Then & Now

It’s 29 March 1947, and King George VI and his family are welcomed with a grand reception at the Town Hall in Pretoria. It’s the first overseas tour for the crown princess and her sister, and despite anti-British sentiment among some in South Africa, the members of the royal family are greeted with great enthusiasm. (The crown princess became Queen Elizabeth II, and her sister was the late Princess Margaret.)

The streets and buildings of Pretoria are draped in flags, banners and crowns, just like those of Cape Town, Bloemfontein and Pietermaritzburg earlier in the tour. Thousands of South Africans wave at the White Train.

Some days after the festivities, 19-year-old nursing student Grieta van der Vyver, originally from Laingsburg – she later became my mother – takes photographs of the decorated buildings on Church Square. A new arrival in Pretoria, she’s not very adept at using her camera. Many of her night shots are underexposed and out of focus, but she still manages to offer a lovely amateur’s view of the pomp and splendour in the capital.

Handwritten captions in the photo album reveal her excitement to be in the city, and to be part of those historic events. This is how she describes Pretoria’s station building at night: “The station was the most beautiful for me. The entire outline was lit with small lightbulbs strung together by the hundreds. There was also a royal tent with the crown, but that has already been removed.” (April 1947)

She reveals her naivety when she incorrectly identifies some well-known landmarks, like the Standard Bank building: “I believe this is the Palace of Justice,” she writes. Curiously, her album does not contain any photographs of the actual “Palace of Justice” on Church Square…

However, young Grieta’s awe and wonder were not unfounded. As Graham Viney notes in his recent book The Last Hurrah – South Africa and the Royal Tour of 1947: “Pretoria’s decorations were magnificent.”

REPURPOSED. The old Reserve Bank building (left) was designed by Sir Herbert Baker. It’s now home to the National Treasury. Next to it (right) is the Old Mutual building, which was built in 1929.

KING & COUNTRY. The thenReserve Bank (left) and Old Mutual building stand side by side on Church Square in Pretoria. They’re both decorated with flags and banners bearing the letters GR, for George Rex.

FIRST FOR YOU. The old Barclays Bank building as it looks today. It’s now a First National Bank and stands opposite the historic Tudor Chambers.

REGAL. The old Barclays Bank building on the eastern side of Church Square, decorated with flags and banners for the royal visit.

BANK ON IT. The Standard Bank building today, with part of the Ou Raadsaal, the historic seat of the ZAR government, visible on the right.

HELLO, ROYALS. A crown atop the Standard Bank building on Church Square.