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Highstead House Rondebosch, Cape Town, Western Cape George Murray ALEXANDER: Architect

Date: 1882 Type: Homestead Status: Extant Street: Highstead Road

The house was built for the then surveyor-general, Abraham de Smidt, on a portion of the Groote Schuur estate which he owned. It was later bought by the government, and has been one of the official residences on the estate for many years. It is currently allocated to the deputy president. (Arthur Radburn, July 2024) References: Johnson, Brian Andrew. 1987. Domestic architecture at the Cape, 1892-1912 : Herbert Baker, his associates and his contemporaries. Pretoria: UNISA (unpublished MA thesis). pg 360 Radford, D. 1979. The architecture of the Western Cape, 1838-1901. A study of the impact of Victorian aesthetics and technology on South African architecture. Johannesburg: Unpublished Ph.D thesis. Dept of Arch. University of the Witwatersrand. pg 110