Special plaques recognise the rich heritage of City of Gold
THE blue heritage plaques that have been put up in Joburg recently are a nod to the rich heritage of the city.
The plaques recognise iconic structures in the city, outstanding individuals, heritage architecture and the history of Joburg. They are part of a growing number of plaques that aim to give visitors and locals alike a little more information about the City of Gold.
Among the most recent plaques are those for Circle Court, St Mary’s Anglican Church, the offices and press of The Bantu World and the Turffontein Racecourse.
While there may be many worthy sites and structures that should be recognised, Flo Bird from the Joburg Heritage Foundation says there is a rigorous process before a site receives blue plaque status.
“We do the research and prepare the wording, which is circulated to be sure that we are correct and that it covers the most significant aspects of the history or architecture,” Bird says.
Circle Court, designed in distinctive art-deco style, was designed by brothers Louis Theodore Obel and Mark Obel in 1936. The building is at the intersection of Twist Street, Louis Botha Avenue and Empire Road in Hillbrow.
St Mary’s Anglican Church was one of the first churches in Rosettenville built with locally quarried natural stone provided by Leo Rosettenstein, the township owner after whom the area was named. The building dates from the early 1900s and was designed by the firm of Baker and Fleming.
The offices and printing press of The Bantu World were situated in Newclare Road (Albertina Sisulu Road) in Industria. The newspaper, founded in 1932, was one of the first national publications aimed at a black readership.
At the end of last month, the iconic Turffontein Racecourse also received heritage recognition. The course dates back to 1892. Interesting history that Bird shares is that during the South African War of 1899-1902 it was closed and used as a concentration camp, the biggest in the Transvaal. About 5 000 Boer women and children were interned there.
Bird says there are plans for more plaques to be erected. These, among others, will recognise Theo Mthembu in Dube, Endstead in Parktown and Newclare Primary School.
Mthembu was a profes- sional boxer who is credited with establishing the first non-racial sports movement in Dube and training the likes of Baby Jake Matlala.
Endstead, built in 1903, was the home of Ernest Wilmott Sloper, one of the first local architects.
The Newclare Primary School was established in 1908 by the Founders’ Memorial Congregational Church with only nine pupils on its roll. – Additional reporting by Ntsiki Nkabinde