Stellenbosch University faces community calls for heritage recognition of Hardekraaltjie Cemetery
Over 700 people, primarily from the Tiervlei community, were buried there, but the cemetery was paved over for university expansion, and the stories of those buried were lost – until now.
Image: Supplied
Stellenbosch University (SU) began a formal application to memorialise the Hardekraaltjie Cemetery, with the process involving public consultation since 2021, while a community member claimed the institution limited its proposals on the matter.
Years later, community member, Chefferino Fortuin has continued with attempts to reclaim the erased histories and restore dignity to forgotten ancestors, and nominated the cemetery and its buffer area for Provincial Heritage Status (PHS) with HWC.
Queries to HWC went unanswered.
To define the memorialisation area, SU said it investigated its land (Erf 15349, Erf 18228, and Erf 24602).
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) scans were conducted on the relevant erven, including the 50m buffer zone on Erf 24602 (part of the SU Tygerberg Medical Campus used for sport).
GPR identified 6 potential grave targets in the Erf 24602 buffer zone, which were ground-truthed in January 2026 under a Heritage Western Cape (HWC) permit.
The University said test excavations, witnessed by community members, Fortuin and Johannes Bastiaanse, failed to locate graves but confirmed the cemetery's original extent is Erf 15349.
“The outcome of the investigations confirmed expert opinion, that it is highly unlikely that burials occurred outside of the known historical Hardekraaltjie Cemetery (Erf 15349) and therefore it is recommended that Erf 24602, on which the sport fields are located, should not be considered as potentially being part of the historic cemetery,” SU stated.
“SU relied on a rigorous and scientific process to determine the extent of the proposed memorial area (approx. 2 ha in size).
“SU showed its commitment to a process informed by specialists in the field, to determine the extent of burials on the SU property.”
SU refuted claims that its proposal is limited to "four notice boards and a wall."The Section 36 submission, heard in December 2025, details a comprehensive landscaping plan based on heritage indicators, oral history, and public input from two consultation rounds," it said.
The University added that a Conservation Management Plan will ensure continued community access, and a Management Committee.
SU said it has been committed since 2021, undertaking research and consultation to achieve a balanced, accurately recorded memorialisation, respecting the Tiervlei-Ravensmead community's wish not to "romanticise" the space. The proposed memorial is a carefully designed, approximately 2-hectare landscaped community space prioritising respect for the deceased and their descendants.
Further background provided by SU includes: The Visual Redress Task Team (2019) initiated the restorative process. SU said it has invested over five years in the process, including funding a book (2024) capturing community oral history ("Landscapes of dispossession"), designing a historical timeline banner, and appointing a Heritage Professional team to lead the formal Section 36 process, specialist studies, and HWC engagement.
In late 2025, Fortuin submitted a Section 27 Nomination for the Hardekraaltjie Cemetery to be graded as a Provincial Heritage Site (PHS). HWC and SU support the grading, but the Section 27 process depends on the outcome of the Section 36 application, which will conclude the boundaries.
“The historic cemetery and burial ground is on the Tygerberg site of Stellenbosch University (SU). It was erased by the university, which funded and requested the removal of this sacred space tied to Khoi, San, slave, coloured, and African lineages,” Fortuin said.
Fortuin believes the PHS declaration will validate the sacredness of cemeteries in removed landscapes and highlight the National Heritage Resources Act (NHRA) role in protecting marginalised heritage.
While agreeing in principle with memorialisation, he said the community rejected SU's "limited proposal of four notice boards and a wall" for ignoring the full history and relationship with the university. They also demand an end to sports activities on the adjacent field due to desecration and oppose the University's perceived segregation of the deceased in the memorialisation.
SU, in partnership with the former Tiervlei community, held a Hardekraaltjie cemetery restitution event on Human Rights Day, March 21, 2022.
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