Kathy Munro's three part series on the Yeoville Water Tower comes to an end with this piece (click here to view the series index). The article highlights the overall German contribution to early Johannesburg and suggests that the German connection to the Yeoville Water might be a reason why its origins were concealed in 1914/1915. The article also sets out the overall significance of the landmark structure. The piece was first published in the December 2018 issue of Architecture SA. Thank you to Paul Kotze for giving us permission to publish.
Dr. Clive Chipkin, in an article in The Star newspaper (23/10/1980) wrote about the prima-facie evidence of German involvement in Johannesburg’s growth. South Africa imported heavy rails from F Krupp of Essen or from BVG of Bochum. Locomotives and steam engines were imported; for example, the firm Reunert and Lenz were agents for imported machines, engines and engineering equipment.
The German presence on the Witwatersrand and in Johannesburg was evidenced by early mining pioneers. Mr. George Albu came from Berlin, Mr. Julius Jeppe hailed from Rostock and Mr. Hermann Eckstein was born in Stuttgart. Mr. Carl Hanau was another Rand entrepreneur of German origin. Sir Julius Wernher was a prominent Randlord, who was born in Darmstadt. He was a key figure in the Eckstein company (Corner House) who later became anglicised. There were many others. German place names were in evidence in early Johannesburg – a Kaiser Street, a Wilhelm Street, Hohenheim the Phillips’ home in Parktown, the forest of Sachsenwald (that later became Saxonwold). The German Lutheran Church...
Below is Part 2 of Kathy Munro's wonderful series on the Yeoville Water Tower (click here to view series index). The piece takes an in-depth look at the historic blueprint and reveals the secrets of the water tower's origins. The article first appeared in the December 2018 issue of Architecture SA. Thank you to Paul Kotze for giving us permission to publish and to Gail Wilson for the use of some of her magnificent photographs.
It is literally an architectural “blueprint” or technical drawing. Firstly, there is a heading in German, Wasserturm mit Behälter von 50,000 gallons Fassungsraum (translation: Water tower with the capacity of 50 000 gallons). This pinpoints the German origin. We are able to date the tower with accuracy, as there is a date and place in the bottom right-hand corner – “Dortmund, d 2nd Januar 1913”.
The top right-hand corner states Com [commission no] 2044) Blatt 1 [page 1]. We can assume that this was a commission and the first page of technical drawings. On the top left- hand corner is the name Fa. Geo L Kűstner, Johannesburg. Thus, there is a link to a Johannesburg man and to the tender mentioned in the annual reports of the Town Engineer.
Many readers will have heard of the discovery of the original Yeoville Water Tower blueprint earlier this year. This discovery sparked a research journey which has culminated in a wonderful series of articles by Kathy Munro (click here to view series index). Below is the first installment which covers the early water supply history of Johannesburg and the origins of the Water Tower. The piece was first published in the Sep / Oct 2018 issue of Architecture SA. Thank you to Paul Kotze for giving us permission to publish. The powerful main image (copyright Gail Wilson) shows the 1913 Yeoville Water Tower to the left, the 1937 concrete water tower in the centre and Westminster Mansions in the foreground.
The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation awarded the Yeoville Water Tower of Johannesburg a Category A heritage protection listing in its grading exercise of 2013. Its origins have been shrouded in mystery. The Water Tower, assembled from precast steel pieces dates from 1913 and was designed by the German engineering firm Aug. Klönne, of Dortmund, in Germany.
Yeoville Water Tower from the Observatory Ridge (The Heritage Portal)
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