Our History

The Gardiner family business was first set up in Bellville in the 1930's by William H. A. Gardiner.

From small beginnings in a modest workshop, Ivor youngest son to William spent much of his school holidays in the workshop observing the manufacturing processes. Later Ivor followed his father into the family business, working alongside his elder brothers and learning from them the secrets of natural stone processing

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Moving into sales allowed him to appreciate new market opportunities first hand and plan the subsequent setting up of his own company, Gardiner Stone. Gardiner Stone has done several projects within the community such as the Aids Memorial at the Lookout Point in Mitchells Plain, the Buttskopp Railway Crossing Memorial Plaques and the Wall of Remembrance to commemorate the Slaves at the van de Caab Museum to name but a few.

Back row:

Ivor Gardiner, Ashwin van Zyl, Nomore Madzivadondo, Dennis Crouse, Gilbert Murwira, Marius van Zyl, Lynton September, George Greenaway, Eric Madzoro, Amos Sigima, Elias Madzoro

Front row:

Jo Witiwiti, Neil Griebenouw, Gaynor Gardiner, Ros Gardiner, Roanda Jacobs, Attie Coetzee, Paul Tshabangu


Wall of Remembrance in the Museum van de Caab on the Solms Delta Wine farm in Franschoek

From its name, which honours the farm’s slave heritage, to the fascinating display, the emphasis of the Museum van de Caab is on the individual people who lived and worked on the farm, from pre-colonial times to the present. One of the walls is covered by 200 stone plaques, each memorializing an individual life given to the farm through slavery.

Buttskop Railway Crossing Memorial

A Memorial Wall unveiled to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the tragic death of ten children at the Buttskop level crossing in Blackheath in the Western Cape. The learners were being transported to school in a minibus-taxi when their vehicle collided with a train. Cape Town Deputy Mayor, Ian Neilson, says the construction of the memorial wall was subject to an extensive consultation process with the parents and relevant role players. It was decided to erect the memorial at the Welmoed Cemetery near Eerste River, as most of the children were buried there.

Aids Monument at Lookout Hill Rocklands

MAYOR TO HONOUR AIDS VICTIMS AT MITCHELLS PLAIN CEREMONY

Executive Mayor Helen Zille unveiled a monument at Lookout Hill, Rocklands in Mitchells Plan, 01 December to commemorate AIDS victims and promote voluntary counseling and testing.

Russian Sailors Memorial in Simons Town

A number of Russian sailors are buried here. Their names, in Russian and English are inscribed on this monument. The graves alongside are those of Fleet Navigator Nikolayu Petrovil and Seaman Pyetra Reshyeka

Eikendal Community Memorial in Kraaifontein

A memorial at the historical Eikendal graveyard, unveiled in August 2010, in loving memory for all who are burried here.

Interesting Marble facts:

Marble is a type of limestone that forms when limestone is subjected to a lot of pressure over a long period of time. Although it has a more appeasing appearance than limestone, it can also be very pricey.

Marble is primarily white but can come in other colors as well. Back in ancient times, you could easily tell where a piece of marble came from by looking at its color. Marble has been used to make statues and provide flooring since ancient times.

The Taj Mahal in India is made entirely of marble. Marble is a type of metamorphic rock.

Marble usually originates as limestone or dolomite. Calcite, dolomite crystals, and aragonite are the key components of marble. Impurities are what gives marble its color.

Marble is typically found among other metamorphic rock such as gneiss and mica schist. Marble usually lies among the oldest part of the Earth's crust.

Interesting Granite facts:

What many people may not realize is that granite is actually radioactive. Since granite is a natural stone, it has a small amount of radioactivity to it, but it is so small that it poses no threat or health risk to humans. Don't worry, if you have a granite countertop you won't suddenly see your food mutating into something else.

Granite has been used for thousands of years. As far back as the Ancient Egyptians, granite has been harvested and used in a variety of structures, including pyramids in Egypt.

Granite is one of the most highly sought after types of rocks for rock climbing because it is very strong and there is very little chance of it breaking away while climbing on it. Granite is one of the hardest substances in the world. In fact, the only thing that is harder than granite is diamonds. Which is an extremely durable and hard material.

Granite comes in many different colours thanks to the composition and minerals within the rock. Colors range from pink to gray and black. There are no two slabs of granite alike, each slab is unique.

Granite is found all over the world and is one of the most common minerals that can be found in the Earth. Some of the most common areas where granite is harvested include Brazil, Norway, India, Spain, South Africa and the United States.