A Brief History of Irene: From Humble Beginnings to a Flourishing Commercial Node

Irene is a picturesque village within the area of Centurion and lies between the R21 and N1 highways. While Irene is now a prosperous commercial hotspot, it’s humble beginnings can still be noted throughout its many historical sites.

Irene gets its name from Hugo Nellmapius, who named his farm ‘Irene Estate’, after his daughter. In 1896, John van der Byl bought the farm from Nellmapius and turned it into a successful dairy farm. Today, the Van der Byl family still plays an instrumental role in the running of the farm as well as the area of Irene.

Jan Smuts is another big name in the history of Irene, as the famous general called the village home for a good forty years from 1908. He was known for going for long walks in the charming countryside surrounding his farmhouse. The house of Jan Smuts has since been converted into a popular museum that is on the same location as the Irene Green Market, that provides organically grown veggies and free-range eggs.
But despite the imagery of rolling hills and old farmhouses, Irene also has a not-so-idyllic past.

In November 1900, Irene played host to a concentration camp, with a second camp being built in 1902. Boer and African women and children were dumped at these camps by the trainload and the treatment of these victims was truly shameful. The conditions of the camp were dire, lacking most of the basic necessities, and thousands of people died of illnesses and starvation. The only positive things to come out of this period was the construction of both a school and a hospital for the people living in the camps. Irene delivered the most information out of all of the South African concentration camps, because of the records kept by some of the women that worked in the camps.

In 1958, the graveyard that held all the deceased from the concentration camp, was turned into a garden of remembrance. Symbolic tombstones with the names of the deceased were erected and the original stones used to mark the unnamed graves were used to build a memorial wall. Irene still stays true to its farming heritage by keeping many of its famed, tree-lined avenues and there are still the ever-present views of dairy cows grazing in green meadows. But there have many developments that have taken place, which has transformed Irene from a small, farming village to a thriving commercial hotspot.

In 2000, the Irene Landowners’ Association was established, and has this to say on their official website: “To be a landowner in Irene is a privilege. In order to enhance and protect this privilege, we have formed the Irene Landowners Association. Since 2000, the ILA has turned the village into a model of corporation, safety and success to the degree that other neighbourhoods. Irene is the mist secure that it has been in years, with crime being insignificant compared to a few years ago.”The strict building laws and requirements in the area ensure that developments go up without destroying the abundant bird and mammal life that Irene is home to.

Iconic developments include the Route 21 Corporate park, home to hundreds of businesses, and the Irene Village Mall, which has many international retailers and provides retail outlets, restaurants, entertainment and banking facilities to Irene’s residents.

Irene has come a long way over the years and is now in the perfect position to become a highly successful commercial node. OfficePlace, commercial property specialists, currently have over a dozen prime office spaces in Irene. If you’re interested in moving your office space to the flourishing suburb of Irene, get in touch with an OfficePlace broker today in order to know more about the commercial property opportunities in the area.