If your Ballito home is more than 34 years old, chances are it was built by Peter Thomas in the 60’s and 70’s.
My own home is one of these. Some of its best features are the polished concrete tiles, which recently came back into fashion, the high ceilings and the glass veranda sliding doors that make the most of the sea view. Many of the original homes around Townsend Park and down towards Ballito Village were built by Thomas.
He also had a hand in La Ballito, Sand Piper Bay, The Boulders, Cowrie Cove, The Grange, La Mystique, Le Mouettes, Casablanca, Burmuda and what was previously Louis Luyt senior’s mansion on Willard Beach.
Peter passed away last week, taking with him an important piece of our town’s history. Thankfully the Courier interviewed Thomas over the years and recorded his memories from those early days. His obituary gives an insightful glimpse into the town’s history. Read it HERE.
Our house is also dear to me because it was my childhood home. The room my four-year-old now sleeps in was once my bedroom – there really is a feeling that the walls hold all the memories of my childhood inside them.
When my parents first moved to Ballito to start the Courier they had a new baby (me) and were grappling with a fledgling business. So in swoops my gran to the rescue with a wonderful nanny in tow, Nora, who was a fixture in our lives for many years. Gran went house shopping for my mom (the house was to be bought with her inheritance money) who was too busy selling adverts to go house hunting and whittled the available homes down to three options.
The house was critical to securing loans from the bank for the business in those early years.
Fast forward 30 years and my parents decided it would be fitting for the house to be passed to me as my inheritance. Living there is not just brick and mortar, it is a constant reminder of the value of family, and how our success is often dependent on how well we support one another.
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I pop into the SPCA’s charity shop, the Dog Box at the Boulevard Centre in Ballito, every so often to drop off donations and look for books (specifically Enid Blyton for my boys and Robert Jordon for me – I am currently looking for book six in the Wheel of Time series).
They have quite a fascinating array of stock that is changing constantly as things fly on and off the shelves.
From books, bowling balls, records, puzzles and clothes to a wet suit, DSTV remote, crockery, glassware and a Royal Albert tea set. It is quite fun to browse and see if you might uncover a treasure (and support animal welfare at the same time).
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