1866 Primrose Cottage This land originally formed part of the farm Melkhoutkraal, bought from George Rex’s estate by John Sutherland in 1845 who in turn sold it to Coenraad Nelson in 1852. The thatched cottage to the west was owned by Dr. Henry Woodroffe Hare, a District Surgeon appointed to Knysna in 1866. The building to the east was used by his daughters, Alice and Ellen Hare, as Knysna’s first Girl’s School until 1888. The school was later bought by school teacher Miss Lomax and social worker Miss Knight. Both buildings were later bought by Francis Seymour Laughton of the Forest Department, who made alterations. The buildings were amalgamated by owners Blackstock to a design by architect Sam Walters in the late 1980’s.
