Kathy Munro

1922 is often seen as the year that South Africa teetered on the brink of civil war. Fighting broke out across the Rand following a dispute between mine owners and workers. The crisis only ended after martial law was declared and bombs fell from the sky. If you are ever looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon why not take a drive and recreate a few of the scenes from this turbulent time. The following driving tour was created by the team from the Johannesburg Historical Foundation (now defunct) in the 1990s. It was published in the wonderful booklet Some Historic Drives & Walks of Johannesburg.

The 1922 Strike, or Red Revolt as it was also called, came about due to a dispute between the Chamber of Mines and the coal miners. The basic cause of the strike was the determination of the mine owners to exploit the colour bar by including non-whites in any skilled work in the mines at lower rates of pay than that earned by whites. In December 1921 the coal mining companies proposed a cut of five shillings per day in white wages and the Chamber of Mines said the agreement concerning “piece” and “underground contract” work would lapse at the end of 1922 and be replaced by a “day’s pay”. It was alleged that the aim was to replace 50% of the white miners at a saving of R1000.

The Chamber of Mines said it proposed to remove the colour-bar status quo and...

[Originally published in 2015] I recently acquired a fascinating item of Johannesburg Africana. It is a pamphlet publication of the 1913 strike and disturbances on the Witwatersrand and Johannesburg. It's a slight document of 32 pages including four pages of period adverts published by the Central News Agency. Was it a newspaper insert or sold by the CNA? Coverage includes the story of the strike, a casualty list, a Johannesburg central district map of the "area of disturbance" and 14 pages of contemporary black and white photographs.

Pamphlet Publication of the 1913 Strike

The events took place from late May 1913 to early July. The account in this small pamphlet has a journalistic immediacy of "the man on the spot" observations of what happened, why and what were the consequences. It's a fairly even handed factual analysis, but comes down heavily on the side of law and order and condemns the anarchy of public disturbance and violence.

There were 21 deaths of miners and bystanders, though organized labour made much of the panoply of public mourning and a grand funeral. Almost all deaths were the result of rifle fire by the military or police. Some people killed, such as a pianist, a photographer, a dentist's apprentice and two commercial travellers were unlucky to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and caught in the cross fire.

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[Originally published in 2015] I recently visited The Moot House in Parktown as the gardens were on show as part of the Gardens of the Golden City programme. The entrance fee was R20 and tea was served with wicked chocolate cake at R25. Gardens of the Golden City supports a number of charities. I found the event advertised on the Heritage Portal and I wanted to thank those involved in promoting this fabulous home and garden. The Moot house is special for four reasons: the architecture, the historical associations of the people who lived here, the gardens and the water features. it all adds up to a unique Johannesburg ambience and experience. The house is an Arts and Crafts home designed by Herbert Baker in association with Masey and Sloper and dates from the early 20th century.

Moot House (Kathy Munro)

Moot House (Kathy Munro)

To quote from the Parktown and Westcliff (now Johannesburg Heritage Foundation) information page and Blue Plaque:

Built for Richard Feetham in 1906 and designed by Baker, Masey and Sloper, this was the first house to be erected on this street. Feetham was brought to Johannesburg in 1902 as deputy town clerk - one of a group of Oxford...

The unearthing of the programme and proposal to save the Colosseum in the early 1980s led me further into a sleuthing foray. At the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation research centre I presented the 1980s papers. Mary Boyeasse, a keen researcher, then said ‘we have that one already’ but five minutes later she reappeared with a rare original souvenir programme of the 1933 opening of the Colosseum. The 1982 prospectus takes on a new look because the design was based on this original souvenir programme. I wonder how many copies of this programme have survived in private hands?

What an exciting find this is and of course it adds to the story of the Colosseum and a connects the dots from opening to closing of the theatre, from 1933 to 1985.

Programme cover

The opening hyperbole burbles awkwardly: "A product of South African creative arts, technical skills and craftsmanship for the enjoyment of South Africans. The supreme achievement of South African theatre construction, unexcelled anywhere in the world for luxury and modernity, unapproached in our own country. A wonderland of illusion, made possible by the great assembly of marvellous devices within its walls."

The man who had the vision based on business success, expansion and progress was the American entrepreneur Isador William Schlesinger (1871-1949), the Chairman of African Theatres and the pioneer of the...

A Joubert Park visit has been on my to do list for some time and here was the perfect opportunity. A few weekends ago, the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation (JHF) offered a talk on Joubert Park by Professor Louis Grundlingh of UJ, access to the wonderful Johannesburg Art Gallery and a guided walk around the Park. I had been nervous about visiting Joubert Park on my own but with safety in numbers one felt comfortable and at ease. Actually all my anxieties were groundless as the people of today's park were caring, welcoming and ready to engage in conversation. There was a hat trick win with a quick gallery visit (including warm welcome from Antoinette Murdoch the director of JAG), the lecture on the history and purpose of park making in the Edwardian era, and the walk about with Flo Bird and Diana Steele. It was a visit that again attested to the excellence of JHF tours and talks.

Professor Louis Grundlingh of UJ (Mark Straw)

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I am happy to share a remarkable unfolding story. I wonder how many readers are keen frequenters of antique shops, junk shops, old trading stores and charity shops? The appeal of this category of shops is that you never know what you will find or where a connection will lead you. I adore such shops for this very reason. There is no possibility of walking in with a precise shopping list (keep that for the weekly grocery shop) and the pleasure of a visit to an antique shop is precisely because you will spot something that appeals or that you recognize an item of heritage.

Recently a Hospice visit brought forth a great find. I stopped off at the king of charity shops in Johannesburg, the Hospice Charity shop in Orange Grove. Hospice bought the old Gallagher's Corner and have turned all the small shops and central alley into specialist shops for recycling the contents of the homes of Hospice supporters (a book emporium, a bric-a-brac shop, designer recycled clothes, antiques, children's toys, more clothes, discarded furniture). The latest addition to the Hospice shop is a small nook turned into an art corner. All money raised after expenses goes to the caring work they do. 

The Discovery

As I entered the new little art shop, a sepia toned old photograph caught my eye. Then I spotted a second one. They were panoramic views of somewhere, but where, taken when and who was the photographer? The one was much damaged and had...

Who remembers the Colosseum in Johannesburg? This theatre belonged to the collection of theatres built for pleasure and entertainment when one went to the movies in style and cinemas attracted audiences of thousands watching a single block buster grand epic. With its orchestra pit the Colosseum was versatile; it was a large venue for movies, concerts, and stage shows. It closed in 1985 and was demolished, it transitioned to “Lost Johannesburg” in a flash.

1934 Commissioner Street Façade of the Colosseum (Cumming-George Vol 2)

I lived out my teenage fantasies in the cinemas of Johannesburg. His Masjesty’s, the Empire, the Plaza and the Colosseum were the magnets that drew me to spend my 2/6 or 4/- (shillings) for a front seat in the stalls or one high up on the raked balcony and if there were vacant seats we crept backward. Unlike theatre, cinemas charged more for distant panoramic views than close up to the screen. I adored the sense of occasion and luxury of a cinema visit and saw all of the great epics, now classic movies of the fifties and sixties in a Johannesburg cinema - The Ten Commandments, My Fair Lady, The Sound of Music, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, South Pacific, Dr Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia. I adored Audrey Hepburn, Julie Christie, Julie Andrews, Mary Martin, Omar Sheriff, Peter O’Toole and many...

Johannesburg is a gold mining city and, through the decades, there have been a number of disasters related to the industry. A walk through Johannesburg's cemeteries offers a visual history of premature loss through mine related explosions. The granite memorial in the Braamfontein Cemetery erected in memory of those who lost their lives in the great dynamite explosion of 1896, is still moving and offers a unique insight into Johannesburg history. 

The memorial to those who died in the disaster (Kathy Munro)

The memorial takes us back to one of the earliest and most tragic mining disasters in the city's history. On 19th February 1896, a freight train left stationary on a siding at the then Johannesburg Railway Station (it was in Braamfontein and today is known as the Braamfontein Station) carrying dynamite exploded. The train comprised of eight trucks of dynamite (Norwich says ten) or 2300 wooden cases adding up to between 56 and 60 tons of dynamite (AP Cartwright gives the statistics of 3000 cases of blasting gelatine amounting to 80 tons). The trucks had been left standing in the sun for three and a half days (why is a crucial question) and, when a shunting engine was backed into these trucks, the impact apparently caused the dynamite to explode in the hot afternoon...

Above is a postcard of an SAA Airways or Suid-Afrikaanse-Lugdiens DC-7B aircraft. This post card came my way when it fell out of a book I bought recently. The reverse is blank, so it was never sent and simply says "with the compliments of South African Airways” (in English and Afrikaans). The interest to me is the backdrop of Johannesburg viewed from the air. The challenge is to date the photograph. The central iconic building is Escom House (completed in 1937 and demolished /imploded in 1984) and the view is in a westerly or north westerly direction. The postcard must have been a free handout/promotional material from SAA. In answer to the obvious question, when did SAA fly DC-7Bs, Wikipedia and the SAA museum society archives provide some answers online. 

I found a second aerial photo, dated 1956. The view is towards the mine dumps to the south / south west of the city. Aerial photographs of Johannesburg make for a fascinating record of the changing face of the city. Most early aerial photographs date from about 1931. I would be interested to find out if anyone has aerial shots from an earlier period ... i.e. 1920s? [Please post details in the comments section below if you have any]

ZS-DKE Douglas DC-7B (1956)...

The topography of Johannesburg is distinctive with the rocky mountainous ridges and the line of koppies that runs from east to west. These are the quartzite ridges of the famous Witwatersrand. The geology is unique. Viljoen and Reimold (An Introduction to South Africa’s Geology and Mining Heritage) make the point that this is one of the few localities where the evolution of the granitic crust of Southern Africa has been preserved and can be viewed. There are several places in Johannesburg where approximately 500 million years of the Earth’s history is exposed and displayed. One needs a geological guide, but what one sees is a layering of hard quartzite rock and sediments of shale above the quartzite, within the Witwatersrand super group. To the south is the further layering of conglomerates with the gold bearing reefs, such as the Main Reef, Main Reef Leader, South Reef, Promise Reef, Kimberley Reefs etc.

Some of the best spots to see geological time exposed are on either side of the rock lined quartzite roads of the cuttings and passes of Johannesburg. Here we are looking at more recent history. It is some 130 years since gold was discovered and the city of Johannesburg was founded. People settled on the ridges and hills as well as in the valleys and dales. The residential properties located on the ridges are considered to be the most desirable for their views, their elevations and their well-established trees and gardens. The air seems fresher, cleaner, clearer...