FYN AND FORTUNE

The Cape Town Heritage Trust partner Cape Town Fynbos Experience on our botanical heritage.

WITTE WIJNAPPEL RETURNS HOME

Article  supplied by the Cape Town Central City Improvement District writer: Simangele Mzizi

After extensive research spanning more than a decade, the exact species of the first apple picked in the Company’s Garden 357 years ago is back in its original home.A variant of the Witte Wijnappel (White Wine Apple), first picked in the Company’s Garden on 17 April 1662, was planted in the garden on 17 April over 350 later thanks to a partnership between Tru-Cape Fruit Marketing, Hortgro and the Cape Town Heritage Trust. Tru-Cape celebrates 17 April as the official birth of the apple industry.With the historic planting, the Company’s Garden has reclaimed a slice of its history: in all likelihood, the Witte Wijnappel was planted from seeds, with Jan van Riebeeck himself recording in his diary on 17 April that he had picked the first two Dutch apples at the Cape from a tree described as the Wijnappel.“The replanting of the Witte Wijnappel is a historic moment in the South African fruit industry,” Tru-Cape Fruit marketing managing director Roelf Pienaar said in a statement.Laura Robinson, director of the Cape Town Heritage Trust, shared Roelf’s sentiments adding: “This symbolic planting highlights the rich heritage of plants that were brought to the country by early colonists, as well as the development and growth of the fruit industry in South Africa.”Read more…

RARE CANNON "FIRED" IN COMPANY'S GARDEN

LIGHTFOOT MEMORIAL RESTORED TO ITS FORMER GLORY

Article supplied by Cape Town CCID

One of the central city’s iconic memorials, the Lightfoot Memorial at Trafalgar Place, has been unveiled after its R1-million restoration by the City of Cape Town.

The memorial fountain was erected in honour of Archdeacon Thomas Lightfoot and originally unveiled in 1907 in the square adjacent to the Trafalgar Place Flower Market. Its restoration was proposed in 2014 by Ward councillor Dave Bryant who has led the project to preserve the weather-worn piece of Cape Town’s history.

Speaking at the unveiling of the memorial in March, Councillor Bryant said: “Cape Town has a complex history with many dark and difficult periods that have left deep scars on our people and communities. It is essential that we honour those heroes of the past who have contributed towards making our city a more inclusive and caring place. Through honouring the memory of Archdeacon Lightfoot and others like him we can set an example for future generations of what true servant leadership really represents.”

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