Cape Town - Prisons are normally known for their notoriety. However, they are usually rich in history.
Pollsmoor Prison and its surroundings have a very interesting cultural and historical background that dates as far back as the 17th century. It is situated on 2.5km2 of land in the heart of the Constantia Valley, and was bought by Hendrick van der Poll in 1834, hence the name.
The land, which was inherited by Van der Poll’s wife Johanna Kirsten’s family after the couple died,
still houses their graves today. The graves are behind the old Pollsmoor police office.
Kirsten’s family sold off parts of the estate, including a section to then-owner of Steenberg, Nicolaas Louw, to expand his estate. Simphiwe Xako, head of communications and
marketing for Correctional Services in the Western Cape, said Pollsmoor Prison is currently on the piece of land purchased by Louw.
In 1940, the land was sold to the Cape Command to be used as a military base during World War II. The land took on many uses including officers’ quarters, a hospital, camps for soldiers and a military prison.
The system was not deemed safe and an outpost for prisoners was established at Pollsmoor. There were 20 prisoners, three cooks, four cleaners and 13 workers, and in 1949 a further 200 prisoners were moved there.
Drakenstein Correctional Services, previously known as Victor Verster Prison, opened its doors to 1500 offenders on October 1, 1963 and became an independent command (management area) on January 1, 1968. The initial prison precincts were just over 204 hectares of land and comprised of only one farm, Klein Switzerland (Little Switzerland).
“After some more negotiations with a number of farmers, government also acquired three more farms (Eensaamheid, Klipbank, and Watervliet) which increased the total hectares to 402.
“One of the proprietors of these grounds was Victor Verster, who, after selling his farm to the government, became a commissioner within the prisons department. Many farmers from the surrounding areas were furious with government’s plan to establish a prison in this peaceful valley of Wemmershoek,” said Xako.
In 1998, Victor Verster Prison officially lost the yoke of being an apartheid establishment and stronghold when it was renamed Drakenstein Correctional Services.
The name Drakenstein derives from the mountains to the east of the facility, as well as the valley in which it is situated, added Xako.
This correctional facility made global headlines in 1990 when Nelson Mandela completed his long walk to freedom after being released on February 11, 1990.
Interestingly, the original Malmesbury Prison was built in the centre
of town, where the Malmesbury
Magistrate’s Court is currently situated.
The original prison was demolished and moved to the outskirts of town in the 1940s. This centre is still operational and is now known as the Malmesbury Remand Detention Facility.
“Malmesbury Prison was an outpost of the Allandale Management Area until 1995, when it was declared a management area.
“In 1995, negotiations with the local municipality started, which led to the allocation of suitable land and the first New Era Unit Management Correctional Centre in South Africa was built and officially opened on December 5, 1997. It was designated as Malmesbury Medium A Correctional Centre,” said Xako..
The West Coast Management Area consists of the two centres, as well as a dedicated correctional centre in Riebeeck West for offenders with sentences of two years or less.
The management area also has two community corrections offices - one in Malmesbury town and one in Vredenburg, 100km to the north-west of Malmesbury. These two combine to serve the area from Melkbosstrand in the south, to Aurora in the north, and serve all courts within the area.