Contact Artefacts
please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record.
Menu
HomeUpfront
Now Up
Books
Towns
Structures
People
Firms
Lexicon
Meerlust
Stellenbosch, Western Cape
 |  |  |  |  |
Contact Artefacts | MenuHomeUpfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon | Meerlust | | ||||||
| |||||||||
Click to view map Coordinates: | The earliest deeds for Meerlust are signed by Simon van der Stel and dated 1693. These lands extended much further than the present farm, and there were grazing rights as far afield as Saldanha Bay. The original T-shaped house of plastered stone was built by Henning Hüsing, an illiterate German stockman, whose wheelings and dealings in sheep and cattle with the Dutch East India Company earned for him the possible distinction of becoming South Africa's first millionaire. Hüsing was one of the settlers instrumental in precipitating the Burghers' uprising against Willem Adriaan van der Stel, and for this he was banished to his homeland. However, when, in turn, van der Stel was sent back to Netherllands in disgrace, Hüsing returned to the Cape and to Meerlust. After Hüsing's death in 1713, lands changed from owner to owner until 1757, when Meerlust became the property of Johannes Albertus Mijburg, remaining in the family to this day, Meerlust is the oldest surviving grand farmhouse in the Stellenbosch district. The gabled facade was added in 1776, when the house was enlarged to an H-plan. Much of the original teak woodwork remains, and the front door is especially beautiful with its brass door handle and escutcheon plate, dated with the year of the embellishment of the homestead. As authentic as the exterior, the interior has all its woodwork intact, including an unusual staircase and a pair of elegant muurkaste, Meerlust is a truly outstanding example of a Cape Dutch homestead. At the rear of the homestead the outhouses of the werf stand in a row, which is usual arrangement. Each building is of great interest. Most famous of all the Meerlust buildings is the gabled pigeon loft, a delightful small, double-storeyed structure with enclosed yards on either side, presumably for cock fighting. Also on the property are an interesting walled graveyard, a particularly beautiful slave bell and a sundial dated 1732. (Picton-Seymour, 1989: 68-9) For further information on the measured drawings see Pearse Collection. Books and articles that reference Meerlust
|
|
