Steenberg Hotel Gardens
It was here that Catharina found herself –
and found happiness. She married again
but she chose wisely this time. Matthys
Michelse was a homebody who was
content to work the land, grow veggies
and raise cattle and sheep. He was not a
hunter, so he outlived his adventurous
wife.
anchorage for The Cape, Steenberg was
a natural overnight spot for the wagon
drivers who travelled between False Bay
and the nascent city of Cape Town over
the Ou Kaapse Weg, so it enjoyed its first
incarnation as a hotel.
The Russouws must have done well
because Frederik’s son, Nicolaas, added the
Catharina tilled the land, raised her beautiful and ornate gable to the farmhouse
children and rode a horse into town alone – a sure sign that they were prospering.
– not only astride, but bareback. She was
– well – maybe not entirely respectable. In 1842, the property wassold to close relative
But she was resourceful. She managed to Johannes Adriaan Louw, whose descendants
persuade governor Simon van der Stel, kept the farm until 1990 when it was bought
who had settled on the neighbouring by Johannesburg Consolidated Investments
Groot Constantia, to grant her title to the (JCI) to be developed into what it is today.
farm – to her, not to her husband (and we
are talking 1688). So she became the first And Steenberg Estate certainly has it all;
woman to hold title to property in South a fabulous hotel, a magnificent 18-hole
Africa.
golf course, award-winning restaurant and a
Swaaneweide continued to prosper, and
changed hands surprisingly few times. The
second owner, Frederik Russouw, bought
the farm in 1695, planted the first vines
and built the beautiful U-shaped house.
Steenberg was starting to take shape.
In 1741, when Simon’s Bay (now Simon’s
Town) was declared the official winter
residential estate of 225 households. With
many of the early investors still owning
property on the estate, there is a low sales
turnover, and the property prices reflect
this exclusivity. Playing the 18-hole course at
Steenberg is on many a golfer’s bucket list,
and at any given time there is a membership
waiting list.