Historical Timeline
1964 to 1997
To view a chronological order of the history of Oukloof and some of the events that lead to the forced removal and the subsequent establishment of Esterhof, please scroll through the timelines below. Archive documents have been provided to add to the narrative of the Oukloof story.
A new map for the coloured housing scheme shows the same as in 1963 except for the removal of the police station and post office.
On the 6 January, the Provincial Administration approved the establishment of the new coloured township (extension 2) on erf 376 on the other side of the railway tracks.
The land on which the new coloured settlement of Esterhof is built, is officially transferred from the Dutch Reformed Church to the Village Management Board. The community has already been established in this area for a year. At the time, the land was valued at R3 500.
A year after moving into Esterhof, the Swartz family is living in a two roomed house with their two children, but following the murder of a relative they were forced to take in four more children.
On 1 August, erf 216 (the Oukloof location) is transferred from the Village Management Board to the Dutch Reformed Church for R250.
The Dutch Reformed Church sells erf 216 (the location) to white farmer Adriaan Johannes Vlok for the sum of R2250.
56 claimants lodged a land claim with the Commission on Restitution of Land Rights in 1997. With the help of the Surplus People’s Project former Oukloof residents were able to gather all the necessary documentation proving they once occupied land in Riebeek Kasteel.