“Hazel was born in Heidelberg and still lives in Fenter Street (2004) on the property she was born and raised. Her father Alexander Gemmell came from Scotland as a young man and after a stint of apprenticeship in Natal he arrived in Heidelberg to open a plumbing business. This was about 1903. His shop was in Jacob Street. Alexander’s brother, John followed him from Scotland and also settled in Heidelberg. In 1910 Alexander’s betrothed came out from Scotland and they married in Durban and settled in Heidelberg. The Gemmell’s had three daughters. Hazel was the youngest. Hazel was confirmed in the Presbyterian Church. There was no Sunday School at the Presbyterian Church, so she and her sisters attended the Methodist Sunday School.” Excerpt from the 13 October 2004, Heidelberg/Nigel Heraut.

THE HISTORY OF STAND 82 AND THE ALEXANDER GEMMELL ESTATE

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DEED TRANSFERS AND URBAN SUBDIVISIONS

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The underlying land records documented in the archival text Die Geskiedenis van Heidelberg confirm that a Mr D. van der Westhuizen was recorded as the very first registered owner of Stand 82. The property's official Akte van Transport (Deed of Transfer) was formally issued on 20 June 1871 to Jan Daniel Otto Landsberg, who subsequently executed a series of urban subdivisions on the plot.

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Following a succession of property title transfers to various early frontier residents, the remaining core portion of Stand 82 was permanently registered via deed of sale on 4 March 1922 to the Scottish immigrant Alexander Gemmell.

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THE GEMMELL FAMILY AND THE JACOBS STREET PLUMBING FIRM

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Alexander Gemmell was born in Ayrshire, Scotland, in 1859 and immigrated to South Africa, choosing to settle permanently in the highveld town of Heidelberg in 1903. He married Annie Main, who was born on 23 May 1878 in Hardgate, Dumbartonshire, Scotland.

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Gemmell established a highly successful commercial enterprise within the town center, founding a premier plumbing and metalwork business operating from a dedicated workshop facility on Jacobs Street.

Alexander Gemmell passed away on 9 July 1931 at the age of 72. His wife, Annie, survived him by nearly two decades, passing away on 22 October 1949 at the age of 71; she was interred inside the historic family plot at the Heidelberg Kloof Cemetery.

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The couple raised three daughters, with the estate ultimately being inherited by their daughter, Annie Hazel Matthysen (née Gemmell). Annie preserved the property and remained a highly respected, long-term resident of the precinct, residing continuously at the family home at 26 Fenter Street until her death on 1 November 2004.

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PIONEER CHURCH FOUNDING AND WARTIME SERVICES

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Beyond his professional commercial practice, Alexander Gemmell played a vital role in shaping the town's early 20th-century spiritual infrastructure, standing as one of the influential founding members who established the Heidelberg Presbyterian Church. He helped coordinate the parish's logistics, allowing the very first formal Presbyterian service to be successfully celebrated on the second Sunday of October 1904.

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The congregation faced severe demographic challenges during the middle of the 20th century. Throughout the grueling years of the Second World War, local membership plummeted sharply, leaving a fragile nucleus of just five or six remaining resident families to sustain the parish.

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Sourcing no permanent resident minister during the war era, the parish relied entirely on a traveling chaplain who could only visit the town once every three months to administer essential sacraments. To keep the local faith alive between these sparse quarterly visits, the remaining families routinely opened the Gemmell residence, hosting regular weekly prayer meetings and services directly inside the living rooms of the Fenter Street home.

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Sources: Archival property research published by Eugene Viljoen in the Heidelberg Heraut; data from "Die Geskiedenis van Heidelberg"; and the parish registers of the Heidelberg Presbyterian Church.