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The
grounds on which Fairview stand was first registered in 1861 in
the names of Messrs. Swemmer and Meyer, directors of the first
bank in George. When these two gentlemen found themselves in
financial difficulty in 1894, they sold the farm to Koos and
Miems Stander. They had sold their farm at Victoria Heights so
that their 8 children could go to school from home.
Two sons became attorneys, one son qualified in Scotland as a
dentist and all 5 daughters qualified as teachers. To get to
Wellington Teachers College the girls travelled by horse-drawn
cart to Mossel Bay, from there by ship to Cape Town and then by
train to Wellington! Koos Stander was Mayor of George from 1926
to 1932 and the house stayed in the Stander family from 1894 to
1974. In those days it was a big apple and cattle farm on the
outskirts of George; today it is centrally situated in the
suburb of Bergsig and the grounds measure 3800 m² .
The
Benkensteins lived in Namibia for 13 years. They bought Fairview in
1994 and took up the challenge to rescue this historic George
landmark. The 4 chimneys and fireplaces
needed radical repairs before they could be used again and most
of the light fittings were removed and had to be replaced with
antique ones again. Waterproofing of the clay walls also proved
to be a major challenge, as was the stripping of the many layers
of paint – this time consuming job was contracted out to a
specialist team and took nine months to complete.
The house is
now fully restored to it’s long lost splendour and elegance and
is listed with the National Monument’s Council as well as the
local George Heritage Trust. Desmond is the creative spirit
behind the glorious gardens and Philda manages the Guest House.
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