Tony Burisch of the Heidelberg Heritage Association awarded the latest blue plaque for heritage to the Lilienfield Residence on September 16.
The plaque is no 59 in the blue plaque series in Heidelberg. The Lilienfeld residence is located at 65 Pretorius Street.
Originally the house was built for Mr J Reichenberg in 1899. Reichenberg has a store in Ueckerman Street, Heidelberg.
Reichenberg started his general dealership in 1892 by selling and trading wool, mielies, the farm produces, dairy products and furniture.
The property was sold to George and Hilda Lilienfeld in 1917.
George Lilienfeld was the family of the Lilienfeld’s that bought the Star of South Africa Diamond.
They also owned a large department store in Johannesburg and Pretoria. George worked in his father-in-law’s shop on the corner of Jacobs and Market streets (now Voortrekker Street), which he inherited.
George Lilienfeld was born on February 6, 1883, and died on August 28, 1977. His wife was Hilda Augustine Schultz. Hilda was born on February 6, 1888. She died on June 5, 1975.
The Lilienfeld’s married on February 6, 1909, and had two children – Erica Hilda Lilienfeld and Harold George Lilienfeld.
The Star of South Africa Diamond, an 83.5-carat rough diamond, was purchased by Lilienfeld for £11 200 in 1868. Subsequently, after Lilienfeld forwarded the diamond to their office in England, it was purchased by Louis Hond, a diamond cutter, who fashioned it into an oval three-sided pear-shaped diamond.
The diamond eventually became the property of the Earl of Dudley, who purchased it from the Queen’s jewellers Messrs Hunt and Roskell for £25 000, and presented it to his wife the Countess of Dudley. The diamond became known as the Dudley Diamond, after its new owner.
Dr Coenie and Adele Momberg purchased the property in 1984. Coenie initially had his part-time practice at the house from 1992 to 2002.
Momberg died on October 30, 2011, from melanoma cancer.
Momberg was previously superintendent of the AG Visser Hospital and chairperson of the Heidelberg Historical Association.
The owner before the Mombergs was the screenwriter and author Paul C Venter.
