Parsonage Street Home

We would like to extend a huge thank you for the Parsonage Street Home donations received recently. We have been blessed with the most delicious Ciabatta bread from a local bakery, as well as a large meat donation from a very generous family in Graaff-Reinet. 🍖🥩🥖

Your generosity makes such a big difference in the lives of our residents and it is always a treat to enjoy special meals made from donations received from our local community. 🍽

A Little Rebellion, A Lot of Heart

CareVita Parsonage Street Home is not just a place to retire — it’s a place where life keeps its sparkle and your story keeps growing. Set in the historic heart of Graaff-Reinet, this much-loved home sits in a town with a wonderfully rebellious past. In 1795, the locals grew tired of distant rulers and boldly declared Graaff-Reinet a republic — independent, determined, and proudly doing things their own way.

That same spirit still lingers in the air today. Wide Karoo skies, elegant heritage buildings, and an unhurried pace create a setting where conversations linger and laughter comes easily.

CareVita Parsonage Street Home captures this character perfectly. Here, history is not locked in museums — it’s lived, shared, and enjoyed. Residents bring rich life stories, strong opinions, and plenty of humour, all woven into a warm, connected community.

Backed by CareVita’s thoughtful approach, Parsonage Street Home offers a retirement filled with personality, belonging, and quiet pride — a place where independence once made history, and where your legacy continues with a smile.

Our beautiful home in Graaff-Reinet, Parsonage Street Home for the Aged...

We would like to extend our gratitude to the businesses and individuals for our latest donations received.
We were blessed with the most amazing bread from a local bakery.
We also received 3 sheep donated by an anonymous farmer.
Each resident received gifts sponsored by the NG church in Graaff-Reinet.
Then we also received sweet treats for on Christmas day from the NG church in Nieu- Bethesda

The fun photos at the bottom are mainly from Ysbeertjie Graaff Reinet who sent their Christmas Elves to hand out ice-creams to each and every resident and staff member.

We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts as each donation made our resident's Christmas extra special. Your donations never go unnoticed and we cannot thank you enough for being so kind towards us and our residents.

We prepared a lovely Christmas meal for our residents on Christmas day. It included the most amazing food and we also exchanged gifts sent from each resident's family.

Make Parsonage Street Home your "warmest home away from home" when the time comes to scale down. You'd love it here.

"The Graaff-Reinet College for Boys was founded in the 1860s with lofty goals of providing a full education to the boys in town, going up to university level.

After initial success, the university-level education soon fell away, and it became just another government school by the 1880s.

The economic hardships of the Graaff-Reinetters continued to put the school out of reach of most, until matters came to a head around 1915.

A major, but stormy, reorganization of the Graaff-Reinet public school system followed, which resulted in the formation of Union High and Volkskool, bringing stability that has now lasted more than one hundred years.

Come meet the people, the problems and the progress of those early, worthy Graaff-Reinetters at the next Stoepstories!"

Speaker: *Johannes Haarhoff*
Topic: *The Rise and Fall of the Graaff-Reinet College for Boys*

📆Date: Tuesday, 2 December 2025
🕰️Time: 10:00-11:30
📍Venue: Brenda Horwitz Court Community Centre, 17 Parsonage Street, Graaff-Reinet

🫖🍰Tea, coffee and scones served afterwards.

💰A small donation to cover costs would be greatly appreciated.

The Prickly Pear

Now that the plant no longer poses as much of a threat and can be kept under control through insects and an injection of MSMA (monosodium methanearsonate), a herbicide which can target individual plants, increasing attention is being given to how the prickly pear can be cultivated and utilised.

For fruit, jam, preserves, beer, wine, medicine, fodder and as a host to the cochineal which can be used to produce dye.

Join us for the

Next interesting StoepStories talk

Speaker: Tim Murray
Topic: The story of the Prickly Pear in South Africa

Date: Tuesday 4 November 2025
Time: 10:00-11:30
Venue: BHC Community Centre

Tea, coffee and scones served afterwards.

A small donation to cover costs would be greatly appreciated.

So blessed to have this remarkable lady living in our midst.

What a truly special moment we had at Karoo Origins - The Fossil Centre this week!

We were honoured to welcome one of Graaff-Reinet’s oldest and most remarkable residents, 𝗠𝗿𝘀. 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗱, who at 101 years old continues to inspire us all with her grace and curiosity.

Even more special, everyone in this beautiful photograph can proudly claim Rubidge heritage - a family name deeply woven into the history of Graaff-Reinet and the story of the .

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘵 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘯’𝘴 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘨𝘦.