Over the last few decades the name Sandton has become synonymous with wealth, luxury and privilege. One could even argue that it has become a valuable and iconic brand. There may be debate about what the brand represents and what it should be used for but very few people have an issue with the name itself. It is therefore hard to imagine that in the late 1960s there was a huge outcry when Sandton was officially named.
Every day thousands of people pass Sandton's first monument without realising it is there. On a small piece of land tucked away near the top of South Road lie the graves of some of the original settlers in the area and the monument erected in their honour. The Esterhuysen family owned the farm Zandfontein in the middle of the 19th century. It is on a portion of this farm that the modern skyscrapers of Sandton have emerged. Below are a few passages from various old Sandton Historical Association journals providing some background on the heritage site.
The competition between Structural Steelwork and Reinforced Concrete in the realm of building construction can be likened to the rivalry between the Springboks and the All Blacks, in the sense that each continually attempts to better the other. The rivalries both on the construction site and on the rugby field have been going for nigh on 100 years and both have their die-hard fans. Fortunately the competition has largely been a healthy one bringing out the best in both.
Potchefstroom today is a city, but in the pioneer years they experienced frontier living at its utmost. The Voortrekkers crossed the Vaal River to colonize the area at the end of 1838 and Potchefstroom was proclaimed on 22 December 1838, the first town to be established by the Voortrekkers. In a short space of time it became a frontier town, the last outpost of 'civilization' for travellers into Africa.
Unfortunately, the Rimer’s Creek saga has once again reared its ugly head and all hell has broken loose here in Barberton during the past few weeks. In our communication of October 2015 we advised that following our eight year battle to prevent the rezoning of the irreplaceable site of the Central Mill in Rimer’s Creek Interested and Affected Parties (I&APs) finally won their Appeal. However, this soon became a hollow victory when we discovered that during the 18 month Appeal Decision making process and without our knowledge - and despite an assurance to the
The development of structural steel as a building material and its attendant fabricating industry has played a major role in the growth of the industrialised world and has helped to create our modern way of life. Without structural steel the building of the railways, the building of bridges, the opening up of mines, the construction of factories for the manufacture of goods, and the production and transmission of power would never have progressed to the stage we are at today.
The Heritage Association of South Africa (HASA) is, with growing concern, following reports from heritage preservationists and activists about the crisis unfolding at Museum Africa – in our opinion custodian of one of the finest and most valuable Africana collections in the world.
In short, the crisis stems from critical staff shortages, in some cases, at least, two decades in the making, as important curator, educational, conservation, cleaning, facilities management and security posts have been left vacant.
When people look back on the demolition of iconic structures many question why more wasn't done to save them for future generations to admire. As time passes the complexities of each case often disappear. We really enjoy digging deeper into the debate of the day and trying to unravel the motivations and interests of the parties involved. In the case of the Newtown Cooling Towers there were strong arguments on both sides. The short Sunday Times article (1985) below highlights a few of the complexities of the time.
In September 1969 an earthquake hit the town of Tulbagh damaging a large number of highly significant buildings on Church Street. What followed was nothing short of remarkable as people from all over the country pulled together in a fight to save the built environment heritage of the town. The article below, which appeared in the Simon van der Stel Foundation's 1973 journal Bulletin, tells the extraordinary restoration story.
The catchphrase “Cape to Cairo” was first coined in 1874, by Edwin Arnold (editor of the Daily Telegraph) and was taken up by Cecil John Rhodes as a call for the “Civilisation” of Darkest Africa. To Rhodes civilisation meant the exploitation of the mineral wealth of the vast interior of the African continent. He was a controversial figure in his day and remains so today.
