Its just great to enjoy breakfast, outside, on a sunny Sunday morning with friends. Cape Town is such a great venue for this! One place we really enjoy is the ‘Open Door’ at Constantia Uitsig. The food is great and they have a wonderful play area for the kids. On this particular visit I was confronted with some wonderful curious objects in the shape of two vintage trophies from the year I was born (1972), plus others from the 1960’s. These were acompanied by some fantastic old pictures from the school, that the building, (now restaurant), was originally used for. The buildings history with education began in 1902, when permission was granted for the privately funded school house, the Tokai Primary, to be built on the land, which was previously a farm house. It educated approximately 60 children a year, until 1917, when the land was sold for just 250 pounds sterling, to the Trustees of the Tokai Undenominational Public School! 

   

A new schoolhouse was soon built on very the same site, and by 1921, the school had up to 137 pupils. It operated until 1987 when it was closed, mainly due to low enrolment as newer schools opened in the area.

As a keen runner, one of my favourite pictures featured is the race leaving the gates. I have lived in Cape Town for the past eight years, and have taken part in three of the Constantia Grape runs, which take you through the Vineyards of Uitsig. The sweeping views over Cape Town are just breathtaking and as an ex pat, I just can’t believe that a boy from Bristol in the UK is lucky enough to see this. The image is running in the same place as the Grape run takes you at the start. I also love the classic schoolboy sports image of the rugby team, taken in 1960!

 

I hope that you enjoy these wonderful images from the schools glorious past and you can read more about this wonderful buildings incredable history by visiting the Open Door website, by clicking here.



Article originally posted at: Curious Objects, September 11th 2016