Natural Heritage

The article belows reveals the story behind one of Potchefstroom's historic parks. The piece first appeared on Lennie Gouws's website where she writes about the rich history of Potchefstroom. Click here for more great stories.

“A delightful resort... very popular with residents and visitors. There are shaded walks, arbours, a rosary and well-cultivated gardens, an added charm being the large furrow which passes through.” This is how a brochure to promote Potchefstroom described the park in 1913, then known as Alexandra Park.

Residents of Potchefstroom will not find this beautiful idyllic park today. The area is still known as “The Park” but the main attractions are the Kenneth McArthur Athletic Stadium and Olën Park, headquarters of Leopards Rugby. The beautiful tree lanes made way for two more rugby fields of the Potchefstroom Dorp Rugby Club and all that is left of the water furrow are bridge railings that seem to be quite out of place, since the water furrow had been filled up for half a century.

When Potchefstroom was laid out, Berg Street (later Van Riebeeck and now Peter Mokaba) was the western boundary of the town. By 1863 Kruger Street (now Beyers Naudé) was depicted on a map made by Fred Jeppe, as the western boundary.

The park was laid out west of Kruger Street. Currently Lombard (now James Moroka) and Piet Bosman Streets are the borders, with the ornamental entrance (which has not been used for decades) in Kruger Street. The southern boundary is the Piet Malan...

In November 2010, I had the unfortunate task of packing up my uncle’s (John Harvey’s) house of 17 years in Watamu, Kenya. In doing so, I came across this most amazing story that he had never mentioned to any of us of the younger generation. I fear that there are very few people left who do remember the events that I shall attempt to recount using documents I found at the bottom of a dusty drawer. It certainly makes for a good story of those early days in East Africa.

Here begins the most amazing tale of which only movies are made!

My great-uncle, Bill Harvey, and family had arrived in Mombasa from England in the mid 1920’s. He ran a successful butchery but, in true colonial style, he tended to make his own rules – he always seemed to be in trouble with the meat inspectors, who did not approve of his deciding what was and what wasn’t fit for human consumption! Deliveries in the boot of his car did not detract from the meat’s quality, he maintained. It was just a matter of time before, like so many others of his time, he decided he too would find an elephant bull with a big enough pair of tusks to make his fortune. And so, in early 1937, he bought an elephant license.

The story goes that, as Uncle Bill set out for the Voi River near the Voi township, they came across tracker Galogalo Kafonde. He had recently discovered an...

In the article below, journalist Lucille Davie reveals some unique history about Albert's Farm in Johannesburg. Some of the community and planning details are out of date as the article was written on 16 September 2005. Nevertheless, the history of the site remains as fascinating as ever. Click here to view more of Davie's work.

The only Artesian spring in Gauteng is on Albert’s Farm in Albertskroon in Joburg’s northwest suburbs, spurting a fresh, clean trickle of water throughout the year.

The Alberts' Farm Conservancy is a 90ha piece of gently slanted land up against the southern side of the Northcliff ridge, the second largest green lung in the city after Delta Park. It is an ecologically significant area, with a high diversity of indigenous grass and shrub species, as well as several dams, a wetland, a marsh, and of course, the spring and stream.

The conservancy is in the middle of dense suburbia, providing local residents with a welcome green lung. It’s a popular weekend picnic area, used every day by dog walkers as well.

The artesian spring is formed by two slanted rock formations – the south facing shale meets the downward-sloping quartz rock from the north, forming an impenetrable basin in which the water forms, and then forced, under pressure, to the surface. A normal spring is formed when underground water, moving through permeable layers, hits an impermeable layer and is forced to the surface.

”The spring runs throughout the year,” says Noel Perry, the chairperson of the...

This is one of those stories we love to publish. A hidden piece of heritage revealed by passionate activists on the ground. Thank you to William Gaul for sending it through. We hope you enjoy  it as much as we have. [Originall Published 13 June 2015]

In the absence of any "official" name, I have chosen to refer to the waterfall as the "Melpark Waterfall" - although, again, "Melpark" is not a name officially recognised by the City of Johannesburg, but has long been used by residents along Rustenburg Road between the bends in that road; to the east, the road is known as Kew Road, and after the bends in the north-west, the suburb becomes Emmarentia where the road intersects with Barry Hertzhog Avenue. Rustenburg Road continues about two kilometres to the north-west where Barry Hertzhog ends in Victory Park. Apparently, the name "Rustenburg Road" existed even before the proclamation of Johannesburg, and was the main road across the Highveld to the town of Rustenburg, presumably from Heidelberg. It should be pointed out that the waterfall in question is often confused with the artificial falls created by the CoJ about 25 years ago in what is known as the "Aloe Park", falling between Hillcrest Road in Parkview and Barry Hertzhog Avenue, due to the relative proximity of the two falls.

The Melpark Waterfall occurs about a kilometre downstream of the confluence of three perennial north-flowing streams which together form the Braamfontein Spruit. These streams are the stream which rises in...