In 2009 local businessman Gerrit van der Stelt stumbled across a small demolition notice attached to a boundary wall of the highly significant Tait House in Benoni. What followed was a desperate struggle by the community to preserve the historic home. The Heritage Portal is happy to report that not only is the house still standing but it could also become a powerful symbol of the ability of old and new to coexist and thrive.
Tait House (140 Woburn Avenue) is one of the finest examples of Victorian Architecture in Benoni. It was built in 1911 for the entrepreneur WM Tait and designed by Robert Macbeth Robertson, a leading architect of the era. The home forms part of an important group of Victorian buildings to the west of the Benoni CBD. It is therefore understandable that news of the intended demolition galvanized the local community.
Inspired by van der Stelt, the community organised a petition and disseminated a strong case for preservation. Attempts to spur the Provincial Heritage Resources Authority Gauteng (PHRAG) into action failed with numerous phone calls and emails going unreturned.
The community commissioned an independent assessment into the structural integrity of the building after the developer claimed that the house was in danger of collapse. The assessment found the stoep to be a safety hazard but the main house as sturdy as ever.
With no response from the PHRAG and demolition contractors circling van der Stelt grew desperate. He contacted John Robbie from Talk Radio 702 and a secured a...
