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Elsie's River (Elsiesrivier in
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) is a
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of
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,
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.


History

Elsies River was probably named after Elsje van Suurwaarde who farmed in the area in 1698. Baptized on 8 October 1662 in the
Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( af, Kaap die Goeie Hoop ) ;''Kaap'' in isolation: pt, Cabo da Boa Esperança is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is t ...
, Elsje was a matriarch who outlived her husbands and worked the land until she died. After her death, her farm passed through the hands of many landowners. In the mid, to late 1800s Elsies River operated as a halt. The Transatlantic Rail from
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 ...
Central had a major stop at Elsies River Station. People with wagons from surrounding areas would gather to meet the train at the halt (hence the name Halt Road still today). There was ample water in the Elsies Kraal River to quench thirsty horses and the Arcadia Coffee House served much-needed refreshments for tired travellers. Some of the new landowners included William Walthen (1846) and Gideon Hoffmeyer (1879). With the growing influx of coloured people into Elsies River, landowners like Walthen and Hoffmeyer started rental arrangements with these coloured people and properties were divided. There was plenty of wood in Elsies River and people could build shacks and informal dwellings, cheaply, and there was ample water in the Elsies Kraal River for drinking, cleaning, washing, etc. In the 1920s the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
hit South Africa and the Cape, and in the late 1920s and the early 1930s more families from the rural areas made their way to the 'convenient area', Elsies River, which now included areas such as Clarke Estate, Avondale Estate, Eureka Estate, amongst others. Some of the influential coloured families back then were the Braafs and the Kruywagens. They lived on extended family grounds, often referred to as "die bos" which is literally translated as "the bush". However, a more accurate translation would be ‘clan' or as in a "bunch of people". So for example, the area where the Braafs lived was referred to as "Braaf se bos" or the place where the Braaf clan staid. By 1940 there were an estimated 50,000 coloured people living in the Elsies River area, and in 1942 it was labelled as one of the "black spots" in the
Cape Peninsula The Cape Peninsula ( af, Kaapse Skiereiland) is a generally mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the African continent. At the southern end of the peninsula are Cape Point and the Cape of ...
due to ever-increasing population, sanitation and other health issues, and high infant mortality rates (2 out if every 10 babies dies before age one). From 1940 onwards, industry in the area was on the increase with big business such as G.H Starck - the plywood company opening - employment opportunities for locals, and in the nearby
Voortrekker The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyon ...
Road - in Parow - big retail stores, such as Grand Bazaars, opened their doors. In 1980 the suburb, at the time restricted to
coloured Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. South ...
people, became the scene of bloodshed after a demonstration in support of the school
boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...
became violent. Two 15-year-olds were shot dead by police.The Cadets from Soweto
''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' June 9, 1980. Today Elsie's River has many public places such as libraries, supermarkets, and a civic hall.


Education

In Elsie's River, there are eleven schools: Elsies River High School, The Range High School, Elswood High School, Marion RC High School, Valhalla High School, The Range Primary School, Elnor Primary school, Matroosfontein Primary School, Elsbury Primary School and J.S. Klopper Primary School, Matroosfontein's Badge, Eldene Primary School,Valhalla Primary School, Leonsdale Primary School, Balvenie Primary School, Elswood Primary School,Norwood Primary School, Holy Trinity Primary School, Clarke Primary School.


Notable residents

*
Tony Cedras Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...
, musician *
Cynthia Fraser Cynthia 'Ma' Fraser (7 December 1934June 14, 2020) was a South African political activist. Born in Elsie's River suburb of Cape Town, Fraser's mother was a trade unionist which drew her into activism at a young age. She passed out leftist newspa ...
, ANC activist


References

{{Cape Town suburbs Suburbs of Cape Town Former Coloured townships in South Africa Townships in the Western Cape