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Author: Staff Writer
From Butterflies to a Home for the Unwanted
Heritage Article | Exotic Animal World, Klapmuts, Western Cape Butterfly World opened on Route 44 near Klapmuts in November 1996, as the largest free-flying butterfly park in Southern Africa. It…
The Cape has become a SPAM Culture
Ask anyone in Cape Town what they did with their inbox this morning and you’ll hear the same thing: they deleted, ignored, blocked and reported. Somewhere in that pile there…
Looking for the Perfect Dress?
PretPakkie is one of many South African clothing shops selling everyday dresses that are easy to wear and doesn’t look like Temu had a Black Friday Sale. Whatever you’re dressing…
Ouma se Winkel: where the pies come first, and the customer comes before that
Some shops sell products. Others sell the feeling of being looked after. Ouma se Winkel manages both, and people travel a long way for it. The pies that travel Ouma…
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Cape Chronicle launches R75 Classified Ads
Cape Town small businesses deserve attention! And we are delivering! For only R75, you can get an “Old School Display Advert linked to your website, shop or Whatsapp Business Catalogue.…
Classified Ads – 1861
Merchants and Shopkeepers are invited to place a commercial message in our Classified Section and reach our 10 000 active users. The current rate for 1861 is 1¾ pence once-off…
What to Do When Your Hosting Provider Doesn’t Understand the Difference Between a Domain and a Hosting Account
A case study in how a two-minute request turned into a week of damage control, and how to protect yourself when it happens to you. The request The setup was…
Meet South Africa’s Caracal Killer!
The Silent War on South Africa’s Farms: How the Caracal is Pushing Small Stock Farmers to the Brink A professional trapper’s frontline account sheds light on one of agriculture’s most…
Caged, Culled or Coexisted With? Inside the Western Cape’s Baboon Crisis
By Driko Maritz | September 2026 They raid kitchens in Simon’s Town. They terrify tourists in Kommetjie. They have made international headlines from Reuters to CNN. And now, Cape Town’s…
A focus on the Southern Suburbs
October’s issue of the Cape Chronicle has been made possible by Oggi in Harfield Village and we will therefore be focusing on the Southern Suburbs during October. If you want…
Why Cape Town Prefers “Braai Day” to Heritage Day
On coals, culture, and a government that keeps forgetting there are other people here Every year on the 24th of September, South Africa’s government reminds its citizens to celebrate Heritage…
Spring Has Sprung: What to Expect in the Cape’s Oceans This Season
23 September marks the official arrival of spring along the Western Cape coast — and the ocean is already stirring back to life. Whether you’re a surfer, freediver, spearfisher, rock…
30 Years of Stitches, Swims & Soul: The Oggi Story
How a little shop on 2nd Avenue became Cape Town’s most beloved swimwear institution There are businesses, and then there are landmarks. Oggi Swim & Gymwear — tucked away on 2nd…
Found by Accident: How a 198-Year-Old Law Firm Became Invisible in Its Own City
A Cape Chronicle Editorial The Cape Chronicle exists to tell the stories of this city. Its history, its institutions, its people, its landmarks. We seek out the threads that connect…
Cape Town’s Draft Animal Keeping By-law: What Could Change for Pet Owners, Breeders and Animal Businesses
Cape Town’s proposed Animal Keeping By-law, 2026 would retain many of the rules in the current 2021 by-law, but it would make the system more detailed, more welfare-driven and more explicit about…
Why More South Africans Are Ditching Flat-Pack for Furniture Made to Last a Lifetime
There’s a quiet shift happening in South African homes. After years of replacing wobbly veneer units and sagging particleboard beds every few seasons, more homeowners, designers and hospitality businesses are…
The Story of Sonstraal Dam
Tucked into the suburb of Vygeboom in Durbanville, Sonstraal Dam is one of those quiet Cape Town landmarks that most Northern Suburbs residents have a childhood memory of — feeding…
THE PROMENADE OR THE DANGER ZONE?
Cape Town’s reckless experiment with e-scooters and e-bikes must end before a pedestrian is killed By the Cape Chronicle Investigative Desk There is something profoundly wrong with the idea of…
From Pumpkin Patch to Parish: The Making of Durbanville
A Cape Chronicle Heritage Feature Long before it had a name that would fit on a signpost, the place we now call Durbanville was simply somewhere to stop. In the…
THE BIG CAT BATTLE
FOUR PAWS, captive lion breeding and the uncomfortable gap between campaigning and evidence INVESTIGATIVE FEATURE South Africa’s captive big-cat industry is one of the country’s most controversial wildlife stories. It…
Evert van Guinea: From Enslavement to Pioneer of Cape Agriculture
Long before the Cape’s vineyards became synonymous with wealth, prestige and international trade, its agricultural economy was being shaped by people whose names were seldom given prominence in the histories…
The Great Name Change That Didn’t Change the Name
DF Malan High School became DF Akademie — but the initials of the man it supposedly wanted to leave behind remain firmly above the door There is something deeply ironic…
Maria Everts: The Woman Who Rose from Slavery to the Cape Wine Trade
Born into slavery, Maria Everts became a prosperous landowner and wine producer whose family would later be closely associated with Constantia. Her remarkable rise, however, carries a darker truth: she…
Coca-Cola Silent as Questions Grow Over Truck Overtaking Video
A video circulating on Facebook appears to show one Coca-Cola truck overtaking another Coca-Cola truck on a blind rising — a manoeuvre that raises obvious questions about road safety and…
Johannes Colijn: The Forgotten Father of Constantia — and the Slave Empire Behind the Wine
He helped put Constantia wine on the world stage, but the empire behind his success was built within a society sustained by slavery. There is a familiar story about the…
Become a Guardian of History
At a certain point in your life, you will come to realise that everything and everyone you grew up with has been reduced to your own memories. As the publisher…
Calls for Nominations for the Cape Chronicle Heritage Award Certificate
Businesses, institutions and individuals whose contribution has shaped the Cape are being invited to take their place in history CAPE TOWN — The Cape has been built over generations by…
THE LITTLE TRIANGLE THAT PUT THE CAPE ON THE POSTAL MAP
How a curious three-cornered stamp issued in Cape Town in 1853 became one of the world’s most famous pieces of postal history CAPE TOWN, 1853 — There was nothing particularly…
Chappies: The Little Piece of Bubble Gum That Changed Cape Culture
From a Johannesburg sweet factory to a familiar name in generations of South African childhood It was small enough to disappear into a child’s pocket, cheap enough to buy with…
The Legacy of the Hansa Clinic
The little Bellville clinic where a blue or pink flag announced a new life — decades before Mediclinic claimed the tradition By Cape Chronicle Historical Desk There was a time…
Notice to Advertisers – Northern Suburbs
During the month of September, we will focus on Durbanville and everything it has to offer. If you want to become part of the Cape Chronicle’s history, we invite you…
Bugsy’s Wooden Pet Structures Builds Quality Homes for Cape Town’s Beloved Pets
DURBANVILLE — A comfortable home is something every family values, and at Bugsy’s Wooden Pet Structures, that same principle extends to the four-legged, feathered and furry members of the household.…
KFC and Defence Department Unveil “Umkhonto-we-Fly” — South Africa’s First Finger-Lickin’ Attack Helicopter
By Victor Achebe | Special Satirical Correspondent Cape Chronicle — 3 August 2026 PRETORIA — In what military analysts have already described as “the boldest defence strategy since someone suggested…
THE LOST GARDENS OF SCHOONSPRUIT
Malmesbury’s Forgotten Estate Where Trains Slowed to Admire a Garden Paradise An investigation into the history, legend and heritage of one of the Swartland’s most enchanting properties By Victor Achebe…
The Great Fire of 1869
Origins and spread The fire was first spotted on 1 February 1869 burning in the Meiringspoort area of the Swartberg Mountains, in the Klein Karoo. The whole subcontinent had been…
The Mystery of the Paternoster Hotel: History, Heritage or Local Legend?
An Investigative Historical Feature For generations, visitors arriving in the picturesque fishing village of Paternoster have been greeted by one of the West Coast’s most recognisable landmarks—the Paternoster Hotel. Whitewashed…
The Carosinis of the West Coast: An Italian Family’s Century of Enterprise, Fishing, Hospitality and Heritage
By the Cape Chronicle Historical Desk Along the windswept coastline between Saldanha Bay and the mouth of the Berg River lies a remarkable story of migration, enterprise and survival. It…
Riebeek Cellars—A Testament to the Enduring Spirit of the Swartland
Editorial “The strength of a nation is found not only within its cities, but among the vineyards, wheat lands and farming communities that nourish them.” There are institutions whose histories…
From a Bicycle and a Dream: The Enduring Legacy of Friedman & Cohen
By the Cape Chronicle Historical Desk There are few businesses in the Western Cape that can claim to have witnessed more than a century of South African history. Fewer still…
Cape Heritage Community News & Events Culture & Traditions Politics & Provincial Government Special Historical Feature Tourism
If Dagbreek Cottage Falls, Another Piece of the Cape Falls With It
The City of Cape Town never tires of marketing itself as a world-class city. It boasts about tourism, celebrates its historic precincts, and proudly sells visitors a destination rich in…
The Scissors Murder: The Bellville Crime That Shocked a Nation
A reconstruction of the murder of Susanna Magdalena van der Linde, the trial of Marlene Lehnberg and Marthinus Choegoe, and the tragedy that followed By The Cape Chronicle Investigative Desk…
From Durbanville to Zion: The Untold Journey of a Cape Colony Blacksmith
The story of David Samuel Sampson traces one family’s passage across continents, faiths, and the shifting boundaries of race in the early twentieth century DURBANVILLE, Cape Colony — 1872. In…
The Springs That Built a Town: The Story of Aliwal North’s Hot Pool
By Staff Reporter | Eastern Cape Bureau ALIWAL NORTH — Long before this quiet town on the banks of the Orange River carried the name of a battlefield in Punjab,…
The Horseless Carriage That Changed a Nation: South Africa’s First Motor Car
A look back at the 1896 Benz Velo, the vehicle that put the country on wheels PRETORIA/PORT ELIZABETH — Long before the Cape’s highways carried a single bakkie or sedan,…
Does the Democratic Alliance-led City of Cape Town Council still have the Cape’s best interests at heart?
It is a question that is likely to gain momentum following the City’s preliminary approval of a major hyperscale data centre development proposed by global digital infrastructure company Equinix. The…
City Proposes R366 Million Investment in Community Facilities Across Cape Town
CAPE TOWN – The City of Cape Town has proposed a capital investment of R366.381 million for community facilities during the 2026/27 financial year, with funding earmarked for upgrades to…
What Every Parent Should Know About Facebook, Instagram, and Their Children
A summary of documented research, whistleblower testimony, and ongoing litigation — current as of July 2026 The short version Meta (parent company of Facebook and Instagram) is currently facing the…