Grassy Park is a suburb of the City of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

Province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It is bordered to the east by the suburb of

Lotus River Lotus River is a suburb of Cape Town in South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the At ...

, to the north by the suburb of Parkwood and to the west by a small lake called Princess Vlei. To the south lies

Rondevlei The Rondevlei Nature Reserve is located in Grassy Park, Zeekoevlei and Lavenderhill, suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. The bird sanctuary covers approximately of mostly permanent wetland and consists of a single large brackish lagoon. The natu ...

and

Zeekoevlei Zeekoevlei is a freshwater lake on the Cape Flats in Cape Town, Western Cape Province, South Africa. The lake is in area. The name means hippopotamus pond or marsh, with "vlei" being Afrikaans for a shallow minor lake, often seasonal, and ''zee ...

. The

Rondevlei Nature Reserve The Rondevlei Nature Reserve is located in Grassy Park, Zeekoevlei and Lavenderhill, suburbs of Cape Town, South Africa. The bird sanctuary covers approximately of mostly permanent wetland and consists of a single large brackish lagoon. The natu ...

is home to a very shy

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...

, a few

eland Eland may refer to: Animals *''Taurotragus'', a genus of antelope ** Common eland of East and Southern Africa ** Giant eland of Central and Western Africa Places * Eland, Wisconsin, United States * An old spelling of Elland, West Yorkshire * Ela ...

and other mostly nocturnal animals including many

caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...

and

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

. Rondevlei is also home to a healthy

pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...

community. Zeekoevlei is one of the many freshwater lakes in the district.

History

Grassy Park began to develop in the early 1900s on part of the Montagu's Gift estate north of

. At that time, the area was rural, under the administration of the Divisional Council of the Cape. By 1920, the estate had 2000 residents.Divisional Council of the Cape (1920). ''Minutes of the Chairman'' From 1923, it was represented on the Southern Civic Association.Robinson, H. (1998) ''Beyond the City Limits'' Grassy Park was proclaimed a local area in 1935, which meant that the residents received municipal services, for which they paid higher rates. It was later incorporated into the

South Peninsula Municipality The City of Cape Town ( af, Stad Kaapstad; xh, IsiXeko saseKapa) is the metropolitan municipality which governs the city of Cape Town, South Africa and its suburbs and exurbs. As of the 2011 census, it had a population of 3,740,026. The remot ...

in 1996, and into the City of Cape Town in 2000.

Education

Grassy park is home to four Primary schools and two Secondary schools: * Grassy Park E.C. Primary School * Fairview Primary School * Kannemeyer Primary School * Sid G. Rule Primary * Grassy Park High School * Grassdale High School.

Religion

There are several places of worship in Grassy Park. These include: * Acts Mission Church of SA * Assembly Of God * Calvyn Protestant Church Grassy Park * Gereformeerde Kerk - Grassy Park * Grassy Park Methodist Church * Grassy Park Moravian Church * Masjid Ahmediyah (Grassy Park Mosque) * Grassy Park Seventh-day Adventist Church * Church Of The Good Shepherd * New Apostolic Church Grassy Park * New Apostolic Church Grassy Park Central * New Apostolic Church Grassy Park West *Old Apostolic Church * Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic Church * Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church Grassy Park

Sports and recreation

The Rooikrans Sports Ground in Grassy Park has playing fields for a variety of sports such as

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. There are several sports teams based here. These include Grassy Park Crusaders Baseball Club, Grassy Park United Football Club, Titans RFC (Rugby-Football Club). The Grassy Park Chess Academy is a

chess club A chess club is a club formed for the purpose of playing the board game of chess. Chess clubs often provide for both informal and tournament games and sometimes offer league play. Traditionally clubs host over the board, face to face chess more t ...

based in Grassy Park.

Commercial areas and community facilities

Grassy Park's main commercial area is an intersection called "Busy Corner" at the intersection of 5th Avenue and Victoria Road. There is a hub of small retail outlets, the local Library, Police Station and a transport interchange which connects Grassy Park to

Mitchell's Plain Mitchells Plain is a large township located within the City of Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa and situated about from the Cape Town city centre. It is one of South Africa's largest residential areas and contains multiple smaller suburbs ...

, Retreat and Wynberg. Another commercial area is at the corner of Prince George Drive and 5th Avenue where supermarkets, fast food restaurants and a petrol station can be found. Various small shops and businesses can also be found along Lake Road. Grassy Park is also home to the

Cape of Good Hope SPCA Established in 1872, the Cape of Good Hope SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) in Cape Town is the founding society of the SPCA movement in South Africa and is the oldest animal welfare organisation in the country. A registered ...

and LOFOB. Other public amenities in Grassy Park include the Grassy Park Community Health Clinic, Grassy Park Civic Centre and Battswood Art Centre.

References

{{Authority control Suburbs of Cape Town