 1915, January 1 & 2
That Christmas in the trenches was not all fighting appears from a letter sent home by a private in the Queen’s Westminsters. The writer says:
“Christmas in the trenches was the funniest thing I ever struck. Our guns shelled the German trenches till 4 o’clock on Christmas Eve, and then there was a little rifle fire till dark, when we started singing carols and songs and chaffing the enemy. As things were apparently going very well, four of us got on top of a parapet and struck matches. The enemy cheered, so we all got out and held a concert and dance in the open. We hailed the enemy, met a few half-way, shook hands and exchanged cigarettes. They are jolly good sports. We had a football on Christmas Day, and asked the Germans to send a team, but they declined the challenge. Anyhow, we had a friendly chat. One of the Germans produced a camera and photographed a group of twelve Westminsters and twelve Germans. I smoked German cigars all day and ate German chocolates all night while on guard, so did not do so badly.”
Fuller details are now available of the truce which prevailed on Christmas Day between the British and German soldiers on many parts of the British front. These show that this truce was one of the most impressive events of the war. Soldiers crossed, met each other and shook hands, sang glees and hymns together and exchanged cigars, chocolates, etc. Neither side had believed such peace and goodwill possible. British officers and men declare they never spent a happier day. German officers were most affable and exchanged tokens.
On Christmas Eve the Germans shouted to the Englishmen, “Sing to us.” The response was the singing of “Lead, Kindly Light” and “Abide with me.” In fact, great enthusiasm for the time being prevailed among friend and foe, who even went to the length of playing games together. It was noteworthy that the trucemakers appeared to be Saxons, and not Prussians. 

Tuesday 24 December 2019

The Message of Bethlehem is a Message of Hope


CAPE ARGUS - 1939, December 9
FAMOUS POEMS ABOUT – Rev. Robert Barr
For almost two thousand years poets have been making pilgrimage to Bethlehem. In the immortal story of the Babe, Joseph, Mary, the angels, the shepherds, and the wise men, they have found a theme worthy of their genius.
The Cradle and the Cross have inspired more poetry and song than any other phase of Christ’s life and of these two, the Cradle has inspired the more. In most hymnaries more space is given to the incarnation than to the sufferings and death. Not that the latter is less important than the former, but simply because a birth has always been more full of light than a death. In a story so rich in material, poets have had emphasized different aspects of Bethlehem. This has resulted in a very varied and a very rich treasury.
QUAINTLY AND BEAUTIFULLY
The poverty of Bethlehem has appealed to many poets, and they have made it the theme of their poems. Robert Southwell puts this thought quaintly and beautifully.
The Inns are full, no man will yield This little Pilgrim bed;
But forced is He with silly beasts In crib to shroud His head.
Despise Him not for lying there, First what He is inquire;
An orient pearl is often found In depth of dirty mire.
Weigh not His crib, His wooden dish, Nor beasts that by him feed;
Weigh not His mother’s poor attire, Nor Joseph’s simple weed.
A STABLE WAS THY COURT

Henry Vaughan, seventeenth century physician and poet, dwells on the same thought, the poverty attendant on the Nativity.
A stable was Thy court, and when
Men turned to beasts; beasts would be men;
They were Thy courtiers; others none;
And their poor manger was Thy throne.
No swaddling silks Thy limbs did fold,
Though Thou couldst turn Thy rags to gold;
No rockers waited on Thy birth,
No cradles stirred, no songs of mirth.
John Mauburn, a sixteenth century poet, expressed a similar thought in Latin verse. Elizabeth Charles has translated it:
Dost Thou in a manger lie.
Who hast all created, Stretching infant hands on high.
Saviour long awaited? If a monarch, where Thy state?
Where Thy court on Thee to wait? Regal purple where?
Here no regal pomp we see.
Nought but need and penury. Why thus cradled here?
Alice Sewall, writing towards the close of the nineteenth century, draws attention to the poverty surrounding the Nativity with a charm that would have done credit to the best of the Elizabethans.
The night was darker than ever before (So dark is sin)
When the Great Love came to the stable door And entered in,
And laid Himself in the breath of the kine, And the warmth of hay,
And whispered to the star to shine, And to break, the day.
Alice Meynell, who lived into the beginning of our own century, sings of the lowliness of Christ’s birth with all that delicacy of spiritual insight which marks so much of her poetry.
No sudden thing of glory and fear Was the Lord’s coming; but the dear
Slow nature’s days followed each other To form the Saviour from His Mother –
One of the children of the year.
THE PEACE OF BETHLEHEM
While many poets have been drawn by the poverty of Bethlehem, many have been drawn by the peace of Bethlehem. John Milton has interpreted this as only he could have done in his “Ode on the Nativity.”
No war, or Battails sound, was heard the world around,
The idle spear and shield were high up hung;
The hooked Chariot stood Unstained with hostile blood,
The Trumpet spake not to the armed throng.
And Kings sate still with awful eye, As if they surely knew  Their sovran Lord was by.
But peaceful was the night Wherein the Prince of light
His reign of peace upon the earth began;
The Windes with wonder whist, Smoothly the waters kist,
Whispering new joys to the milde ocean, Who now hath quite forgot to rave,
While Birds of Calm sit brooding on the charmed wave.
PEACE IN NATURE
The poets have felt that the angel’s message of peace was responded to immediately by a strange unwonted peace in Nature.
Here is how Edward Thring expresses it:
Holy night, by thy solemn silence evermore enfoldeth
Angel songs and peace form God on high;
Holy night, thy watchers still with faithful eye beholdeth
Wings that wave, and angel glory nigh,
Lo! Hushed is strife in earth, and air, and sky;
Still thy watchers hear the gladness of the cry.
George MacDonald in his poem “The Sleepless Jesus” wrote:
When first Thou camest to the earth, All sounds of strife were still;
A silence lay about Thy birth, And Thou didst sleep Thy fill.
Frederick Farrar, teacher, preacher and poet of the nineteenth century, also dwelt on the peace of the Nativity:
And the shepherds came to the manger, And gazed on the Holy Child;
And calmly o’er that rude cradle The virgin mother smiled
And the sky in the starlit silence, Seemed full of the angel lay –
“To you in the city of David A Saviour is born today.”
Phillips Brooks opens his well-known hymn with this thought – the peacefulness of the Nativity.
O little town of Bethlehen, How still we see thee lie;
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by; How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given! So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
STRESSED ITS PROMISE
But while many note the poverty of Bethlehem, and many note its peace, others have stressed its promise. They see in the Birth at Bethlehem the dawning of a new word of hopes for mankind. GK Chesterton sings of all that the coming of that Child has meant to the human race.
The thatch on the roof was as golden, Though dusty the straw was and old,
The wind had a peal as of trumpets. Though blowing and barren and cold,
The mother’s hair was a glory Though loosened and torn,
For under the eaves in the gloaming A child was born.
And the rafters of toil still are gilded With the dawn of the star of the heart,
And the wise men draw near in the twilight Who are weary of learning and art.
And the face of the tyrant is darkened, His spirit is torn,
For a new King is enthroned: Yea, the sternest, A child is born.
Bernard Trotter has set this thought of the promise of Bethlehem in a very striking poem.  
A star came out of the East, And a dream came out of the West.
They thought that the Star would set, They dreamed that the Dream was best.
The dream of an Empire’s Vast As the world’s night-bordered hem.
The star of Eternal Love – They met at Bethlehem.
And the Dream became a star, That fell through the night, and died;
But the Star became a dream, Fulfilled through aeons wide.
George MacDonald expresses the idea appealingly in “That Holy Thing.”
They all were looking for a king To slay their foes and lift them high:
Thou cam’st, a little baby thing That mad a woman cry.
O Son of Man, to right my lot Nought but Thy presence can avail;
Yet on the road Thy wheels are nought, Nor on the sea Thy sail!
My how or why Thou wilt not heed, But come down Thou wilt not heed,
But came down Thine own secret stair, That Thou mayst answer all my need,
Yea, every bygone prayer.
THIS IS THE MESSAGE
And this surely is the message of Bethlehem and Christmas to our baffled and perplexed world – a message of Hope. Our Hope is in the child of all Eternity who was born at Bethlehem. No man or woman can make a pilgrimage to the Manger without turning away again filled with hope. Let all of us, young and old, find time to go in thought and praise to Bethlehem this Christmas, and there be renewed in hope. And all may make the pilgrimage, for, as Honoria Traifle sings:
The path to the stable where lies the Babe, Is wide indeed;
For rich and poor there tread alike, in common need.
The path to the stable is very worn, by countless feet,
From vale and hill, from forest depths and city street.
The path to the stable is very old Yet never overgrown;
A little child could find his way, though all alone.
The path to the stable is known by kings, And beggars too;
And just by folk who love the Babe Like me and you.


Wednesday 18 December 2019

MOSSEL BAY News – 1886, 1933 & 1939

CAPE TIMES – 1933, July 8
The Poort, Mossel Bay
The Mossel Bay Municipality, now that it has hired the foreshore from the Harbour Administration, will be able to carry out its improvement plans which it has had under consideration for the past 20 years. Above is a view of the Poort, the fine natural bathing pool, which is one of Mossel Bay’s principal attractions.

Read more about the tidal pool at  https://www.gardenroutemeander.co.za/garden-route-klein-karoo/natural-attractions-gr/natural-attractions-rock-pools/the-tidal-pool-blougat-mossel-bay-garden-route-south-africa-2830.html




Goedemoed Farm, Mossel Bay
CAPE TIMES - 1886, August 7
The Insolvent Estate of Helgart Muller, GOEDEMOED in the Mossel Bay District, will be sold by Public Auction on Tuesday, August 17, 1886. Mr. TS Sheard will be the auctioneer.
This splendid, valuable and well-known farm is situated about 12 miles from Mossel Bay. It is some 2 400 Morgen in extent, has Plentiful Supply of Water and Extensive Arable Lands. As a Cattle, Sheep and Ostrich Farm it is unsurpassed, and the Homestead and other Buildings are large and in an excellent state of repair. 
Among the Live-stock, Household Furniture and other Movables, which will be sold at the same time, may be specially mentioned 14 fine Horses and Mares, about 400 Sheep, a well-bred Bull, 13 Ostriches, Oxen, a large Wagon, Carts, Blacksmith’s Tools, etc.
ER Syfret & S Short are Joint Trustees.



Mossel Bay Aerodrome
CAPE ARGUS - 1939, February 1
Aerodrome opened: Mrs. Fourie, mother of Senator APJ Fourie, Minister of Railways and Harbours, cutting the ribbon at the official opening of the Mossel Bay aerodrome.



Wednesday 11 December 2019

Robertson - an Example for other South African Towns


CAPE ARGUS - 1927, August 4
EDUCATION
Educationally, Robertson has excellent facilities. There are two high schools, one for boys – a large, modern and exceptionally well-equipped building in Education Street, with two boarding establishments, McGregor House and De Waals Hostel – and one for girls, an equally up-to-date building, with a domestic science block in Reitz Street. The school stands in large grounds and a short distance further up in the street is a hostel for girls, capable of accommodating some 70 boarders, and named Merwehof after Dr. Van der Merwe, the late Moderator of the Dutch Reformed Church. Both the boys and girls’ hostels are roomy and airy, and surrounded by recreation grounds.
Each school has some 300 pupils and, in addition to preparing students for the usual matriculation course, they give special facilities for instruction in music. Students are prepared for the licentiate diplomas in piano, violin, organ and singing. The two teachers of singing have London diplomas and pupils are sent to Robertson from all over the country. A feature of the instruction in the boys’ school is the agricultural course. The work is specially arranged for each class and it is of a varied nature, including instruction and practical work in the many different agricultural pursuits for which Robertson is noted.
“MEESTER’S” FATAL MOUTHFUL
Tales of the “good old days,” when South African towns were in their infancy, invariably tell us what strict disciplinarians the old “skoolmeesters” were. Who has not heard of father’s schoolmaster whose “kweperstok” (quince stick) was never beyond reach? Such a martinet had the school going youth of Robertson in its early days. He was a Scot who freely employed a light, flexible cane of peculiarly searching qualities.
A certain grim humour attaches to the story of the occasion when the cane operated on the schoolmaster himself. At dinner one day he swallowed too large a piece of beef, which lodged in his throat, and all efforts to dislodge it proved unavailing. Whether a cynical pupil who had good reason to remember the cane suggested using the implement tradition does not say, but the fact remains that it was hurriedly fetched from the school, and employed to ram the obstinate piece of beef down!
First the unfortunate teacher tried, and then his landlord, but to no purpose. A doctor was summoned post-haste from Worcester but before he arrived that night poor “meester” had passed away. His name may be read today on one of the few weather-beaten tombstones that surround the Dutch Reformed Church.
FROM DERBY WINNER STOCK
One of the leading farmers in the Robertson district, is Mr. DJ de Wet, of Zandvliet, who specializes in racehorses and has just added to his stable a splendid stallion from the same stock as this year’s Derby winner. Mr. Chris de Wet, his son, is an expert on sheep, and recently procured in Australia for their merino stud stock a ram costing £2,000 and another costing £1,000, in addition to several stud ewes.
Some indication of the progress of stud sheep farming in Robertson district may be gained when it is stated that the breeders are competing successfully among other important at the Central Show at Bloemfontein with the sheep kings of the Midlands.
Among other important stud farms in the district are those of Mr. Paul de Wet, Zandvliet, noted for sheep; Mr. JS de Wet, Excelsior, for Frieslands; Mr. Gideon Malherbe, De Hoek, for Jerseys; Mr. Adriaan van Zyl, Boesman’s River, for Frieslands and Clydedales; Mr. Leo Visser and Mr. Dove, of Goedemoed, for sheep; and Mr. Bennie, of Bonnievale, for Frieslands. Poultry farming is largely carried on at Bonnievale, and cheese manufacturing is yet another resource exploited by the Robertson farmer. It may be remarked that Robertson is not a place where farmers sit in blissful contemplation of the shifting colours on the high mountains while nature does the job. The farmers there are as hard worked as farmers anywhere else in the country. They have their losses and their set-backs. They grumble about irrigation rates and the price paid for their products by the pampered consumer. But they are energetic and progressive, and will push their fine south-western district to enviable heights.
In Safeguarding public health, the Robertson Municipality sets an example which other South African towns might follow. Robertson’s town hygiene is something to be envied by other places – and it is due to the enterprise and strong personality of a woman. 
In securing the services as Woman Health Visitor of Miss M. Cilliers, a holder of the Royal Sanitary Institutes’ certificate, the Town Council took a forward step that has today given it a town which is almost model from the health point of view. Not that Robertson has any particularly modern and costly institutions designed from the point of view of public health. It is much simpler than that. A dynamic worker whom all Robertson hold in high esteem – if not a little bit in awe! – Miss Cilliers preaches – and enforces – the doctrine of individual effort. She sees to it that all concerned put first and foremost the ideal of keeping the town clean and healthy. Where food is prepared or kept for public consumption the premises are, under her watchful eye, maintained sweet and fresh. There is constant war on flies. All butchers’ meat is gauze protected and carried in covered wagons; the bakeries are places of fragrant cleanliness; the dairies are kept spotless, and the streets are always a public testimonial to Robertson’s health enterprise.
Miss Cilliers has a free hand in promoting public welfare interests. She is armed with the authority of a fine set of municipal regulations, and, besides that, per post is partly a Government one. But quite apart from that she has those outstanding personal qualifications and capabilities that spell success in work of this character. Miss Cilliers is an indefatigable worker. A trained nurse to whom responsibility is no novelty, she renders splendid services among the poorer members of the community, while she is constantly watchful that the ordinary public services come up to all health requirements.
Miss Cilliers started her work at Robertson less than a year ago. The means the adopted were simple but firmly moved to provide washable walls and floors for their premises and to cover their meat stands with wire gauze. Not satisfied with that, the Health Visitor got them doubly to protect their meat by also screening doors and windows with gauze. She pays them pretty frequent visits to see that everything is always in shipshape order.  Robertson’s bakeries invite a visit at any time. Gauze here, too, and, like the butchers, the bakers have covered in delivery vans.
One up-to-date place has appreciated the economy and healthfulness of machine-made bread and the Municipality is now preparing to erect a properly equipped abattoir. Here, there, and everywhere the Health Visitor speeds in her “flivver.” Nothing escapes her vigilance. No litter is allowed to accumulate anywhere. Yards and furrows, stables and streets, shops and general sanitation are always under critical inspection. Where the Health Visitor thinks something might be improved there is no gainsaying her!
It is in Robertson’s coloured quarter that the success of her work is most apparent. What Miss Cilliers calls her slum area is a portion of the town which has been converted from squalor and decay into a decent, habitable place. Numerous places which have been condemned by her have been bought in by the Town Council, or the landlords have been compelled to make the necessary repairs. Badly aired places have had to be supplied with ventilators, and, generally, every effort is being made to keep the coloured people living under normal, healthy conditions. They have a wholesome respect for “Nurse” and they keep their yards and houses fit for her inspection at any time. They have actually come to take a pride in this work and they even sweep the streets in front of their houses. They usually have a smiling greeting for the Health Visitor, the value of whose work among the sick poor they greatly appreciate.
Miss Cilliers’ effective methods have warmly commended themselves to the Town Council. Her work is highly valued and the Union Public Health Department’s latest report on Robertson is a well-deserved tribute to her ability.



Come to Robertson for your Holiday – Come to Stay

CAPE ARGUS - 1927, August 4
Robertson (but half-a-day’s journey from Cape Town) is most beautifully situated, with mountains surrounding. It is well laid out, and the scenery alone is worth a visit to Robertson. 
COMMERCE IN ROBERTSON
Dried Fruit Factories, Distilleries and Wineries form the major section of industrial activities. Robertson offers a splendid opportunity for a considerable industrial expansion.
SOCIAL LIFE IN ROBERTSON
The Dutch Reformed church is a feature of Robertson and well worth seeing. A Library and Reading Rooms provide for those of literary taste. Patrons of the Theatre will find the splendid bioscope and entertainment hall absolutely modern. Entertainers seldom fail to pay Robertson a visit, and the town does not lack in dances.
SPORT IN ROBERTSON
A fine recreation ground provides for Football, Hockey and Cricket. Tennis Courts, Croquet Court and a nine-hole Golf Course provide for those of other tastes. Boating, Bathing and Fishing in the Breede River, are within easy reach of the town. There is Mountaineering is the neighbourhood; the foot of most of the peaks is easily reached by motor.
CAPE TIMES - 1933, April 25



A PARADISE FOR PICNICKERS
Some delightful spots are within easy reach of Robertson by motor-car. There is, for instance, the De Hoop drive to the mountains – a winding way with farms clinging to the slopes of the foothills and nestling in the valleys. The scenery all the way is splendid and the traveler gains some idea of the remarkable fertility of the farms. From Burger’s farm it is a short walk to the waterfall. Robertson gets its drinking water supply from this spot, which with other places in the neighbourhood, is a magnet for picnickers. The grandeur of the Langebergen range dominates this part of the district.
Equally popular is the short drive to Dassies Hoek. From the town the road leads to a square-shaped cleft in the mountains known as the Window Ledge. Winding up the foothills in easy gradients, the motorist passes works where a good quality lime has been produced from the blue limestone of the mountain. From the top of a hill the farms of Dassies Hoek are seen perched on the mountain side and extending down the valley. But for the absence of chalets, the scenery is typically Swiss in character. At the river there is a poplar grove frequented by picnickers. Higher up is another waterfall which splashes into an almost circular canyon. The scenery here, as elsewhere on the slopes of the mountain chain, has a singular charm. From here a bird’s eye view may be had of the main features of the fertile and beautiful Garden district. A short and very pleasant little drive is the one through the Government plantations to the Silver Strand on the Breede River. Here a fine stretch of sand and safe boating and bathing are enduring attractions to town people. Robertson’s roads are good, and its scenic resources endless. Those who wish to go further afield than the spots mentioned may take the road through the smiling valleys down to the famous Cogman’s Kloof. Here, and at Zandvliet in particular, they will find farms second to none in South Africa. Robertson itself, it may be added, is an easy four hours’ drive from Cape Town. A more pleasant spot away from the hustle of the city could not be desired.

Cape Town’s new £22 000 Broadcasting Station at Milnerton

 CAPE TIMES - 1933, July 18 The Cape and Peninsula Broadcasting Association started Cape Town’s first Broadcasting Station on September 15, ...