After a decade and a half of housing a family of medical professionals, being both their home and consultation rooms, the property at 43 Panorama Drive was bought by Sanur Trust in 2018.
Inspired by the trustees’ own passion for natural living, they decided to renovate the two buildings on the property and dedicate it to wellness, growth, families and health.
Back to farm-fresh health
The original house on the property was a farm manager’s house, built long before the farm was sold off and converted into residential properties in the 1930’s, 40’s and 50’s.
How suitable that the original farm managers house is now used as a wellness centre to inspire old farm values and healthy practices such as organic wholefoods (the only food available at the time), a green space to relax and rejuvenate (the natural surroundings), sunlight, fresh air, and time with family.
All aspects of a well balanced lifestyle which we hope to inspire at Sprig Wellness
The subdivision (Lot L) of the original farm, now know and The Links
Early History
After landing in the Cape in 1679 as Commander of the VOC refreshment station, Simon van der Stel became the Governor of the Cape in 1691. The famous Governor was accompanied by his sons, Willem Adriaan van der Stel, founder of Vergelegen Estate, and Francois van der Stel.
When Willem Adriaan took his father’s place as Governor in 1699, he allotted a large section of land (120 morgen) to his little brother Francois. Today this land is know as Paarel Vallei, as well as the then adjoining Paarde Vlei.
Sprig Wellness Centre stands on earth which was once part of the legendary Paarel Vallei estate.
Francois van der Stel’s manor house at Paarel Vallei,
photographed by Brooke Simmons – 1987.
Francois van der Stel’s allotted land.
Land belonging to the De Beers Mining Co. Circa 1950.
Lot L (triangular pink area at top) was subdivided in 1952 to become the neighborhood now known as The Links (see image below).
Little is known of Francois van der Stel and Paarel Vallei, but it is likely that the youngest van der Stel brother cultivated fruits, oxen and vineyards on the land. In keeping with what his brother was developing on Vergelegen.
After the van der Stel’s were accused of corruption and subsequently stripped of their titles and land in the Cape, Paarel Vallei transferred first to Class van der Westuyzen in 1717, then to Nicolaas van der Heuwel later that same year. Olof de Wet received the land in 1735 after which it belonged to Matthaim le Roux from 1748 and then Philip Wouter de Vos from 1763. After the the Wouters passed, their son sold it to the Myburgh family, but sections of the land had by then been sold off, including a portion on which Sprig now stands which was transferred to J.P Blommart in June 1798.
After changing hands a few more times, this land was consolidated with surrounding properties to create a single farm of 1029 morgen which belonged to the De Beers mining company in the mid 1900’s. On this land stood a dynamite factory used to manufacture explosives for their mining operations across Southern Africa. The thunderous noise of testing their dynamite often rang between the Helderberg and sea until the land was subdivided and became gradually residential.
The most northern corner of this land was split off in 1938 and subdivided to become a residential area we today know as The Links, filled with the laughter of children from surrounding schools, families, kind community values and (most recently) the Sprig Wellness Centre.