Charming church is a treasure
Southbroom's century old mission chapel is steeped in history.
FOR more than 60 years, the Imbizane Mission has played an important role in the community. Located off Bushy Vales Road, the mission is situated in five hectares of parkland, surrounded by towering, mature gums, shady Natal mahoganies and well-tended gardens.
The mission’s homestead, built in the 1900s, is today the private residence of Allen and Racquel Peckham. There is also a private cemetery, established by Southbroom pioneer Alfred Eyles, who apportioned it for his family, missionaries and immediate friends. Walking around reading the details on the headstones is like turning the pages of a history book.
Eyles, from Wiltshire in England, established a place of evangelistic teaching on the farm in 1884. After establishing a school and small church at Outlook Farm, Eylesleft his missionary work and handed over Imbizane Mission to the Swedish Holiness Mission Society, so he could devote his time to farming land he had bought.
