Your guide to Heidelberg Gauteng
#Von Geusau House
Heritage Blue Plaque #Nr 24
VON GEUSAU HOUSE - Corner of Van der Westhuizen and Strydom Streets
What is the story here?
Adriaan Von Geusau was from a German Baronial family. He was a large man with a trimmed goatee beard and practiced as an attorney in Heidelberg. He was to be of some assistance to Cassie O’Reilly while the British occupied Heidelberg during the 2nd Anglo Boer War. After the war he became Mayor and assisted in the town’s public life for many years. He and his son were committee members of the Heidelberg Club. Their portrait hang for many years in the club.
THE HISTORY OF THE VON GEUSAU ESTATE
ARCHITECTURAL CONTINUITY AND STRUCTURAL RESTORATION (1880 - 1995)
This historic residence was constructed in 1880 by the prominent Von Geusau family. Following the conclusion of the Von Geusau residency, ownership of the property was transferred to the Malan Cilliers family, who occupied the home for nearly 36 years. The estate was subsequently purchased by the Bonsma family in 1995.
The interior maintained a remarkably high degree of historical continuity; the home retained its original operational coal stove until the 1995 transaction. Current records preserve observations from Henda Bonsma, who noted that the historic appliance served as the primary heating utility for the entire house, managing the town's notoriously harsh winter temperatures.
Upon taking custody of the property, the Bonsma family launched a comprehensive restoration program to return the grounds and structural terraces to their initial late 19th-century design. Utilizing archival photographs preserved inside the original Von Geusau family album, the restorers successfully mapped and reconstructed the landscape layout, ensuring that the modern garden beds exactly mirror the original lines.
Five historic oak trees, planted during the early foundational era of the estate, survive intact around the perimeter of the yard, continuing to provide shade to passing pedestrians. Local historical tradition and oral lore maintain that this specific residence hosted President Paul Kruger as an official overnight guest during his executive state visits to the provisional republican capital.
ATTORNEY ADRIAAN VON GEUSAU AND CIVIC LEADERSHIP (1867 - 1944)
The patriarch of the estate, Adriaan Von Geusau (1867 - 1944), was a direct descendant of a prominent German baronial family. A physically imposing man recognizable by his neatly trimmed goatee beard, he operated a highly successful legal practice as a premier attorney in Heidelberg.
During the British martial law occupation of the Second Anglo-Boer War, Von Geusau used his legal expertise to provide critical administrative assistance and counsel to Cassie O’Reilly while her husband, the District Surgeon, was exiled. Following the declaration of peace, he entered local public service and was elected Mayor of Heidelberg, actively directing the town’s civic and infrastructural reconstruction for several decades.
Von Geusau and his son were foundational committee members of the exclusive Heidelberg Club. In recognition of their extensive patronage and civic influence, their formal painted portraits hung prominently inside the club's main hall for generations.
His daughter, Alexandra, subsequently married his primary partner-at-law, Mr Joubert, ensuring the continuity of the legal firm. Adriaan Von Geusau passed away in 1944 at the age of 77 and was interred alongside his wife, Catharina Von Geusau (née Mattiesing, 1862 - 1931), within the family plot at the historic Heidelberg Kloof Cemetery.
Sources: Biographical profiles from "Heidelbergers of the Boer War" by Ian Uys, and archival property research published by Nadia van Staden in the Heidelberg Heraut on 20 October 2021.
