Cemetery at The Suburban Restaurant in Candlewood Estate
For more than a century the glimpse of the red, Victorian pitched roof and white wrap around verandas, visible for a mere second through the cluster of trees, have captured the imaginaton of everyone that travelled past. The stately homestead, observed even from a distance, is a testmony of a remarkable tale of a family of pioneers that setled and shaped our place as we live here today.
The history of the Erasmus family meanders through the documented milestones of early South Africa and its frst struggle to tame the land. It begun around 1688 in the Cape with a young adventurer named Pieter Erasmus, aged 19, that arrived in the Cape from Roterdam and setled on a farm “Groenkloof” in Drakenstein. In 1691 he married Maria Elisabeth Joosten and they had six children. Five generatons later did his descendant, Daniel Jacobus Erasmus, later fondly referred to as “Oupa Swartkoppies” respond to the inital call of independence and partcipated in the Great Trek and fnally staked a claim on the land that is present-day Centurion. He setled on a farm and called it Zwartkop.
Rasmus Elardus Erasmus, aka Dubbele, was a young lad of eleven years old during the pioneering wanderlust of his older brother and parents during the Great Trek. Once he came of age he setled on Brakfontein and married Louisa Catharina Erasmus. They had ten healthy children.
In the frst years on Brakfontein, Rasmus build a small Voortrekker house for Louisa in 1856. This original unassuming structure is a natonal monument today along with the remains of his hand packed wafer style-rock shelter that Rasmus constructed to protect his prized catle stud. This kraal could keep more than a thousand heads of catle and has withstood the ravages of tme. Legend has it that Dubbele fought with a leopard within this very rock shelter, between his mauling catle, one night. He was seriously wounded when the leopard scalped him before his brother managed to kill the predator on top of him. Louisa made a compress of medicinal herbs mixed with mud and catle dung to glue the loose skin of his scalp back in place.
In later years Dubblele started to reap the benefts from his metculous stud farming and henceforth all 10 children were educated by a private tutor from Holland. Rasmus started the foundatons of a more fashionable house and in1895 this grand Victorian homestead was fnally completed by his son, Lourens Jacobus Abram Erasmus.
This architectural jewel was saved during the 2nd Boer War from being burned to the ground since Dubbele passed away in 1891 and the Britsh army lef the widow Louisa in peace. They burned all family homesteads during Lord Kitchener’s controversial Scorched Earth Campaign of the 2nd Boer War and lef Brakfontein that day to burn Rooihuiskraal instead.
In 1905 Lourens Jacobus Abram Erasmus, a young widower, brought his second wife, Aleta Adriana Malan, to Brakfontein to live in his late father’s house. Hannie Malan ordered Lete’s wedding trousseau
especially from Paris so that her daughter will “look the part” at her new home on Brakfontein. Louw took pleasure in importng most furniture pieces such as the chandeliers and piece de resistance from England. With great pains these Victorian pieces were hauled over mountains and rough terrain by ox wagons from the coast. One of the original chandeliers can stll be seen hanging in the dining room of the historical home, a bustling restaurant named Ga Rouge, today.
In 1988, with the 150 year memorial of the Great Trek, Sarel & Vicky agreed that the visual splendour of their century old, stately home became the set for the romantc war drama named the Mannheim Saga that was writen and narrated by Lerina Erasmus about the early gold rush in Johannesburg.
With modern tmes the pressure on commercial farming and forever shrinking catle pastures due to metropolitan expansion forced the Baard family to sell the ancestral home to Topbou Developers. Shortly afer the turn of the Century, Candlewoods Residental Estate was successfully launched in the market.
Today the red pitched farm house stll plays a major part in giving us a sense of belonging to the land and the people that dwelled here before us. Seven generatons of the Erasmus clan are stll living on Brakfontein today and the house forms a central part of Candlewoods Residental Estate. Because afer all, home is where the heart is.
Cemetery at The Suburban Restaurant in Candlewood Estate
For more than a century the glimpse of the red, Victorian pitched roof and white wrap around verandas, visible for a mere second through the cluster of trees, have captured the imaginaton of everyone that travelled past. The stately homestead, observed even from a distance, is a testmony of a remarkable tale of a family of pioneers that setled and shaped our place as we live here today.
The history of the Erasmus family meanders through the documented milestones of early South Africa and its frst struggle to tame the land. It begun around 1688 in the Cape with a young adventurer named Pieter Erasmus, aged 19, that arrived in the Cape from Roterdam and setled on a farm “Groenkloof” in Drakenstein. In 1691 he married Maria Elisabeth Joosten and they had six children. Five generatons later did his descendant, Daniel Jacobus Erasmus, later fondly referred to as “Oupa Swartkoppies” respond to the inital call of independence and partcipated in the Great Trek and fnally staked a claim on the land that is present-day Centurion. He setled on a farm and called it Zwartkop.
Rasmus Elardus Erasmus, aka Dubbele, was a young lad of eleven years old during the pioneering wanderlust of his older brother and parents during the Great Trek. Once he came of age he setled on Brakfontein and married Louisa Catharina Erasmus. They had ten healthy children.
In the frst years on Brakfontein, Rasmus build a small Voortrekker house for Louisa in 1856. This original unassuming structure is a natonal monument today along with the remains of his hand packed wafer style-rock shelter that Rasmus constructed to protect his prized catle stud. This kraal could keep more than a thousand heads of catle and has withstood the ravages of tme. Legend has it that Dubbele fought with a leopard within this very rock shelter, between his mauling catle, one night. He was seriously wounded when the leopard scalped him before his brother managed to kill the predator on top of him. Louisa made a compress of medicinal herbs mixed with mud and catle dung to glue the loose skin of his scalp back in place.
In later years Dubblele started to reap the benefts from his metculous stud farming and henceforth all 10 children were educated by a private tutor from Holland. Rasmus started the foundatons of a more fashionable house and in1895 this grand Victorian homestead was fnally completed by his son, Lourens Jacobus Abram Erasmus.
This architectural jewel was saved during the 2nd Boer War from being burned to the ground since Dubbele passed away in 1891 and the Britsh army lef the widow Louisa in peace. They burned all family homesteads during Lord Kitchener’s controversial Scorched Earth Campaign of the 2nd Boer War and lef Brakfontein that day to burn Rooihuiskraal instead.
In 1905 Lourens Jacobus Abram Erasmus, a young widower, brought his second wife, Aleta Adriana Malan, to Brakfontein to live in his late father’s house. Hannie Malan ordered Lete’s wedding trousseau
especially from Paris so that her daughter will “look the part” at her new home on Brakfontein. Louw took pleasure in importng most furniture pieces such as the chandeliers and piece de resistance from England. With great pains these Victorian pieces were hauled over mountains and rough terrain by ox wagons from the coast. One of the original chandeliers can stll be seen hanging in the dining room of the historical home, a bustling restaurant named Ga Rouge, today.
In 1988, with the 150 year memorial of the Great Trek, Sarel & Vicky agreed that the visual splendour of their century old, stately home became the set for the romantc war drama named the Mannheim Saga that was writen and narrated by Lerina Erasmus about the early gold rush in Johannesburg.
With modern tmes the pressure on commercial farming and forever shrinking catle pastures due to metropolitan expansion forced the Baard family to sell the ancestral home to Topbou Developers. Shortly afer the turn of the Century, Candlewoods Residental Estate was successfully launched in the market.
Today the red pitched farm house stll plays a major part in giving us a sense of belonging to the land and the people that dwelled here before us. Seven generatons of the Erasmus clan are stll living on Brakfontein today and the house forms a central part of Candlewoods Residental Estate. Because afer all, home is where the heart is.