August 2015

MAYOR FOR A DAYWhat would you do?

PAGE 12

WOMEN OF BREEMeet some remarkable residents

PAGES 4 & 5

BEARDS, BIKES, BEERIs there more to Bree Street?

PAGES 8 & 9

MOlO | HEllO | GOEIEDAG

FREE

A PROJECT OF THE

CAPE TOWN PARTNERSHIP

www.capetownpartnership.co.za

IMAGINED LIVES: Author Rehana Roussouw travels back in timePAGE 3

MAp: Bree Street then and now PAGES 6 & 7

THE WORLD OF BREE STREET

This was a place where everyone lived, in houses like the ones that are now the cocktail bars; but then, by about 1970, the government had moved everyone away. ErniE PaulsE, BrEE sTrEET rEsidEnT

PAGES 10 & 11

ONE STREET. MANy STORIES.

Stop reading now if you think this is going to help you find the best beer on Bree Street – or the best

gift, cocktail, burger or bicycle-repair shop, for that matter. This edition of Molo may provide you with such useful information, but we hope it does much more by giv-ing you an insight into the world of Bree Street, past and present. As a long-time Bree Street worker my-self, I can attest to the fact that Bree Street was not always the bustling thoroughfare it is today. When I started working in Bree Street over a decade ago it looked very different: quieter, dirtier, and almost certainly deserted after 6pm. These days, it is busy from early to late, a mecca of innovative food, design and shop-ping, and a host to events like Open Streets and First Thursdays. But as with many other streets in our city, the history of Bree Street stretches much further back than its current incarnation as a retail and business hub, and a foodie destination. After all, Bree Street’s current economic resurgence – welcome though it’s been for the central city – has been only about eight years in the mak-ing. What happened in the three centuries before that? Beneath the tar that covers the Bree Street of to-day, what cobblestones, sea sand or bones might you find? It’s all these

other Bree Streets that this issue of Molo hopes to explore.

This geographical focus is a new direction for Molo. In surfacing the stories of a specific place, we hope to take into account some of the many layers of history, time and untold tales to which the spaces of our city have borne witness. Cape Town’s public spaces deserve to have their biographies told; and Bree Street, with its multi-layered and chequered past, seems like a good place to start.

We look forward to hearing your feedback about this new approach, as well as your own sto-ries about Bree Street. BulElwa MakaliMa-ngEwanaCEO, CApE TOWN pARTNERShIp

EDITORIAL

THE LiFE in OuR STREETS

in surfacing the stories of a

specific place, we hope to take into account some of

the many layers of history, time and

untold tales to which the spaces

of our city have borne witness

AcTIvE cITIzEns

WHAT IS THE COMMUNITy CHEST OF THE WESTERN CAPE?

as a proud resident of Bree street, Community Chest has empowered the greater community of the western Cape for 87 years. Our activations have allowed us to birth the Community Chest ‘Bree street Take-Over’ initiative, mobilising the Bree street companies and greater public participation as we inspire a nation of active citizens. lOrEnzO davids, COMMuniTy ChEsT CEO

Every year in December over 20 000 Capetonians gather to compete for the best outfit in the annual twilight Run charity race. to enter your team for the 2015 twilight Run, which takes place on 1 December 2015, visit www.comchest.org.za.

Every issue of Molo will now highlight a local non-profit organisation that is working to make Cape Town better. In this issue we find out more about a Bree Street institution: the Community Chest of the Western Cape.

Community Chest engages and collaborates with organisations, concerned citizens and professionals to build resilient and responsive communities where access and opportunities

to health, education and income-generation services are advanced. It focuses on education, health and way for vulnerable citizens to generate an income.

How can you HElp?Support the 2015 Twilight Run

Donate your time or moneyIf you would like to become an individual donor or a volunteer at the Community Chest of the Western Cape please contact their fundraising department on 021 487 1500.

Contact the Community Chest of the Western Cape82 Bree Street 021 424 3344 info@comchest.org.za

did you know?

places to eat and drink on Bree Street

100+

MOLO. HELLO.

GOEiEDaG. Molo is a free community paper,

focused on the people of Cape town, and published by the Cape town Partnership.

Published by:Cape Town Partnership34 Bree StreetT: 021 419 1881

Created by: Ambre Nicolson, Dave Buchanan, Jackie Lampard, Lisa Burnell, Lwandile Fikeni, Paul-Louis Louw, Ru du Toit, Skye Grove, Sam Bainbridge, Samantha Phillips, Stephen Alfreds

Designed by: Infestation T: 021 461 8601 www.infestation.co.za

SEND US YOUR STORIES If you or someone you know has an interesting story to tell, mail us at molo@capetownpartnership.co.za (no press releases, please).

WHERE TO FIND MOLOIf you or your organisation would like to receive or distribute the print publication, please mail us at molo@capetownpartnership.co.za. Include your postal address and the number of copies you’d like to receive.

Every month, we’ll continue the conversations we start in the print edition of Molo online at www.capetownpartnership.co.za.

Contact the creators of Molo: @CTPartnership #Molo

Email: molo@capetownpartnership.co.za

tel: 021 419 1881

www.facebook.com/molocapetown

Molo, Cape Town Partnership, 10th Floor, The Terraces, 34 Bree Street, 8001

The length of Bree Street is only

1.4km

Bree is also home to an underground skate rink (The Pit at 133 Bree) and a handmade pizza oven imported from Naples (Bocca at Bree Street)

water reservoir (at the base of the Portside building)

500 000ℓ

There are

2 MOLO August 2015

Dearest Diary, my truest Companion in my dark-est of times. Our Solitude is soon to end. My time

is upon me. I woke this morning troubled by a dull ache come to rest above my hips. Samira says ’tis a sure sign that my time has come.

Samira! To escape that pesti-lence of a woman I have locked myself away in my bedroom, my only escape in this tiny house. She has seated herself outside my door, the wailing that she set upon hours past showing no sign of abating.

her tempo increases each time a span of oxen passes the house. They haul goods up and down Bree Street all the long days. The whips’ lashes streaking across the beasts’ flanks send Samira into a frenzy of despair. She pounds her head against my door.

Today marks four months since Mama ordered Ashraf’s 50 lashes, Samira clinging to Mama’s skirts begging for her son’s release from the wagon wheel, pleading to take his place. Four months since Samira and I were banished from

the farm to the Bree Street house to hide my condition from the world. how I long for this ordeal to end.

I let slip to Samira this morn-ing, distracted by the dull ache in my hips, that Ashraf will be gone when we return to the farm. Mama sold him as soon as he healed.

Samira will not see the sense of this, nor will she accept Mama’s plan for the babe. She will not desist from her infernal pleading that she be allowed to raise it. I tried to set her to rights, for the umpteenth time, but she will not listen to Reason.

I will not countenance the proof of my laying down with Ashraf to run underfoot for the rest of my life. What if it bears a resemblance to me? Shall I be expected to toler-ate such a Slave?

I am close to despising Samira; she cannot see that my predica-ment has done nothing to change her station in life as a household Slave. Mama will dispose of the babe; ’tis her prerogative, and nothing will deter her.

I had to set you aside for a while, Dear Diary, for my ache grows stronger. It abates when I pace the room. Soon enough will I have to unlatch the door and let Samira enter. She has to see me through this Travail. Mama will not al-low a midwife’s knowledge of my shame, and Samira has birthed many in the Slave quarters.

I want it over. I have missed several balls and parties these past four months. I grow tired of listening in my solitude to revel-lers and theatregoers traipsing down Bree Street after a night of Glee. Mama has sent letters of regret to all invitations, with the explanation that I was sent to a remote hunting lodge for seclusion following a bout of Scar-let Fever.

She has promised me the most Elegant sixteenth birthday party the Cape has seen. I have a scant three months to plan the Festivi-ties. In her letter received last night Mama said a ship docked last week, bearing the most delicious silks, and she has acquired lengths

for my frock. Imagine the surprise when I appear at my party in a frock designed according to the latest parisian fashion, and not the faintest blemish of a fever blister!

Mama writes that I am old enough to be introduced to suit-able suitors and prospects at my party. She finds it hard to keep the vineyard going since papa’s pass-ing. The Slaves have been restive of late and hard to control. She wants a Son-in-Law to assist.

Will Mama allow me freedom of choice? ’Tis no trifling matter to

be wed and lay down with a hus-band. For Ashraf and me, a life-time of childish games turned into easy adult play. I fear Mama will choose a beefy Dutchman with blue eyes and blotched red skin peeling off his nose, and marry me off post-haste. She is truly miffed.

Dearest Diary I cannot continue. The ache eats away at my insides. Soon this will be over. Soon, my Life will start anew.

Yours ever,Charlotte

coluMn

shORTs

REHANA ROuSSOuW

BREE STREET, 31 JANUARy 1799In the first of a series of fictional essays that re-imagine the lives of Cape Town residents, past and present, novelist Rehana Roussouw travels back to Bree Street at the turn of the 18th century. samira! To escape

that Pestilence of a woman i have locked

myself away in my bedroom, my only escape in this tiny

house. she has seated herself outside my

door, the wailing that she set upon hours

past showing no sign of abating.

rehana roussouw is a commissioning editor at Business day and the author of What Will people Say? edited by Jacana

WHAT’S IN A NAME?Bree Street got its name for its width; the word is an English derivative of the Dutch word “bree”, meaning wide. It was built as the broadest street in Cape town so that oxwagons, laden with fresh produce des-tined for green Market square, had somewhere to turn around.

today, 227 Bree Street is known as Orphanage Cocktail Emporium in honour of the original orphanage for boys which occupied the premises in the 20th century.

Café Frank at 160 Bree Street is known for its hearty meals and rotisserie chicken but it’s not named after anyone named Frank. Rather, owner Debbie Wynne named it Café Frank for the values of honesty and authenticity the word “frank” implies.

Lastly, how did local barber shop Barnet Fair at 98 Bree Street get its name? Barnet Fair is rhyming slang for hair.

what’s your Bree street story? send us your stories about the people and spaces of Bree street and we will publish them in the next issue or on www.capetownpartnership.co.za

3 IN SHORT

EXTRAORDINARy IMMIGRANTS

By ambre nicolson, lwandile fikeni

Meet some of the

remarkable women who

have lived and worked on

Bree Street.

WOMEn OF BREE STREET

ExtRaoRdinaRy pEoplE

heritage square was this secret, peaceful

space in the middle of the city but at

the time it was still quite inward-facing; these days it’s amazing to see how it has opened

up to the streets around it.

impure water; advised people to bath in wine, as he believed the alcohol killed infection; and on a wintery night in July 1826, per-formed the fi rst successful caesar-ian section in the English-speak-ing world – on Bree Street.

The patient was Wilhelmina Jo-hanna Munnik, the wife of a local snuff trader who owned premises on heritage Square, and the baby was named James Barry Munnik in the doctor’s honour. [As an aside: he grew up to become a success-ful Capetonian businessman in his own right, and later gave his name in turn to his godson and the future prime Minister of South Africa, James Barry Munnik hertzog.]

But the story gets stranger: Doc-tor Barry continued to practise medicine around the world as a military surgeon, in places as far fl ung as Trinidad, Corfu and Mon-treal, before retiring to England in 1864 (still accompanied by man-servant and poodle). When he died the following year, the maidservant who prepared his body for burial made a surprising discovery: Doc-tor Barry was female. It is now sup-posed that she was born Miranda Stuart. As a teenager she had taken on a masculine identity so that she could study medicine.

Fast forward almost 200 years to 2007. heritage Square, which had fallen into a decades-long state of disrepair, had recently been re-stored; and another recent immi-grant from Europe was about to leave her mark on Bree Street. Vic-toria Nel was born in Germany to Spanish and German parents, but grew up in Switzerland and studied

in the UK and the United States. In 2005 she moved to Cape Town with her children and her South Af-rican husband, and began search-ing for a project that would enable her to engage with her adopted city, beyond “the beautiful but discon-nected bubble of Constantia and International School”.

The moment she walked off Bree Street into heritage Square, she knew she had found what she was searching for. She and her hus-band started managing the Cape heritage hotel, and later became lifetime leaseholders of heritage Square. “heritage Square was this secret, peaceful space in the middle of the city, but at the time it was still quite inward-facing; these days, it’s amazing to see how it has opened up to the streets around it.”

Not content with running a ho-tel, Victoria has also become in-volved with the Zip Zap Circus, the Children’s Radio Foundation, and most recently with a collabo-ration with hendrik Vermeulen Couture and the installation of the paul du Toit sculptures on Riebeek Square.

while in Cape Town doctor Barry … performed the fi rst successful caesarian section in the English-speaking world – on Bree street.

tHE doctoR tuRnEd landscapE aRcHitEctGwendoline Elizabeth Fagan will tell you: “There was a fi re here.” Her architectural fi rm, co-owned with her husband – Gabriel Fagan Architects – occupies one of the oldest buildings on Bree Street: No 156. “The place is still in its original condition,” she says when I visit her to speak about the history of Bree Street. “We bought it 30 years or so ago. It was up for demolition, because it burnt.”

Gwen, as her husband a� ectionately calls her, was born on 25 September 1924. She married Gabriel in 1949. She is a qualifi ed medical doctor, and the author of books on landscaping and historical South African architecture styles. At 91 years old, she and her husband still commute to No. 156 Bree Street every single day. And he has plans for a new building under way, just around the

corner from their o� ces.No. 156 was a warehouse in its

former life in the Cape Colony. Like a conduit to that time and place, its design is explicitly Cape Dutch, and still retains its original form: the large round windows and the steel beam that protrudes from the top of the building, which was used to hoist up the large wooden beams that hold the structure together.

“The warehouse was used to store o� oaded stu� from the ships until the next round of boats took them to their destination. The whole of Cape Town was full of warehouses,” Gwen says. “And in Bree Street, there were quite a number of warehouses as well. No. 156 Bree Street was one of the last remaining warehouses on Bree.”

victoria nel, Cape heritage hotel.

in 1817 a 22-year-old doctor by the name of James Barry arrived in the Cape as an army surgeon. he had graduated from Edinburgh Uni-

versity at the age of 18, and had al-ready gained experience in Belgium, Spain and India. he was an eccen-tric character, accompanied every-where by his manservant, John, and his poodle, psyche; and was known for his long red hair, the fact that he wore shoes with stacked heels, and

his habit of going for horse rides wearing full dress uniform and car-rying a parasol.

Barry was also known for his terrible temper. he fought more than a couple of duels, and due to his clashes with authority he was often sent home under “house ar-rest”. No-one, however, seemed to dispute his talent as a doctor. While in Cape Town, Doctor Bar-ry traced the source of the town’s

4 MOLO AUGUST 2015

ENTREPRENEURIAl FlAIR

The menu at Orinoco, the restau-rant at 22 Bree Street, reads like an honour roll of South American cui-sine: empanadas from Argentina, arepas from Venezuela and fajitas from Mexico. Orinoco’s proprietor, Migdalia Bellorin, is herself Vene-zuelan, and grew up making arepas (maize flour rolls, filled and grilled on an open flame) with her grand-mother, before moving to Mexico and later to Cape Town.

When she arrived here she spoke only a few words of English, but this did not deter her from enrolling at chef school to study the cuisine of her adopted country. Later she started a catering company offering Latino food at local food markets; and then, in 2011, she travelled up the spine of the South American continent on a three-month-long tasting tour. Inspired by the vari-ety of flavours she discovered, she retuned to Cape Town and opened Orinoco, the restaurant.

Why did she choose Bree? “When I first came here there was much less here. I was scared. I was a single woman, no business partners, I didn’t know if we were going to close after six months.

But Bree Street was changing, then in 2011 already, people liked what we are doing, they even like that I refuse to change the dishes – at least you know it’s authentic, you know? And here we still are, five years later.”

Almost 150 years ago, she would have been neighbour to another entrepreneurial businesswoman, but one involved in a very different kind of business. In the late 1800s Cape Town was very much a port city; and as in all port cities, a large area of the waterfront catered to the tastes of sailors, in the form of dive bars and brothels. One of the most famous establishments was a saloon located at 26 Bree Street, run by a woman known as Black Sophie.

According to novelist Lauren Beukes, in her book Mavericks: Extraordinary women from south africa’s past, Black Sophie was born in Graaf-Reinet in 1827 under the name of Sophia Johanna Werner, but “ ‘Black Sophie’ was better suited to her coffee complex-ion and personality, which was as abundant as her waistline.” Black Sophie had a thriving business not only in entertaining sailors, but also in convincing them (often after many generous helpings of rum) to sign up for the literally shitty work of gathering guano (bird drop-pings) on islands up the west coast – a service for which she received a handsome commission.

[the name] ‘Black sophie’ was better suited to her coffee complexion and personality, which was as abundant as her waistline.

“I think Bree Street feels very cosmopolitan because it has drawn people here to live and work from all over the world, and when it comes to Bree Street maybe this has always been the case. We found these premises one day when we walked down Bree Street and noticed these old houses. They had such personality and were the opposite of the more industrial look of other parts of town, We knew immediately we had found the spot for our second Sababa cafe. Nowadays we have a loyal group of regulars who come by for lunch and to pick up our deli meals to take home but Bree Street also seems to attract a lot of different types of people. We have been here for four years now and it is still a constant learning experience!”niriT saBan, saBaBa

businEss on bREE

Migdalia Bellorin, Orinoco.

Nirit Saban, Sababa.

5 FEATuRE

BREE STREET

BUITENGRACHT STBUITENGRACHT ST

BURG ST

JORDAAN ST

NEW CHURCH ST

QUEEN VICTORIA ST

BRYANT ST

LION ST

CHIAPPINI ST

ROSE ST

LOOP ST

JETTY ST

LONG ST

ADDERLEY ST

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BREESTREET

nOWthenthenthenthenthen&nOWnOWnOWnOW

What used to happen where you’re standing? Take a tour of Bree Street with us, and discover how this thoroughfare has changed – and stayed the same – over the last three centuries.Text: lwandile fikeni, illustration: Mea Jordaan | infestation

an unknown HERO181 BREE, CHRISTIAAN BARNARD HOSPITAL

this hospital will soon be moving to the foreshore; but its name comes from Christian Neethling Barnard, the south African cardiac surgeon who performed the world’s fi rst successful human-to-human heart transplant. the operation occurred on the morning of 3 December 1967, and lasted nine hours. It is reported that in Barnard’s team was a black surgeon, Hamilton Naki, who played an integral role in the procedure. Due to the callousness of apartheid, his name was removed from the history books, to be included only after our post-apartheid state was established – a little late, perhaps.

NOWA hospital, but not for long…

warehouses toWaTERinG HOLES127 AND 133 BREE STREET

Bree is also home to reincarnated former warehouses, which have been transformed, over time, into modern spaces. Clarke’s Bar at 133 Bree street and Birds Café at 127 embody the quintessence of the life of a modern Capetonian; but in times past, these spaces would have been full of goods recently unloaded from ships in the harbour, and destined for transport to the rest of the country.

thenWarehouses for the storage of goods from the port

NOWPlaces to enjoy a fl at white and a meal

orPhans andCOCKTaiLS227 BREE STREET, ORPHANAGE

then A home for boys, many of who had been orphaned by the fl u epidemic of 1918

Orphanage describes itself as “an emporium of artisan cocktails, elixirs & intoxications”. In 1919, however, this site really was an orphanage for boys, started by the priest of st Pauls, who would later become Bishop sydney Warren Lavis. st Francis Children’s Home still exists today in Athlone, where it off ers a safe haven for 50 boys.

NOWA cocktail bar

an eternalPaRKinG LOT?RIEBEEK SQUARE

this piece of open land was only named Riebeek square in the 1860s; before that it was known as Hottentot square (since it was a communal space used by residents of the Bo-Kaap). And earlier still, it was called the Boeren Plijn, because it was used by farmers as a place to outspan their ox wagons. some things don’t change: today, it is still used as a parking lot. the latest addition to the square has been the controversial Paul du toit sculpture titled ‘Into tomorrow’, which was erected after the artist’s death last year. the sculpture is of two fi gures standing arm in arm, like friends or soldiers leaving battle; one of the fi gures is taking a title-defi ning step “into tomorrow”.

thenA place to turn your ox wagon around, and later a place for residents of the Bokaap to meet

NOWA place to park your car

guns, snuFF,WinEHERITAGE SQUARE

In the 18th century Heritage square, a block of Dutch and georgian architecture, was famous for its gunsmiths and bakers, bootleggers and cigarette makers. In the 1980s it became the largest conservation project in the city, and was restored to its former glory. today it houses the Cape Heritage Hotel, simply Asia, HQ and Chefs Warehouse – and the oldest grapevine in the southern Hemisphere.

thenA place to buy a gun or a box of snuff

NOWA place to buy a glass of wine or a painting

6 MOLO AUGUST 2015

BREE STREET

BUITENGRACHT STBUITENGRACHT ST

BURG ST

JORDAAN ST

NEW CHURCH ST

QUEEN VICTORIA ST

BRYANT ST

LION ST

CHIAPPINI ST

ROSE ST

LOOP ST

JETTY ST

LONG ST

ADDERLEY ST

BU

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in the 18th century heritage square was famous for its gunsmiths and bakers, bootleggers and cigarette makers.

Bree street BEaCH EVERYTHING FROM HANS STRIJDOM DRIVE TO THE SEA

Nowadays this part of Cape town is tourist-orientated, with the CtICC and tsogo sun in close proximity to the V&A waterfront; but before 1950, if you stood where Portside now rises, you would have been within a hundred metres of the beach and the sea. this land was only created when the foreshore was reclaimed between 1945 and 1950.

thenThe ocean

NOWA swanky place to rest your head for a night, or eat a pizza

NOWA place to drink beer

the ghost oFBREE STREET 71 BREE STREET

the ghost of an old woman was said to haunt the 18th-century house at 71 Bree street, before the building was torn down to make way for offi ce space. Legend has it that even the contractor who demolished the house in 1950 saw the fi gure of a “grey spectre” holding a child. It was supposed that this was the ghost of Martha Cilliers, whose child Henrietta had been buried in the garden.

thenOne of Cape Town’s oldest townhouses

NOWAn offi ce block

an unknown HERO181 BREE, CHRISTIAAN BARNARD HOSPITAL

this hospital will soon be moving to the foreshore; but its name comes from Christian Neethling Barnard, the south African cardiac surgeon who performed the world’s fi rst successful human-to-human heart transplant. the operation occurred on the morning of 3 December 1967, and lasted nine hours. It is reported that in Barnard’s team was a black surgeon, Hamilton Naki, who played an integral role in the procedure. Due to the callousness of apartheid, his name was removed from the history books, to be included only after our post-apartheid state was established – a little late, perhaps.

NOWA hospital, but not for long…

In the 18th century Heritage square, a block of Dutch and georgian architecture, was famous for its gunsmiths and bakers, bootleggers and cigarette makers. In the 1980s it became the largest conservation project in the city, and was restored to its former glory. today it houses the Cape Heritage Hotel, simply Asia, HQ and Chefs Warehouse – and the oldest grapevine in the southern Hemisphere.

NOWA place to buy a glass of wine or a painting

drinking inCHuRCH98 BREE STREET, ST STEPHEN’S CHURCH

thenA theatre known as the “komediehuis” by locals, later a church

these days st stephen’s might be better known as watering hole than a church; but at various times it has been a theatre, a school, and a place of worship. the st stephen’s building was originally a theatre built in 1801 by an Englishman, sir george Yonge, who had come to the Cape as governor (and as a means to escape his creditors in England), and who was described as a great supporter of the arts, a womaniser, and a spendthrift. In 1839 the building was sold to the Dutch Reformed Church to be used by recently-freed slaves as a school, and later a church. these days, of course, it has a less solemn purpose – as a spot to enjoy a beer after work at Weinhaus + Biergarten (the former &union), which serves craft beer for afi cionados.

sailor hauntsTO SKySCRaPERS CORNER OF BREE AND HANS STRIJDOM DRIVE, PORTSIDE

thenCape Town’s oldest strip of dive bars and brothels

NOWCape Town’s newest skyscraper

the gleaming Portside tower was completed in 2014, and is south Africa’s only 5-star green star-rated offi ce building. But this corner of Cape town was not always so pristine. Before the foreshore was built; Bree street was known as a sailor’s haunt, fi lled with dive bars and brothels. Brothels have always been a feature of this city, since the fi rst colonial days; and Bree street was the centre of the trade. In fact, Jan van Riebeek himself once wrote to the VOC’s Council of seventeen about the alarming ubiquity of places of pleasure in the city.

NOWA place to drink beer

7 FEATuRE

B IS FOR BREE STREETpHoto Essay

Is there more to Bree street than beers, bacon and beards?

baRistaAyaxolisa MagquzuHard Pressed Café

4 Bree Street

bEERR25 small pint of beerWeinhaus and Biergarten110 Bree Street021 422 2770happy@biergarten.co.za

bREwR20 small cappuccino

latitude 33165 Bree Street

021 424 9857www.lat33.co.za/index.php

bagElsR55 Rueben (pastrami, swiss cheese, sauerkraut) on a plain bagelMax Bagels 120 Bree Streetwww.maxbagels.com

02

01

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bacon try the R45 Anti-Hero sandwich or

the R65 Harvey specter BurgerBacon on Bree217 Bree Street

021 422 2798www.bacononbree.com

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i like the sense of unity on Bree street; everyone

knows each other and is friendly.

we have a lot of regulars here who

are like friends now.

images and text by lisa Burnell and supplied

8 MOLO AUGUST 2015

bRowniEsR30 large, R8 small

Sababa231 Bree Street

www.sababa.co.za

boaRd gaMEsFreeHard Pressed Café4 Bree Street079 066 8888www.hardpressed.co.za

bEaRdsR150 buzz fade cut

Hair stylist in picture: ViggoBarnet Fair Barber

98 Bree Street021 424 1302

www.barnetfair.co.za

booM!Demolition of the tulip Hotel on 1 March 2015Cnr. Strand and Bree Street

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buddHaAcupuncture & Kung Fu133 Bree Streetwww.kimloong.co.za

boxingPound for Pound Boxing Studio260 Bree Street074 691 3731www.facebook.com/ pound4poundCT

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Bailey is now a Bree street

institution, people come in here all the time and ask about

her but she is not for sale!

Jan TOMlin, ChEf’s

warEhOusE

biKEsthe Open streets Bree event on 18 January 2011 turned Bree street into a car-free zone for a day and attracted 7000 people to play, stroll and cycle along Bree street

bailEyResident dog at Chef’s WarehouseR95 six oysters with chorizo and wine sauce92 Bree Street

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9 FEATuRE

ernie Paulse

oF st paul’s

cHuRcH

our own children. Let me tell you, this wife of mine – Merle – she’s a gem, a true gem. She’s been strong for me all these years. We are married more than 45 years already. We had two children; and several years ago, when my daughter died,

we started to look after her girls too. The eldest has just won a prize to stay at the hostel there by the seminary school. That’s how smart she is, truly.

I remember my wife when she was young though, and let me tell you, she was an athlete. She could run like the wind. And not only that, she was also Miss St paul’s – I remember her still to this day, with her hair just so, and this thing – what d’you call it? – a sash, draped over her. She was so beautiful. Mind you though, she had seven brothers and about the same amount of sisters – she came from a family that lived here by Bree too, and her mommy had sixteen chil-dren. Let me tell you, it’s not so easy with seven brothers-in-law, nê? But her mommy always told her, marry a good boy, marry a choirboy – and so she did!”

“I was born here, just off Bree Street, where my family lived. Later, we moved to Leeuven Street, and these days I live on Buitengracht, in the cottage be-hind the church hall, so really I’ve spent my whole life on this street, and no doubt this will be where I die too.

This was a place where eve-ryone lived, in houses like the ones that are now the cocktail bars; but then, by about 1970, the government had moved everyone away – and then also, more businesses came to Bree. Those families that got moved to Mitchell’s plain, and to hanover park? Let me tell you, many of them still come to St paul’s on a Sunday. Yes, even from so far away.

St paul’s was also where I met my wife, and where we got mar-ried; and where we christened

How has Bree Street changed over time? We asked some long-time occupants – both business and residential – about how they came to Bree Street, and what made them stay.

In ThEIR OWn WORDs

This was a place where everyone lived, in houses like the ones that are now the cocktail bars; but then, by about 1970, the government had moved everyone away ErniE PaulsE01

HiSTOry OF ST Paul’S CHurCH“st Paul’s Church was consecrated in 1880. It had already been a site of worship for at least twenty years before that. Its history is not that well known in Cape town, but it was the home of two of Cape town’s most important religious leaders: Bishop Lavis, for whom the suburb of Cape town is named, and before that Archdeacon Lightfoot, who was instrumental in creating a chapel school, and was well known for being a champion of the urban poor.”– Reverend groep

St Paul’s Church182 Bree Streetwww.stpaulschurch.co.za

ReSiDent HiSTORy

images by lisa Burnell and supplied

Ernie and Merle Paulse have a long and wonderful history with st Paul’s church.

10 MOLO August 2015

“how did I come to be here on Bree Street? Well, you could say I come from a video shop family because my uncle owned a film rental store in the 70s and 80s – first on reels for projectors and then those fat phillips tapes and later Betamax -- and that’s how I came to love film. I remember one of the first films I ever saw and loved was Tarzan, the 1967 version!”

“I came to Cape Town in 1994 and ten years later I joined my good friend and DVD pioneer Chris Reynolds in his new venture. he decided to open a second DVD Nouveau store here because he saw that there really was a gap in the market. At that time Bree Street was more about car fitment centres than flat whites but we thought it was a great spot, close to town, with reasonable rent. We didn’t

know it was going to become so popular, to be honest that was just blind luck, but these days we do get more passing trade as opposed to being a destination store.”

“When we started off we had about 3 000 titles and these days we have 20 000 titles. We do realise that the days of DVDs are numbered but for now we provide a service for people who are looking for an alternative to mainstream film and TV. Our customers haven’t changed much, we have the loyal people who have been coming here for years but people are always interested in the same stuff. The most popular thing we ever had here was probably Downton Abbey. Asking for a recommendation is probably the worst thing to do … it’s very hard to try and read people’s tastes.

at that time Bree street was more about car fitment centres than flat whites but we thought it was a great spot, close to town, with reasonable rent. ray BarrETT

“Our grandfather, Aleco, came here in the 30s from Greece. At that time, Greece was facing economic collapse; and my grandfather’s family was on the brink of starvation. he had two brothers and two sisters, and his parents died when he was sixteen.

A couple of years later, with no money and knowing only a handful of English words, he boarded a ship for Cape Town. In the coming years, one by one, he would manage to bring all his siblings out to South Africa – and what’s more, create a business for each of them, too.

he started working in a greengrocer’s; later, he bought himself his own corner café –

and then, in 1949, he started what would later become Mike’s Sports, in Woodstock. At that time it was a general department store – a bit like Garlick’s – and in among everything it also sold sporting goods. In fact, it was named for my grandfather’s brother, Michael, who’d always had an interest in sports. Later, my grandfather married a girl from the same island that he came from, and they had five children. In his later years he returned to Greece less and less frequently; Cape Town had really become his home. Although I don’t think he ever got used to the cold water!

My dad’s elder brother studied medicine – he was the anaesthetist at Chris Barnard’s

heart transplant – but my father, as the second in line, never finished high school, and instead joined the family business when he was still a teenager. he was also the first captain of hellenic Football Club.

We came to Bree Street in 2001. At the time, this part of town was

quiet, and even a little neglected; very different to now. At that time you could look at any spot on the street, and there would be a ‘To Rent’ sign plastered on the wall. Of course when we first arrived, the store was very, very quiet too, just like the rest of town – and we did think, ‘Oh my god, what have

we done?!’But it wasn’t long before things

picked up. Today we specialise in soccer – we’re a one-stop shop for the whole kit for teams; from boots and socks to strips and trophies – and we also manufacture and brand a lot of the kit for local sports teams.

My brother became involved in the store first, and later I joined him; about ten years ago, now. So these days, once again it’s two brothers who are running the store – just like it was when my grandfather started it, three generations ago.”Mike’s Sports World94 Strand Street (Corner of Bree)www.mikes-sports.comv

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we came to Bree street in 2001. at the time, this part of town was quiet, and even a little neglected; very different to now. at that time you could look at any spot on the street, and there would be a ‘To rent’ sign plastered on the wall. CasEy agOusTidEs

Michael and Casey agoustides.Mike agoustides senior in the original Mike’s sports in woodstock.

ray Barrett, dvd nouveau.

Casey agoustides

oF MiKE’s spoRts

ray Barrett

oF dvd nouvEau

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For example, the other night a guy came in for the first time and asked for something with a good story and a bit of suspension. I suggested he try Top Gear but I’m not sure he thought that was very funny.” DVD Nouveau166 Bree Street

11 FEATuRE

What would you do if you were Mayor of Cape Town?Here’s what some Bree Street bystanders had to say.

sTREET TALK

OVERHEaRD On BREEText and images by lisa Burnell

RICHARD STEPHENS

There are gunshots almost every day, where i live – i ask you, is this okay? The other night i had to stay at work after hours, and then two trains were cancelled; so by the time i got home, it was very late. My family phoned me to wait until the gunfi re had stopped before coming home. The people shooting are the criminals – but i must wait till they stop shooting, just to get home? if i was mayor, i would focus all my attention on trying to fi x this.

ANWAR VAN ROOYEN“If I were mayor, I would look at other countries’ examples of how they look after their people through welfare measures, to ensure that if someone fi nds themselves in trouble they don’t end up on the street – a way to get people’s basic needs covered, better.”

OMOEFE RICHARD

if i was mayor i would look into trying to help the people living on the streets. i would make a system where they could get off the streets and earn a living for themselves, and at the same time they could work for the government. This will provide them with an income and a sense of worth.

MATTHEW SCHulTZ AND JONAS VIlJOEN“We would make all Fridays public holidays, and have more blanket drives – it’s so cold for people who are living on the street.”

GHADEEJA ISAACS

Create jobs! i would do this by starting more community-based rehabilitation initiatives – which would help security issues at the same time, by employing ex-gang members.

AlAN RORKE“If I was mayor, I wouldn’t rely so much on the system of ward councillors. I would survey citizen’s needs, and pay more attention to the voice of the citizenry. I would also try to create a city that is more accommodating, and better maintained.”

CHRISTINA PHIlOTHEOu“I would try to save all the street dogs, and fi nd them loving homes.”

ZWAMADODA MAHASHI (RIGHT)“I would try to decentralise the city, so that people who live elsewhere have access to job opportunities.”

NYOMEKA luMKWONA (lEFT)“If I was mayor of Cape town, I would make sure public transport is free. It costs too much to move around, and the people who are worst aff ected are the poor people, who don’t have much money in the fi rst place.”

SARAH HAGGAR (lEFT)“I would clean up all the rubbish!”

STEPHANIE lARKAN (RIGHT)“If she was mayor,I would help her!”

12 MOLO YOu SAYAUGUST 2015