Bellville is a large town in the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, and is part of the

Northern Suburbs Northern Sydney is a large metropolitan area in Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia on the north shore of Sydney Harbour and Parramatta River. The region embraces suburbs in Sydney's north-east, north and inner north west. Northern Sy ...

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

. Having formerly been an independent

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

, it was later incorporated into the

City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality The City of Cape Town (; ) is a metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of Cape Town and surrounding areas. As of 2022 it has a population of 4,772,846. History Cape Town first received local self-government in 1839, wit ...

, which is located in the

province of

. The town is an industrial and commercial node, a

university town A college town or university town is a town or city whose character is dominated by a college or university and their associated culture, often characterised by the student population making up 20 percent of the population of the community, bu ...

, and a major

transportation Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

hub within the greater Cape Town metropolitan area. The residential suburb of Bellville lies approximately 23 kilometres (14.3 mi) north-east of

and 38 kilometres (23.6 mi) south-west of

Paarl Paarl (; ; derived from ''parel'', meaning "pearl" in Dutch) is a city with 294,457 inhabitants in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is the largest city in the Boland, Western Cape, Cape Winelands. Due to the growth of the Mbekweni ...

set amongst the

Tygerberg Tygerberg is a district in the northern suburbs of Cape Town in South Africa. It is also the name of the range of hills in the area. The main Tygerberg farms were Pampoenkraal (became Durbanville), Stellenburgh (became part of Bellville), Eve ...

Hills with views over the

Cape Fold Mountains The Cape Fold Belt (CFB) is a long fold-and-thrust mountain belt along the western and southern coastlines of Western Cape, South Africa. The Cape Fold Belt formed during the Permian period (300 to 250million years ago) in the late Paleozoic ...

. Vehicle registrations in Bellville start with CY which also covers the

areas of

Durbanville Durbanville, previously called Pampoenkraal, is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, part of the greater City of Cape Town, Cape Town metropolitan area. It is a semi-rural residential suburb on the north-eastern outskirts of the ...

, Parow and Goodwood. Therewith, the quote "Come to Bellville and CY".

Established

It was founded as "12 Mile Post" (

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

: "12-Myl-Pos") because it is located 12 miles (20 km) from Cape Town city centre. It was first known as "Hardekraaltjie". Founded as a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

on the line from Cape Town to

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

and

Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...

, it was renamed Bellville in 1861 after the surveyor-general

Charles Bell Sir Charles Bell (12 November 177428 April 1842) was a Scottish surgeon, anatomist, physiologist, neurologist, artist, and philosophical theologian. He is noted for discovering the difference between sensory nerves and motor nerves in the ...

Hospitals and educational institutes

The Karl Bremer Hospital functioned as the Academic Hospital for the

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

Medical School A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...

, but now the adjacent

Tygerberg Hospital Tygerberg Hospital is a tertiary public hospital located in Parow. The hospital was officially opened in 1976 and is the largest district general hospital in the Western Cape and the second largest hospital in South Africa, with the capacity fo ...

houses the medical school. Other hospitals in Bellville are:

Mediclinic International Mediclinic Group, founded in 1983, is an international private hospital group with operations in South Africa, Namibia, Switzerland, and the United Arab Emirates. The company is headquartered in Stellenbosch, in the Western Cape province of South ...

Louis Leipoldt and Melomed. The

Cape Peninsula University of Technology Cape Peninsula University of Technology () is a university in Cape Town, South Africa. It is the only university of technology in the Western Cape province, and is also the largest university in the province, with over 32,000 students. It was ...

University of the Western Cape The University of the Western Cape (UWC; ) is a Public university, public research university in Bellville, South Africa, Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. The university was established in 1959 by the Politics of South Africa, South ...

University of Stellenbosch Business School Stellenbosch Business School is the business school of the University of Stellenbosch in Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa. History The University of Stellenbosch Business School was founded in 1964, enrolling 14 MBA students. Four years ...

and

Northlink College Northlink College is a Government higher education institution situated in Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa. It is fully accredited by the Council on Higher Education and Department of Higher Education and Training (DoHET)(South Africa). The ...

are also situated in Bellville. D.F. Malan High School,

Bellville High School Bellville High School is a public high school located in the city of Bellville, Texas in Austin County, United States and classified as a 4A school by the University Interscholastic League (UIL). It is a part of the Bellville Independent School ...

, Westcliff School of Skills, The Settlers High School and Stellenberg High School are located in the area. Primary Schools are: Bellpark, Bellville, Bellville-North, Boston, Eversdal, Excelsior, Kenridge, Mimosa, Totius, Belville Islamic Primary School, Vredelust and Welgemoed.

Other places of interest

The

Bellville Velodrome The Techtonic Velodrome is a 250-meter, multi-purpose indoor velodrome located in Bellville, South Africa. The venue has served as Greater Cape Town's main concert venue and has now been replaced by the Cape Town Stadium. Its maximum capacity f ...

is located in the Tyger Valley area of Bellville. The

has an indoor cycling track and is next to the Bellville athletics track that used to host the annual MTBS athletics competition. Bellville Mall, Tygervalley Shopping centre and Willow Bridge are shopping centres in Bellville. The last two shopping centres were built on the grounds that used to be a quarry and a jail. Other sports an entertainment includes Bellville library, Bellville swimming pool , Cool Runnings, and PP Smit Sport fields

Economy

Major companies

Bellville is one of the main business nodes in the Greater Cape Town metropolitan area, home to the headquarters of major corporations such as insurance giant,

Sanlam Sanlam Limited is a South African financial services group headquartered in Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa. Sanlam is one of the largest insurance companies in Africa. It is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Namibian Stock ...

and its subsidiary

Santam Santam is a South African financial services group that also has business interests in Malawi, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. Santam's head office is located in Bellville in the Western Cape, South Africa. The company is listed on the ...

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Pioneer Foods Pioneer Foods is a South African packaged goods company which in March 2020 became a subsidiary of PepsiCo. It operates in South Africa as well as two other African countries and exports a number of its brands globally. The company's core busin ...

, Cipla South Africa, Medi-Rite, Footgear, Afrimat and the Bible Society of South, with most of these companies headquartered in the Tyger Valley commercial node. Many provincial and local government departments maintain regional branches or other offices in Bellville such as

Eskom Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. Eskom was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) (). Eskom represents South Africa in the Southern African Power Pool. The utility is the larg ...

Department of Water and Sanitation The Department of Water and Sanitation is one of the departments of the South African government. It is responsible for the state of water and sanitation in South Africa. In May 2009, following the election of Jacob Zuma, the Department of ...

(Western Cape), Water and Sanitation Department (City of Cape Town) and Electricity Services (City of Cape Town).

Geography

Bellville forms the centre of the

, and is situated between the low-lying

Cape Flats The Cape Flats () is an expansive, low-lying, flat area situated to the southeast of the central business district of Cape Town. The Cape Flats is also the name of an administrative region of the City of Cape Town, which lies within the larger geo ...

to the south and the rolling hills of

to the north. It lies at an average altitude of about 80 m (262 ft) above sea level, with the altitude gradually rising towards the north where the suburb of Welgemoed on the slopes of the Tygerberg Hill lies at the highest altitude of 310 m (1017 ft). The town borders

to the north, Parow to the west,

Brackenfell Brackenfell is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, situated on the N1 about 30 km (17 mi) north-east of Cape Town and 35 km (22 mi) south-west of Paarl. Regarded as the “gateway” to the Cape Winelands, the town marks t ...

to the east,

Kuilsrivier Kuils River (Afrikaans: Kuilsrivier) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, 25 km (15 miles) east of Cape Town and 20 km (12 miles) west of Stellenbosch at the gateway of the Cape Winelands. It is also the name of the main tributary of t ...

to the southeast and

Belhar Belhar is a small town in the Western Cape, South Africa and forms part of the Tygerberg area in the City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town (; ) is a Metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality that forms the metro ...

to the south.

Suburbs

The

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

of Bellville, also known as Bellville Central, situated along Voortrekker Road, is the traditional commercial hub of the town and contains several high-rise buildings and structures, with the Telkom

communications tower Radio masts and towers are typically tall structures designed to support antennas for telecommunications and broadcasting, including television. There are two main types: guyed and self-supporting structures. They are among the tallest human-m ...

dominating the skyline. The suburbs north of the N1 highway include the most wealthy and developed parts of the town, spreading north to the border with

and up the Tygerberg Hill which overlooks the Cape Town metropolitan area. The suburbs south of the CBD tend to be either solely industrial or solely residential and are included in one of Bellville’s lowest income brackets. The suburbs east and west of Bellville tend to be mostly quiet and established residential areas, with the exception of Stikland, an industrial area situated in the far east of Bellville. The 2011 census listed the following areas as suburbs under the main place of Bellville:

East

* Avondstil * Belgravia * Bellair * Blommendal * Blomtuin * Chrismar * Groenvallei * Harry de Villiers * Heemstede * Hillrise * Joubertsingel * Kempenville * Kingston * Labiance * La Rochelle * Laurindale * Loumar * Manieoord * Meyerhof * Oakdale * Oakglen * Runkel * Shirley Park * Stikland * Sunkist * Sunray * Thalmen * Vosfontein * Vredenburg

North

* Amanda Glen * Bellville Park * Bethanie * Bloemhof * Blomvlei * Bo-Oakdale * Danena * De Bron * Door de Kraal * East Rock * Eversdal * Glen Ive * Hoheizen * Kanonberg * Kenridge * Loevenstein * Oude Westhof * O’Kennedyville * Pascall * Protea Valley * Ridgeworth * Rosendal * Rosenpark * Selborne * Silverstream * Stellenberg * Stellenridge * Stellenryk * Van Riebeeckshof * Welgedacht * Welgemoed * Welgemoed Greens

South

* Bellville South * Bellville South Industrial * Belrail * Blanc Kelly * Glenhaven * Mimosa * Sacks Circle Industrial * Triangle Farm

West

* Bellville West * Bosbell *

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

* Grahamdale * Joostenville * Vredelust

Infrastructure

Transportation

Rail

Bellville is a subhub for the

Metrorail Western Cape Metrorail Western Cape is a network of commuter and suburban rail services in the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality (metropolitan area of Cape Town) and in the surrounding towns of Malmesbury, Western Cape, Malmesbury, Paarl, Stellenbo ...

with the

Northern Line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...

(Cape Town-Wellington) trains serving Bellville, Parow, Goodwood,

Kraaifontein Kraaifontein is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa and is located on the north-eastern outskirts of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality. The name originated from the large number of crows (''Kraai'' in Afrikaans) that ...

and

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

. The smaller Bellville-Strand Line branches off from the Northern Line, serving Bellville,

, Eersterivier,

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

(via Stellenbosch branch line),

Somerset West Somerset West () is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. Organisationally and administratively it is included in the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality Eastern Suburbs zone (formerly called ...

and

. Bellville is also a major hub for

Transnet Freight Rail Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people ...

containing a major container terminal, Belcon, directly south of the CBD, officially opened by

Transnet Transnet SOC Ltd is a large South African rail, port and pipeline company, headquartered in the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg. It was formed as a limited company on 1 April 1990. A majority of the company's stock is owned by the Department ...

in 2010. The container terminal, which serves as a

dry port A dry port (sometimes referred to as an inland port) is an inland intermodal terminal directly connected by road or rail to a seaport, operating as a centre for the transshipment of sea cargo to inland destinations. In addition to their role i ...

is connected to the

Port of Cape Town The Port of Cape Town is a seaport situated next to the central business district of Cape Town, South Africa. The port, which lies within Table Bay, is managed by the Transnet National Ports Authority, a subsidiary of state-owned enterprise ...

via rail, as well as the rest of South Africa by road and rail and acts as a break-of-bulk point for container trucks transporting goods to and from the Port of Cape Town.

Roads

The N1 is the major

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

that runs through Bellville, roughly running SW to NE from

. The

R300 The R300 GPU, introduced in August 2002 and developed by ATI Technologies, is its third generation of GPU used in ''Radeon'' graphics cards. This GPU features 3D acceleration based upon Direct3D 9.0 and OpenGL 2.0, a major improvement in featur ...

(Kuils River Freeway) connects the N1 at the Stellenberg Interchange with

Mitchells Plain Mitchells Plain is a large census designated sub-place 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 multi ...

to the south. The

R101 R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airships completed in 1929 as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme, a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was d ...

starts at the intersection with the M30 and runs north-east towards

as Old Paarl Road. The R102 runs through the centre of Bellville from Parow in the west to

in the south-east as Voortrekker Road (in Bellville Central) and Strand Road. The R302 is a major artery between Bellville and

, running north from Bellville Central as Durban Road, Willie van Schoor Avenue and Durbanville Avenue. Bellville is also served by a network of metropolitan routes linking it to surrounding suburbs including the M10 to

Cape Town International Airport Cape Town International Airport is the primary international airport serving the city of Cape Town, and is the List of South African airports by passenger movements, second-busiest airport in South Africa and List of busiest airports in Afric ...

in the south,

M16 The M16 (officially Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-round magazine. In 1964, th ...

to Durbanville in the north and

in the south, M23 to

Stellenbosch Stellenbosch (; )A Universal Pronouncing Gazetteer.
Thomas Baldwin ...

in the south-east, M25 to Brackenfell in the east, M31 to Durbanville, M73 to Brackenfell, M124 to Durbanville and the M171 to

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

in the south. The town is also served internally by metropolitan routes including the M11 (provides a bypass to the south of Bellville Central), M30, M121 and M189.

Parks and recreation

Bellville contains several public

parks A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. N ...

and recreational

dams A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

within its neighbourhoods most notably

Jack Muller Danie Uys Park The Jack Muller Danie Uys Park is a municipal park situated in Boston, Bellville, Boston, Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa. Name It's named after Daniel Uys (b.3 June 1932), Mayor of Bellville, South Africa from 1975 to 1977 and from 1983 t ...

, north of the town centre where the

Parkrun Parkrun (stylised as parkrun) is a collection of 5K run, events for runners, walkers and volunteers that take place every Saturday morning at more than 2,000 locations in 23 countries across five continents. Parkrun was founded by Paul Sinto ...

Bellville takes place every Saturday, Majik Forest on the northern outskirts of Bellville, Door de Kraal Dam in the north of Bellville and Rosendal Dam in the north of Bellville. In addition, the Tygerberg Nature Reserve is set above Bellville on the Tygerberg Hills to the north-west and offers scenic views across the Greater

metropolitan area. Golf is also one of the main recreational activities performed in Bellville with the Bellville Golf Club being the main golf course in the town, lying on the slopes of the northern suburb of Welgemoed and the Golf Village Tygervalley, a

driving range A driving range is a facility or area where golfers can practice their golf swing. It can also be a recreational activity itself for amateur golfers or when enough time for a full game is not available. Many golf courses have a driving range ...

in Tyger Valley.

Constituency

The town was a constituency in the Cape Peninsula, Cape Town, Cape Province in the South African House of Assembly starting in 1933. The first elected member was FHP Creswell (b. 13 November 1866, d. 28 August 1948). In 1939 it was not a constituency any more. In 1953 it regained constituency status and JFW Haak won. Haak retained this until 1970, when

Louis Pienaar Louis Alexander Pienaar (23 June 1926 – 5 November 2012) was a South African lawyer and diplomat. He was the last white Administrator of South-West Africa, from 1985 through Namibian independence in 1990. Pienaar later served as a minister in ...

took over from him. In 1975 AT van der Merwe took over from him.

Municipality

Bellville was a municipality from 1940 to 1996, and was given the status of a city on 7 September 1979.

Mayors of Bellville

# 1940–1943 van Niekerk, Andries Joseph (born 14 May 1882, died 30 April 1953) married Athalia Solms (born 4 August 1876) # 1943–1944 Blanckenberg, Josias Jacobus (born 10 March 1907, died 21 October 1992) # 1944–1949 van Niekerk, Andries Joseph. Second term see no 1 # 1949–1950 Haak, Jan Friedrich Wilhelm (born 20 April 1917, died 16 February 1993) married Maria Smuts Theron (born 1 August 1917). Jan Haak was also the Minister of Economy in the South African Government from 1967 to 1970. He was also as member of the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

, representing Bellville in Parliament. # 1950–1952 Duminy, Hendrik Cornelis van Niekerk (born 6 September 1899, died 29 March 1974) married Frieda Moolman. # 1952–1953 Sacks, Alec (born 14 April 1913, died 29 May 1974) married Anita Joseph(born 15 March 1922) # 1953–1954 West, Adam Johannes (born 7 August 1905, died 30 November 1983) married Maria Margaretha Visser. AJ West Street in Boston Bellville is named after him. # 1954–1956 Barnard, Johannes Hendrik (born 3 September 1891, died 17 October 1956) married Lucia Ruth Mosel. Barnard Street in Oakdale Bellville is named after him. # 1956–1958 Meyer, Petrus Hendrik (born 7 September 1926) married Stephanie Swart (born 20 November 1926) # 1958–1961 van Riet, Willem Frederik (born 11 July 1910, died 9 December 1988) married Augusta Dorothy de Villiers (born 31 August 1909) # 1961–1963 Pienaar, Michiel Hendrik de Wet (born 12 October 1900) married Anna Susanna Siebrits(born 22 May 1904) Mike Pienaar Boulevard in Bellville West is named after him. # 1963–1966 Bezuidenhout, Willem Johannes (born 12 October 1900) married Mona Havenga (born 12 January 1903). Bill Bezuidenhout Avenue in Blomtuin Bellville is named after him. # 1966–1969 Pienaar, Michiel Hendrik de Wet.Second term see no 11 # 1969–1971 Smit, Pieter Philip (born 8 March 1917, died 10 October 1997). The PP Smit sport fields in Durban Road Bellville is named after him. # 1971–1973 Meyer, Martinus Daniel (born 21 June 1918) married Mary Elizabeth Weidemann (born 18 July 1925) . Tienie Meyer Bypass is named after him. # 1973–1975 de Jager, Josephus Jacobus (born 9 December 1912, died 7 July 2000) married Helena Claudina Nel(born 8 August 1912).

Jip de Jager Josephus Jacobus de Jager (December 9, 1912 – July 7, 2000) known as Jip de Jager, was a South African politician. He served as the mayor of Bellville, Western Cape, South Africa from 1973 to 1975 and again from 1978 to 1979. Outside of politics, ...

Drive in Welgemoed Bellville is named after him. # 1975–1977 Uys, Daniel(born 3 June 1932) married Beatrix Hendina Moorrees (born 5 September 1934). Danie Uys Park in Boston Bellville is named after him. # 1977–1978 van Schoor, Daniel Willem Jacobus (born 31 March 1935, died 14 August 2001) married Johanna Elizabeth Coetzee (born 2 September 1937). Willie van Schoor Drive in Bellville is named after him. # 1978–1979 de Jager, Josephus Jacobus. Second term see no 16 # 1979–1981 Meyer, Martinus Daniel Second term see no 15 # 1981–1983 Pienaar, Kristo Johannes (born 4 July 1922, died 6 April 1996) married Christina Wilhelmina van Rooyen (born 24 May 1921) # 1983–1985 Uys, Daniel. Second term see no 17 # 1985–1986 Kleynhans, PH # 1986–1987 Meyer, Martinus Daniel. Third term see no 15 # 1987–1989 Pienaar, Kristo Johannes. Second term see no 21 # 1989–1991 van Schoor, Daniel Willem Jacobus. Second term see no 18 # 1991–1994 Kempen, Abraham Petrus de Villiers (born 23 March 1920, died 29 June 2010) married Bramie Joubert (born 18 December 1919). The Awie Kempen Vehicle Testing Grounds is named after him. # 1994–1996 Cronje, Carl Peter Roche (born 10 July 1932, died 2 November 2018) married Miriam Lauretta Sadie.(born 7 April 1933). Carl Cronje Drive is named after him. In April 1982

P. W. Botha Pieter Willem Botha, ( , ; 12 January 1916 – 31 October 2006) was a South African politician who served as the last Prime Minister of South Africa from 1978 to 1984 and as the first executive State President of South Africa from 1984 until ...

received honorary citizenship of the city. Information_road_sign_that_indicates_PP_Smit_Stadium_in_Bellville

Coat of arms

The municipal council assumed a coat of arms on 18 June 1947.Western Cape Archives : Bellville Municipal Minutes (18. June 1947). It later altered the arms, three times, before settling on the final version in 1979. The shield was divided into twelve horizontal bars of red and gold, representing the original village name of "Twaalfmyl". A black vertical band ("pale") down the centre displayed two silver hawk's bells, between which was a small blue shield displaying a golden sheaf of wheat. The crest was a black eagle, and the motto ''Prendre sa belle''. Some time later, the blue shield was removed, and the wheatsheaf was placed directly on the black pale. In 1957, the wheatsheaf was replaced with a third hawk's bell. This version of the arms, re-drawn by

Ivan Mitford-Barberton Ivan Mitford-Barberton (1896–1976) was a South African sculptor, writer and authority on heraldry. Early life and education Mitford-Barberton was born in Somerset East, in Cape Colony, in 1896. He was a descendant of several 1820 Settler ...

, was registered with the Cape Provincial Administration in February 1959.Cape of Good Hope ''Official Gazette'' 2957 (6 February 1959). The final version of the arms, as amended by

Cornelis Pama Cornelis Pama (1916 - 1994) was a Dutch bookseller, publisher, heraldist and genealogist, who spent the second half of his life in South Africa. He was born in Rotterdam. During World War II, when the Netherlands were under German occupation, he ...

in 1979, replaced the hawk's bells with church bells.Strydom, C.J.S. (1981). ''Bellville'– Wordingsjare van 'n Stad :: Growth of a City''. In this form, the arms were registered at the

Bureau of Heraldry The Bureau of Heraldry is the South African heraldic authority, established in Pretoria on 1 June 1963. It is headed by a State Herald (known unofficially as the National Herald since 2004) and its functions are to register arms, badges, flags ...

in February 1980. The registered blazon was : ''Barry of twelve Gules and Or, on a pale Sable three church bells Argent.''

Media

*In May 2007,

Meg Ryan Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra (born November 19, 1961), known by her stage name Meg Ryan, is an American actress. Known for her leading roles as quirky, charismatic women since the late 1980s, Ryan is particularly recognized for her work in ...

and

William H. Macy William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer. He is a two-time Emmy Award and four-time Screen Actors Guild Awards, Screen Actors Guild Award winner, and has been nominated for an Acade ...

completed the last day of photography for their movie, '' The Deal'', at the Bellville Civic Centre. *The novel ''2 Dae in Mei'' (English: ''2 Days in May'') by Jaco Fouché takes place in Bellville.

Notable people

* Neil de Kock -

South Africa national rugby union team The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

player *

Vernon Philander Vernon Darryl Philander (born 24 June 1985) is a South African cricket coach, commentator, and former cricketer. He was a right-handed bowling all-rounder; he had previously represented his country at under 19 level. He played for the South Afri ...

South Africa national cricket team The South Africa men's national cricket team, also known as the Proteas, represents South Africa in men's international cricket and is administered by Cricket South Africa. South Africa is a full member of the International Cricket Council. T ...

player *

Yolandi Potgieter Yolandi Potgieter (born 16 May 1989) is a South African cricketer who currently captains Free State. She plays as an all-rounder, batting right-handed and bowling right-arm medium. In 2013 and 2014, she appeared in 16 One Day Internationals and ...

South Africa national women's cricket team The South Africa women's national cricket team, nicknamed the ''Proteas'', represents South Africa in international women's cricket. One of eight teams competing in the ICC Women's Championship (the highest level of the sport), the team is or ...

player * Con de Lange –

player *

Francois Van Coke Francois Badenhorst (; born 18 September 1980), better known by his stage name Francois Van Coke, is a South African singer-songwriter, rose to fame as the front man of South African rock bands Fokofpolisiekar and Van Coke Kartel. On the 8 Apr ...

- Lead singer of

Fokofpolisiekar Fokofpolisiekar (, ''Fuckoffpolicecar'') is an Afrikaans alternative rock band from Bellville, Western Cape, Bellville, near Cape Town, South Africa. Due to the obscenity in the name, they are also commonly known simply as Polisiekar or FPK. ...

References

External links

Bellville Directory

University of the Western Cape

Bellville Business Directory
{{Authority control Suburbs of Cape Town 1861 establishments in the Cape Colony