Anna shares her memories of Bedfordview

Ninety-three-year-old Anna Tindell moved to Bedfordview in 1958 and has thus made her one of the only few residents around who is able to share history and heritage on Bedfordview.

“We built our first home in Oriel. We were garden lovers and had rows of plants and flowers that were filled with water. We never had to water our plants,” said Anna.

She said that Bedfordview was just a small village when she moved to the area.

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“We never had tarred roads back then and the N3 highway was not built at that time either,” said Anna.

Anna remembers that everything was new and beautiful, with gardens everywhere and everyone took walks around the area and nobody had fences around their homes.

She said there was a nursery and even cows roaming openly around the area.

“Now, Bedfordview is a glorified prison. You do not see any gardens anywhere, because of the crime in the area,” said Anna.

Anna, along with her family, later moved away due to her chronic bronchitis and then moved to Kings Road in Bedfordview.

Being a school teacher at Bedfordview Primary School, this move helped her be in travel distance to and from the school.

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Anna is a retired school teacher for 32 years.

“Back then we had 45 learners in a classroom, with five classes in a standard (grade) but that later changed when Dunvegan Primary came into existence,” said Anna.

When Anna was at Bedfordview Primary School she taught under the guidance of then principal Bill Stewart.

“He was the most wonderful man. He loved Bedfordview so much. He gave me Bedfordview Primary School engraved teaspoons, which I am particularly fond of, ” said Anna.

She has also stood in as a teacher at St Andrew’s School for Girls over the years.

Anna also spoke about heritage trees that she was lucky enough to have in her back yard in Kings Road.

“The tree that was in my yard in Kings Road is one of the original trees planted by the British in the Anglo Boer War.

When a soldier received news that a son was born, they would plant an acorn at the British Camp where the Bill Stewart Nature Reserve is now,” said Anna.

Anna said that when she moved into her home in Kings Road she inherited one of those oak trees.

She said that there was only two left at that time. One in Gillooly’s which died a natural death and one at her home which was taken down due to construction development.

Anna is still an active member of the Bedfordview community as a member of the Bedfordview Association for the Elderly.