The Legacy

FONTIJN is located in a space that has a rich history of community and gathering, centred around a life-giving fountain.

The earliest travellers through the area were nomadic Khoi groups, particularly the Cochoqua and Gorachoqua, who used the fountain for the cattle they grazed on the grasslands to the east.

During the 18th century it became an overnight stop for farmers and merchants on their way to Cape Town. Towards the end of the century, travellers built a dam around the fountain to make the watering of oxen easier and regular visitors began planting pumpkins in the damp clay walls of the dam, lending it the name Pampoenekraal.

In the 19th century, a settlement grew around the church that had been founded by farmers from the area and in 1836 a petition was submitted to the governor of the Cape, Sir Benjamin D’Urban, asking that the residents be allowed to name the town after him. Permission was granted, and 50 years later, a second petition changed the name to Durbanville, to differentiate it from the port of Durban.

The fountain remained the town’s water source until 1957, when the municipal water system was connected to the Wemmershoek Dam.

Today, at FONTIJN on Newhaven, we preserve and celebrate that heritage and are intentionally laying the groundwork for a beautiful space where people live to gather.