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. A big thank you to the Heritage Association of South Africa (previously the Simon van der Stel Foundation) for giving us access to their archive.
Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk - Now the Museum (Bulletin)
From the ashes of South Africa's worst earthquake rise the old buildings of Tulbagh. As in a dream haunted by distant memories they appear in groups down Church Street, recapturing the spirit of the past with such emphasis that it is difficult to believe they had ever been disturbed.
Tulbagh was near the epicentre of the worst South African earthquake in living memory, which struck the Boland on that fateful night in September 1969; and a priceless and beautiful part of our cultural heritage was destroyed in a matter of seconds. Church Street, with its charming 18th and 19th century houses, crumbled under the quake's awesome impact and the next day the country was shocked to read that everything lay in dust...
