Modderfontein reinvents itself as a place of calm
Village, museum and reserve have replaced largest explosives factory
As a child, when the air smelled sulphurous my mother would blame it on the explosions in the dark heart of Modderfontein, ringed by trees and mystery.
Now, I can’t help but think how different things are as I walk along clean and quiet streets on a weekday morning tour with Modderfontein resident Robbie Vermont, who has been involved in the Modderfontein Conservation Society for 27 years.
It’s like taking a trip back through time. There are few cars on its deserted streets, no buses and no minibuses. The only sounds come from the children playing at breaktime at the Montessori school, and the hellos Vermont exchanges with those working in the area who know him by sight.
While the AECI factory is still in operation, Vermont tells me, explosives are much safer now. That is why the village is open to the public there are restaurants to eat at, a farmers’ market is held monthly and the Modderfontein Reserve, a place of lakes, walking trails and restaurants, is open to the public. Far from being a place of smells and darkness, Modderfontein has become a popular place to spend the day.
Taking a tour with Vermont as a point of entry into the
history of the village is highly recommended. I meet him at the AECI Dynamite Museum. He immediately takes me to a time when Paul Kruger was president of the SA Republic. Gold had been discovered and there was a need for a dynamite factory. Modderfontein was then at the far reaches of the city, “a day’s ox-wagon drive from Johannesburg”, and a factory and a village to house the workers were built. At the time it was the world’s largest explosives factory.
We go past 33 High Street, a stately 1890s home with echoing wooden floors, high ceilings and a wraparound veranda. Once the assistant factory manager lived there; now it’s a popular and acclaimed restaurant.
As we walk, Vermont reveals other nuggets of information: that Antwerp Street, which is now under the bridge where the Gautrain passes, was called Mixed Pickles Street because of the different house styles.
We walk on through the streets, flanked by gum and pine trees, planted in the early days to make the village as cool as possible, as they were fastgrowing and tall. They also created a shield should a blast occur, as the blast would be channelled upwards.
We pass other homes mostly now used as businesses
and Vermont points out the typical architectural features of
the houses, with their narrow frontage, a long central corridor front to back with rooms leading off, and corrugated roofs. In stark contrast are the homes on the opposite side of the road: squat, bungalow-type homes built for factory workers in the 1940s.
Even by the ‘50s and ‘60s not all the roads were tarred, and pollution from the heavy industry and dust was everywhere. In later decades environmental lobbies took note. The original compound, housing 5,000 workers, was demolished. Vermont, who describes the compound as appalling, first visited it in ‘68 when he started working at AECI in the communications department.
In the ‘90s Boet Coetzee, the factory manager, started improving life in the village. Workers were then housed in better facilities in hostels, but the company closed them and workers were offered homes in townships such as Tembisa.
Third-generation waterbased explosives were introduced in the ‘90s and were a lot safer than before, so there was no longer a need for a buffer zone and that is when the great land selloff began.
The tour takes us past other landmarks, such as the official weather station in the Transvaal; an empty building with fine art deco details; the “casino” where management came to play; the Modderfontein War Memorial; “Harley Street” where the hospital was housed; and a ridge where Robert Baden-Powell had a blockhouse erected.
In the AECI Dynamite Company Museum, a hushed space housed in another old building with creaking floors, I find out more about the origins of the factory and the people who worked there. The information boards are detailed and there are exhibits of this long-ago era: there’s the desk of 1890s manager Franz Hoenig complete with an old-fashioned telephone, stretcher, typewriters and adding machines. The museum is curated by the gentlemanly Lodwick Mahasha.
Weeks before, I had been to the farmers’ market held in the grounds of Franz Hoenig House, a beautiful sprawling home with lush, equally sprawling gardens. The house itself is closed, except for special occasions, such as Heritage Day, September 24. The grounds are only open on market day.
A visit to the Modderfontein Reserve, spread over 275ha, is a must for nature lovers, walkers and cyclists. There are a number of trails, suitable for all fitness levels; the trail guide available at the reserve entrance is packed with information.
You can also eat in the reserve. I can recommend a meal at Dobbs Cottage, where we had a light lunch of toasted sandwiches, but heartier bistro fare is also available. They are open for breakfast too.
If you eat under the canopy of trees at 33 High Street, I can recommend “bubble bread” or harissa pizza, and their selfstyled “notorious” cheesecake.
As I leave the village after my loop into the past, the Gautrain thunders past, a flash, and it’s gone. The past and present intermingle and the future is coming to Modderfontein. Townhouse developments are being built on the edge of the reserve and near the heart of the village. But for now, take a gentle step back in time.