Pinelands Tourism Information

Quick Facts: Pinelands

• The suburb of Pinelands is situated on the edge of the southern suburbs of Cape Town in South Africa
• Pinelands is also called the "garden city" of Cape Town and is known for its large thatched houses
• Pinelands is primarily a residential area and is often praised for its peacefulness and abundance of trees
• Retirement homes
• Schools
• The suburb of Pinelands is bisected from the north east to the south west by the Elsieskraal River
• The main road in Pinelands, Cape Town, is called Forest Drive
• Two small shopping centres: Howard Centre and Central Square
• The Howard Centre was named after Ebenezer Howard who led the garden city movement
• Dutch Reformed Church Pinelands
• Anglican Church Pinelands
• Presbyterian Church Pinelands
• Methodist Church Pinelands
• Baptist Church Pinelands
• Church of England Pinelands
• Catholic Church Pinelands
• City Lodge Pinelands, four star hotel

Distance to Airport: 11 km

Distance to City: 11 km

Introducing Pinelands

The suburb of Pinelands is situated on the edge of the southern suburbs of Cape Town in South Africa.  Pinelands is also called the "garden city" of Cape Town and is known for its large thatched houses.  Pinelands is primarily a residential area and is often praised for its peacefulness and abundance of trees.

Pinelands is one of the few areas in Cape Town in which sale of alcohol is prohibited and is a popular place for senior citizens to retire to. While there are several retirement homes in Pinelands, younger people are increasingly moving in which are attracted by the schools which are located here.  The suburb of Pinelands is bisected from the north east to the south west by the Elsieskraal River.

The main road in Pinelands, Cape Town, is called Forest Drive and the suburb features two small shopping centres which are Howard Centre and Central Square.  The Howard Centre was named after Ebenezer Howard who led the garden city movement. Dutch Reformed, Anglican, Presbyterian and Methodist churches are located near to Central Square, while Baptist, Church of England in South Africa and Catholic churches are located in a different area of Pinelands.

The layout of Pinelands is based on the revolutionary town planning ideas of Sir Ebenezer Howard which was the first attempt at a town-planned area in South Africa. Pinelands was originally a Victorian era farm named Uitvlugt which had thousands of pine trees.  Later on, the land was granted to "The Garden Cities Trust" and the founding Deed of Trust was signed in 1919. One of the first members of the trust, Richard Stuttaford (head of the department store Stuttafords), made a £10,000 gift donation to serve as capital, and a loan of £15,000 from the government was invested in Pinelands.  The trust brought in an overseas expert, Albert John Thompson, in 1920 to design the area.

The first thatched house in Pinelands is 3 Mead Way and was built in February 1922. The house and entire street were declared a national monument in 1983. The original township area is currently a proposed heritage area. Pinelands converted to a municipality in 1948 and in 1996 merged into the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality. The old Pinelands Town Council offices now accommodate the Pinelands Subcouncil.