Craighall is a popular, and some would argue trendy, suburb to the north of Johannesburg. It is hard to imagine that it was once the scene of dusty roads, dairies and a famous lake and hotel. In 1987 Sheila Timmermans compiled a short history of Craighall (and Craighall Park) which was published in the Johannesburg Historical Foundation's Journal Between the Chains. The article contains some fascinating insights into the forgotten spaces and places of the suburb.
Craighall Park in the year 1919, whilst only 10 kilometres from Johannesburg’s centre was a good day’s journey from town, by horse and cart, which was then a common form of transport. They often got bogged down in sandy and deeply rutted roads, which in many cases were private tracks belonging to farms and smallholdings. As each farm was reached, gates had to be opened and closed, causing more delays on the journey. Some of these gates were around Dunkeld, and even today a good example of the old private properties is to be found nearby in Craighall Park where one road changes its name three times. At one time there were gates between Norfolk and Cambridge Avenues, and another one separated Cambridge Avenue from Grosvenor Avenue. New visitors to the suburb frequently got lost because of these changed names.
The origins of Craighall’s street names are rather vague. It is assumed that Talbragar has Australian connections, Waterfall is called after the nearby waterfall, and Alexandra, after the wife of Kind Edward VII, Queen Alexandra...
