Bellville, Western Cape


Bellville is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is a northern suburb of the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality.

Established

It was founded as "12 Mile Post" because it is located 12 miles from Cape Town city centre. It was first known as "Hardekraaltjie". Founded as a railway station on the line from Cape Town to Stellenbosch and Strand, it was renamed Bellville in 1861 after the surveyor-general Charles Bell. The motor registration number bears the number CY.

Hospitals and educational institutes

The Karl Bremer Hospital Hospital functioned as the Academic Hospital for the University of Stellenbosch Medical School, but now the adjacent Tygerberg Hospital houses the medical school. Other hospitals in Bellville are: Mediclinic International Louis Leipoldt and Melomed. The Cape Peninsula University of Technology, University of the Western Cape, University of Stellenbosch Business School and Northlink College are also situated in Bellville. D.F. Malan High School, Bellville High 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 is located in the Tyger Valley area of Bellville. The Bellville Velodrome 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.
Sanlam's head office is also located in Strand Road, Bellville.
Other sports an entertainment includes: Bellville Golf Course, Bellville library, Bellville swimming pool
, Cool runnings, Jack Muller Danie Uys Park and PP Smit Sport fields
The head office of the Bible society of South Africa is situated in the city
Tygerberg Nature Reserve is just above Welgemoed, one of Bellville's suburbs.

Suburbs

Suburbs that form part of Bellville are: Amanda Glen, Belhar, Bellair, Bellville South, Beroma, Bloemhof, Blommendal, Blomtuin, Bosbell, Boston, Chrismar, De la Haye, Door de Kraal, Eversdal Glenhaven, Greenlands, Groenvallei, Heemstede, Hoheizen, Kanonberg, Kenridge, La Rochelle, Labiance, Loevenstein, Mimosa, Oakdale, Oakglen, Oude Westhof, Protea Valley, Ridgeworth, Rosendal, Stellenberg, Stellenridge, Stellenryk, Stikland, Tygerberg Hills, van Riebeeckshof, Vredelust,
Vredenburg and Welgemoed.

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

City Status

Bellville is practically a city as it received city status on 7 September 1979. It was included in the Cape Town's wider metropolitan area in 1994 and then the City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality as a Northern Suburb in 2000. Bellville is sometimes referred to as a 'city-in-a-city'.
It is mostly regarded as a 'suburb' by most Capetonians rather than a city similar to how Roodepoort near Johannesburg is officially a city but is mostly regarded as a 'suburb of Johannesburg' as it is included in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.

Municipality

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

Mayors of Bellville

  1. 1940–1943 van Niekerk, Andries Joseph married Athalia Solms
  2. 1943–1944 Blanckenberg, Josias Jacobus
  3. 1944–1949 van Niekerk, Andries Joseph. Second term see no 1
  4. 1949–1950 Haak, Jan Friedrich Wilhelm married Maria Smuts Theron. Jan Haak was also the Minister of Economy in the South African Government from 1967–1970. He was also as member of the National Party South Africa the representative for Bellville in parliament
  5. 1950–1952 Duminy, Hendrik Cornelis van Niekerk married Frieda Moolman.
  6. 1952–1953 Sacks, Alec married Anita Joseph
  7. 1953–1954 West, Adam Johannes married Maria Margaretha Visser. AJ West Street in Boston Bellville is named after him.
  8. 1954–1956 Barnard, Johannes Hendrik married Lucia Ruth Mosel. Barnard Street in Oakdale Bellville is named after him.
  9. 1956–1958 Meyer, Petrus Hendrik married Stephanie Swart
  10. 1958–1961 van Riet, Willem Frederik married Augusta Dorothy de Villiers
  11. 1961–1963 Pienaar, Michiel Hendrik de Wet married Anna Susanna Siebrits Mike Pienaar Boulevard in Bellville West is named after him.
  12. 1963–1966 Bezuidenhout, Willem Johannes married Mona Havenga. Bill Bezuidenhout Avenue in Blomtuin Bellville is named after him.
  13. 1966–1969 Pienaar, Michiel Hendrik de Wet.Second term see no 11
  14. 1969–1971 Smit, Pieter Philip. The PP Smit sport fields in Durban Road Bellville is named after him.
  15. 1971–1973 Meyer, Martinus Daniel married Mary Elizabeth Weidemann . Tienie Meyer Bypass is named after him.
  16. 1973–1975 de Jager, Josephus Jacobus married Helena Claudina Nel. Jip de Jager Drive in Welgemoed Bellville is named after him.
  17. 1975–1977 Uys, Daniel married Beatrix Hendina Moorrees. Danie Uys Park in Boston Bellville is named after him.
  18. 1977–1978 van Schoor, Daniel Willem Jacobus married Johanna Elizabeth Coetzee. Willie van Schoor Drive in Bellville is named after him.
  19. 1978–1979 de Jager, Josephus Jacobus. Second term see no 16
  20. 1979–1981 Meyer, Martinus Daniel Second term see no 15
  21. 1981–1983 Pienaar, Kristo Johannes married Christina Wilhelmina van Rooyen
  22. 1983–1985 Uys, Daniel. Second term see no 17
  23. 1985–1986 Kleynhans, PH
  24. 1986–1987 Meyer, Martinus Daniel. Third term see no 15
  25. 1987–1989 Pienaar, Kristo Johannes. Second term see no 21
  26. 1989–1991 van Schoor, Daniel Willem Jacobus. Second term see no 18
  27. 1991–1994 Kempen, Abraham Petrus de Villiers married Bramie Joubert. The Awie Kempen Vehicle Testing Grounds is named after him.
  28. 1994–1996 Cronje, Carl Peter Roche married Miriam Lauretta Sadie.. Carl Cronje Drive is named after him.
In April 1982 P. W. Botha received honorary citizenship of the city.

Coat of arms

The municipal council assumed a coat of arms on 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 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, was registered with the Cape Provincial Administration in February 1959.
The final version of the arms, as amended by Cornelis Pama in 1979, replaced the hawk's bells with church bells. In this form, the arms were registered at the Bureau of Heraldry in February 1980. The registered blazon was : Barry of twelve Gules and Or, on a pale Sable three church bells Argent.

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