In the article below, journalist and joburg enthusiast Lucille Davie takes a look at the restoration of one of Parktown's historic homes. The piece first appeared on the City of Joburg's website on 31 March 2010. Click here to view more of Davie's work.
The restored Wanooka in Parktown has had a strong association over the years with engineers and general managers of the South African Railways and Harbours (SAR & H). But its accountants and auditors who have given it a new breath of life.
The house, built in 1902, was constructed for Henry Smith Greenwood, who was the resident engineer of the central division of the Central South African Railways. He lived in the Tudor-gabled Edwardian mansion for six years, until 1908, when he returned to his native Ontario in Canada.
A string of other engineers followed Greenwood, enjoying the house’s modest but attractive viewpoint at the westerly end of Parktown. The house’s significance, therefore, derives from its association with the development of the SAR & H.
Now, Wanooka is to be “an executive entertainment area that can host meetings and functions“.
The house has become part of the new offices and campus for KPMG, the auditing firm, together with the angular black glass building behind it, originally the Kangra / Hunt Leuchars & Hepburn Limited (HL&H) building and built in the mid-1980s. The architects, Impendulo Design Architects, demolished the office building, saying it was unusable, primarily because it had very limited parking.
The...
