Page 24 - Intra Muros September Issue 2024

SILVER LAKES THROUGH THE YEARS

TRACING OUR 30-YEAR HISTORY

FROM FARM TO TRANQUIL

LIFESTYLE ESTATE

By Corlia Mathews

t’s that time of the year again when we
vote for the Best of Pretoria Readers’
IChoice Awards, administered by the
city’s Rekord community newspaper. It
celebrates Pretoria and gives readers an
opportunity to share what they believe
are the best things on offer in the capital
city.

Once again, a nod of appreciation will go
to the businesses and institutions that
make Pretoria such a great place to live
in, with Rekord having offered its readers
the opportunity to give kudos where
kudos are due.

We Silver Lakers have been spoilt in
the past, with the estate having won
various categories of awards. This proves
that many people agree: Silver Lakes is Silver Lakes in the early days
an amazing place to live and bring up
children. We do not have the sea and
mountains, but we have our awesome In recent years, the estate has been How the estate came about
estate and Tshwane is a metropolis like incorporated into the City of Tshwane’s Dr Stefanus Lombard, a respected
no other with nature all around us. Have municipality and is now in one of the veterinarian, had a vision for the estate. His
you ever noticed how many trees there major decentralising node developments idea led to the highly successful development
are? Not many cities are as lucky as ours, surrounding the city. known today as Silver Lakes Golf and
especially in such a dry climate as ours! Wildlife Estate. In an interview, Dr Lombard
Silver Lakes is located at the foot of the mentioned on the side that in 1964, as a
In this issue, I trace the history of this Bronberg, which is part of the Magaliesberg young veterinarian, he carried out his first
awesome estate, the first in the country. mountain range. The region has a proliferation Caesarean on the farm, Friesland – the same
of archaeological treasures and is also rich in farm on which Silver Lakes is situated today.
A favourable location precious metals such as gold, silver, copper,
Silver Lakes Golf and Wildlife Estate was tin, chrome and platinum. When prospectors Dr Lombard kept up a friendship with the Van
known as Silver Lakes Golf Estate until got wind of these riches in the 1800s, many of der Merwe family, who owned the farm in a
2018. It was situated a mere 20km away them arrived to stake a claim. trust. This family of three siblings suffered
from Pretoria (now Tshwane). At the time from porphyria and all three died young. In
of its establishment, residents of the city A carriage road was built between Pretoria 1976, Dr Lombard purchased the 256ha dairy
considered the estate to be “out there”, and Delagoa Bay to the east for transporting farm from the deceased Van der Merwe
part of the peri-urban developments these riches, crossing the land where Silver estate for R290 000 and switched from
around Bronkhorstspruit. Later, it Lakes is today. In fact, when installing services dairy farming to breeding prize-winning,
became part of the Bronkhorstspruit during the estate’s construction, remnants of pedigreed Brahman cattle. Then, in the late
municipality, and eventually, the a wagon and horse skeletons were found near 1980s, he started looking into the possibility
Kungwini region. the current 12th fairway. of developing the land for residential use.

22 | INTRAMUROS SEPTEMBER 2024