Paarl Station, Suider Paarl Stasie
Paarl Station was once at a strategic junction.
“One of the main routes to the interior followed Main Street from the south, down Louws Avenue into Station Street. From the Station you crossed the line into Vlei Street, and crossed the Berg River at Cecelia’s Drift. In those days there was no bridge, just a slab of cement, so if the river was in flood, you couldn’t pass through.”
On weekdays and weekends the “Fransch- hoekie” - the train travelling between Fransch- hoek and Paarl - brought many more people to Paarl Station.
All the “feet” through the area allowed businesses to prosper and people said then, not even the grass in front of the hotel had time to grow.
Then there were at least five general dealers in Suider Paarl: on the corner of Concordia and Station Streets there was Trope and Kahanowitz, and in Station Street, Goss, Peck, Moffsen and Devine & Co (where the Labori shopping centre is today).
(Taken from an article published in Paarl Post)
Paarl Station - the good years
2008-10-30
By Marguerite Lombard
Read the article at: http://www.paarlpost.com/cgib/article?newsid=13108
“One of the main routes to the interior followed Main Street from the south, down Louws Avenue into Station Street. From the Station you crossed the line into Vlei Street, and crossed the Berg River at Cecelia’s Drift. In those days there was no bridge, just a slab of cement, so if the river was in flood, you couldn’t pass through.”
On weekdays and weekends the “Fransch- hoekie” - the train travelling between Fransch- hoek and Paarl - brought many more people to Paarl Station.
All the “feet” through the area allowed businesses to prosper and people said then, not even the grass in front of the hotel had time to grow.
Then there were at least five general dealers in Suider Paarl: on the corner of Concordia and Station Streets there was Trope and Kahanowitz, and in Station Street, Goss, Peck, Moffsen and Devine & Co (where the Labori shopping centre is today).
(Taken from an article published in Paarl Post)
Paarl Station - the good years
2008-10-30
By Marguerite Lombard
Read the article at: http://www.paarlpost.com/cgib/article?newsid=13108
A Snippet from the Anglo-Boer War history in 1900
Jul 24, 1900 - A young Boer has been sentenced to five years' penal servitude for trying to wreck a troop train at Paarl.
FromThe Boer War.
From
Wellington Station make sure the train stops! Click to view the story.
Paarl, the transport junction
Cape Town was linked to Wellington with one of the first South African railwayline-routes via Paarl in 1863. The initial purpose of the line was to connect The Boland Winelands with Cape Town. Soon afterwards, in 1866, the discovery of diamonds in South Africa led to increased railway construction throughout the country, notably the Cape main line between De Aar and Kimberley. Again Paarl was part of the action as its railway stations were directly linked to the main line north.
In the period proceeding the intensive railway construction, Paarl and her sister town, Wellington, played a significant part in the transport industry as hundreds of local businesses were involved in it. Horse cart manufacturing and wagon building was a booming industry of the Drakenstein Valley in the early 19th century. With the discovery of diamonds in the North, prospecting dwellers wanted to get to Kimberley and later to the Gold Reef as fast as possible. The wagon route north seemed to be the quickest to get there, which stimulated the cart and wagon building industry even further.
Again, the development of the railway network and wagon building activities contributed to the development of business activities in and around Paarl and Paarl Station. The local Jewish settlers seized the opportunity by expanding their activities. Businesses around Paarl Railway Station were booming.
2009 Marked the opening of the first phase of De Poort heritage village in Paarl, just down the road from Paarl Station. De Poort is the first heritage village in South Africa where visitors can relive the era of the horse and cart when the Drakenstein valley was the centre of the transport industry.
We would like anybody who has a present or past interest in the area to click here and comment on the blog pages.
In the period proceeding the intensive railway construction, Paarl and her sister town, Wellington, played a significant part in the transport industry as hundreds of local businesses were involved in it. Horse cart manufacturing and wagon building was a booming industry of the Drakenstein Valley in the early 19th century. With the discovery of diamonds in the North, prospecting dwellers wanted to get to Kimberley and later to the Gold Reef as fast as possible. The wagon route north seemed to be the quickest to get there, which stimulated the cart and wagon building industry even further.
Again, the development of the railway network and wagon building activities contributed to the development of business activities in and around Paarl and Paarl Station. The local Jewish settlers seized the opportunity by expanding their activities. Businesses around Paarl Railway Station were booming.
2009 Marked the opening of the first phase of De Poort heritage village in Paarl, just down the road from Paarl Station. De Poort is the first heritage village in South Africa where visitors can relive the era of the horse and cart when the Drakenstein valley was the centre of the transport industry.
We would like anybody who has a present or past interest in the area to click here and comment on the blog pages.
