Ekurhuleni

I recently joined an outing arranged by a Facebook contact, posting heritage messages under the title of 'Springs – History of a Gold Town', to this historical and well-maintained military cemetery, named Palmietkuil, after the gold mine previously operating nearby. This cemetery is the final resting place of 217 members of the South African Native Military Corps (NMC). Incidentally, translated ‘Palmietkuil’ means clump of bulrush pool.

It was interesting to hear most of the mainly White locals who attended, admitting to not having previously visited, or even being aware of this historic military cemetery.

Perhaps it was because of two reasons – Firstly, situated on farmland on the western outskirts of Springs, the cemetery is not easily accessible or visible unless one is familiar with the area. Secondly, because of this country’s controversial history, the contributions of the Cape Corps (CC) and NMC during the World Wars, were either ignored or downplayed.

Until the 1994 publication of The Unknown Force – Black, Indian and Coloured Soldiers Through Two World Wars, by General Ian Gleeson, there was little reporting in the popular South African military publications of the contribution to Allied victory by the approximately 80 000 Black South Africans, who served in a wide variety of mainly non-combatant roles during the Second World War.

The recruitment of Black soldiers upon the outbreak of this war, was deferred because of political dissension and fears articulated by the business sector that this would negatively impact the availability of Black workers for...

Set in a gently wooded area amid carefully tended gardens, it is difficult to believe that Franz Hoenig Haus is situated within a stone’s throw of a major chemical manufacturing complex and what was the largest Dynamite factory in the world.

The peace, tranquillity and ‘olde worlde’ atmosphere of the surroundings and of the house itself transport the visitor into time gone by. To an age of quiet, sophisticated refinement, of gracious ladies and distinguished gentlemen, of faultless cuisine and superior wines, of animated conversation and spirited repartee.

One of the oldest restored houses in Gauteng, it appears today very much as it did when built by European craftsmen as a residence for Franz Hoenig, Modderfontein Factory’s original Manager, in 1896.

An early photo of Franz Hoenig House

A more recent shot of the house (Robbie Vermont)

Both its name and style of architecture give the clue to the building’s Germanic origins, and no wonder: Franz Hoenig was Austrian and the builders, masons and carpenters who constructed the house were recruited in Germany.

Not three years after the construction of the house was complete, the war clouds gathered and in...

From the mid-1940s, the Witwatersrand East Rand and its gold mining and industries were the powerhouse of the South African economy (Bonner, 2000) and these industries drew in thousands of work seekers, fast-forwarding urbanisation in this region and creating a huge struggle for housing and transport. But very few of these hopeful migrants became rich, and many lived in dire poverty and squalor. There were massive systems of conflict. During the 1950s, the area became a focus of apartheid social engineering with the industrial townships of the East Rand seeing forced removals and relocations.

A paper by Bonner (2000) explains the intense upheavals in the area as the very diverse population were forced to deal with the social and political consequences and huge impacts of forced removals. Bonner’s paper highlights the development of an organised youth culture in the area and the extraordinary political mobilisation and mass opposition that came about in response to removals. Essentially thousands of people were relocated from the old location of Dukathole to the new “apartheid township of Katlehong” without consultation or appeal. Bonner’s article also explores the complex interaction of class, urbanity, generation, gender and ethnicity in the Germiston municipality. In the 1950s, trade unionism began to be established within the black political leadership and the populace at large. The Iron and Steel Workers Union, the Dry Cleaners Union and the Glass Workers and the Chemical Workers Union were established at that time, and the South African Communist party and African National Congress became...

102 years ago, when the so-called “Spanish Flu” arrived in South Africa, there was no national health department, and no official guidance on what to do. By mid-October the death rate was so high that town councils decided to close cinemas and schools. Some schools, such as Benoni Central School, Vogelfontein school in Boksburg, and the Springs government school were converted into emergency hospitals to treat the overflow of patients who could not be accommodated in official hospitals. Between 1st October and 23rd November 1918, more than 306 Boksburg residents died either directly from the flu or from pneumonia that developed as a complication of the flu.

Spanish Flu caused similar devastation all over South Africa. At the height of the epidemic in October 1918, gravediggers in Cape Town could not dig graves fast enough. When the supply of coffins in Cape Town ran out, carpenters at the Railway Workshops in Salt River were called on to make emergency coffins from raw, unseasoned wood. Each day a special funeral train left Cape Town station for Maitland cemetery, loaded with the bodies of flu victims and mourners from friends and family.

Just as is the case with Covid-19, nurses, doctors and volunteers who cared for the sick in 1918 had a high chance of themselves falling victim to the virus. This is the story of some of the health care workers who succumbed to “Spanish Flu”.

Dr. Howard Charles Spaulding came from the small Illinois coal mining town of Virden in...

A friend who grew up in Germiston claimed at his recent birthday bash that while you could leave Germiston, it would never leave you. His words mulled through my mind as I arrived at the Primrose Cemetery. Visiting a historic cemetery like Primrose is similar to visiting an interesting museum. Instead of viewing artifacts one sees the tombstones of people who participated in events that may have shaped one’s life in one way or another. One also starts better interpreting the tombstone symbols and appraising the epitaphs. 

A typical Victorian and Edwardian tombstone symbol - hand of deceased trustingly placed in God’s protective hand (SJ de Klerk)

The most touching epitaph I have read was on the obelisk commemorating Lady Sale who died in 1853. She was the wife of Sir Robert Sale who conquered Afghanistan in 1839. Lady Sale died only three days after landing in Cape Town, while travelling from India and was buried in the old Somerset Road Cemetery. Her obelisk was made...

Perhaps you recall the 1980s advert, ‘Where did you have your first Campari? – in Benoni.’ That was well before Charlize Theron made Benoni famous.

Well, you do not have to be a taphophile (someone who takes an interest in cemeteries and tombstones) or require a taste for Campari to visit the Rynsoord Benoni Cemetery.

If you are interested in the 1913 Mineworkers Strike, the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic, the 1922 Rand Revolt, the Crimean War or even the Mapungubwe Heritage Site, then the Rynsoord Cemetery is for you.

This Cemetery, on Main Reef Road (R29) is still active, but its oldest precincts contain many interesting and historical graves, all relating to the above events.

When you enter the cemetery driveway, travel towards the cemetery offices where the lych-gate is situated (main image). The lych-gate built in the Arts and Craft style is worthy of preservation. The lower walls are of dressed stone and the internal wooden trusses are most attractive. Originally, this structure probably served as a covered area to the burial ground where the coffin would have been placed on a pedestal prior to the burial service.

The older precincts (Wesleyan, English & Methodist and Dutch Reformed Sections 1 & 2) are situated west and south west of the lych-gate.

In the Wesleyan precinct, next to the covered parking lot for cemetery staff, is the grave of the very first internment in this cemetery, namely that of Norew Sunney, a Marine Engineer formerly of Doncaster England, who died on...

On 5 April 2017, Keith Martin, who heads up the heritage community in Modderfontein, unveiled the first two heritage plaques to be erected in the area. This was done in conjunction with the Thornhill Homeowners Association and under the auspices of Joburg Heritage. The plaques are positioned at significant sites within Thornhill Estate.

One site commemorates the first granite rocks to be quarried at Modderfontein. These are located on a specially built platform at 8 Brussels Ave.

Granite Rocks Blue Plaque (Modderfontein Conservation Society)

The second plaque marks a water point which originally supplied water from the Klondyke Spring to the residents in the villages close to the factory (see main image).  Thornhill resident Allan Bartram moved the water point to Central Park to save it from being destroyed when it stood in the way of Gautrain rail construction.

The motivation to embark on a programme of erecting blue heritage plaques in Modderfontein was initiated by Keith and the Heritage Group. The Thornhill Estate Homeowners Association (THOA) were very encouraging and gave their support to the project.

“We hope that this is just the start of an on-going effort to highlight Modderfontein heritage and that further plaques will be added to significant buildings in time,” says Keith.  “We also hope...

Horwoods Farmhouse, one of the oldest structures in Ekurhuleni, has been in crisis for many years (click here to view background and updates). Despite increased security in recent years, vandalism has continued. Local residents and councillors have brought the situation to the attention of Ekurhuleni Metro officials repeatedly and pleaded for resources to be allocated for restoration. They are still waiting. Below are some recents photographs taken by Councillor Heather Hart showing the perilous state of the homestead.

Smashed tiling at the front of the homestead

Front door ripped off its hinges

Flower boxes vandalised

Wall gouged out to remove the security gate

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Vogelstruisbult is an abandoned gold mine on the East Rand near Springs. It was registered back in 1933 and began production in 1937. Anglo American was the controlling shareholder for many years. According to the book, "History of Springs" the mine produced just under 224 tons of gold during its 31 year lifetime.

Gary O'Bryan visited the mine in 2013 and 2016 and documented a number of the crumbling structures. If you have any history or memories of the mine please add details in the comments section below.

Main Rec Hall (2013 and 2016) where hundreds of weddings and parties would have been held over the years when the Mine was active (Gary O'Bryan)

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Some time ago I posted an item on the Heritage Portal about the demolition of the 1904 ERPM Clubhouse and the 1908 (Herbert Baker) extension to the ERPM Clubhouse (click here to view). A stop order was subsequently obtained, and demolition of these two structures was halted, but only after they had been broken down by about 80%.

Ten years ago the above two buildings together with two others on the same site; the old ERPM Recreation Hall (1910) plus the ERPM World War I Memorial (1919) constituted what was probably the best preserved early mining village in South Africa. The Ekurhuleni Municipal Municipality even considered promoting this site as part of a mining heritage tour, but unfortunately the Municipality took no steps to either acquire or to protect the privately owned site of the ERPM Village.

Old photo of the ERPM Clubhouse with notes (circa 2015) from Peter Wood

In the last year, 3 other heritage structures situated slightly to the north of the ERPM Clubhouse/ Mining Village site have been completely demolished. Three houses that once were occupied by managers of ERPM have been torn down and the land they were on is now  being re-developed for dwellings.

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