Gauteng

The 50th floor of the Carlton Centre was once known as the Carlton Panorama. It opened in the early 1970s as a whites-only facility in a vastly different context to the one in which it was planned. Tough economic times replaced the boom of the 1950s and 1960s and the apartheid regime was coming under increasing pressure - internally and externally - to implement reforms. In this context the Carlton Centre management team applied to the government for permission to open the Panorama to all races at all times emphasising the ‘international appeal’ of the complex.

The approval of the application was held up by government red tape leading to Carlton Centre officials having to turn away many professional ‘non-whites’ who were barred from the facility according to the laws of the country. After months of tenacious effort, the team secured the necessary approvals and people of all races were able to visit the viewing deck. This was only a partial victory, however, as petty apartheid still operated in force with separate toilets for the races and ‘non-whites’ barred from eating at the Wimpy restaurant.

In early 1975 a protest occurred at the Carlton Panorama when a large group of 'coloured' adults accompanied by an even larger group of children entered the deck and demanded to be seated at the Wimpy. Sympathetic officials explained that the laws of the country did not permit this. As the situation become heated, Nigel Mandy (Manager of the Carlton) was called to the scene. He attempted to diffuse...

In the publication Boksburg 1903-4-1978-79: 75 Years of Municipal Government an unknown contributor reflected on the development of the town over seven and a half decades and asked ‘What was Boksburg like in 1903 when the first Town Council took office?’. Below is the answer to this captivating question.

Boksburg was sited on two sides of the valley which was dammed up to form the Boksburg Lake and its situation in the valley area made the town itself invisible from a distance when approaching it from Pretoria to the north, Johannesburg to the west, Heidelberg to the south or the Brakpan coal fields to the east.

In all directions it was surrounded by large farms, mainly Leeuwpoort in the south, Driefontein in the west and Klipfontein in the north.

Railway Stations

From Johannesburg the train would have passed through Elandsfontein (now Germiston) station and entered the Boksburg district at Heidelberg Road Halt (now Angelo station), where the road from Heidelberg to Pretoria crossed the line. Then, after stopping at East Rand Station and Vogelfontein Station (now Boksburg) the train would arrive at Boksburg station (now Boksburg East), from where it was a short walk to the centre of the town along dusty open roads passing vacant blocks of stands.

From what is now regarded as the centre of the town at the corner of Commissioner and Hoofd Street (now Trichardts Road) a look around and a short stroll would take in the whole of the town of Boksburg.

North west...

We found the following article by B.I. Spaanderman in the 1991 edition of the old Johannesburg Historical Foundation's journal Between the Chains. It looks at a number of South African mills with a particular focus on Millbank, the closest to Johannesburg.

For a mere fifty cents you can ask the watchman at Bradshaw’s Mill in Bathurst to set its wheel in motion. It costs a few cents more in Graaff-Reinet. The beautifully restored Josephine Mill in Rondebosch is a delight, and an informative booklet has been produced by the Historical Society of Cape Town describing its history and restoration.

The water-mills of South Africa are mainly located in the Cape Province by virtue of the settler population. These were built from the late 1600s to the late 1800s. Mills in Natal, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal were built from the middle to the late 1800s. The most definitive study to date is Water-mills, windmills and horse-mills of South Africa by James Walton, published in 1974. Owing largely to his interest, a number of the mills have been restored, such as the Josephine Mill, but more sadly, many have been left to decay, or have been destroyed by fire and other natural disasters.

Bradshaw’s Mill was built by the 1820-settler Samuel Bradshaw and his brother. He was assisted by the young Jeremiah Goldswain, who worked for “Measerss Bradshaws and Wiggall for servel months, at this time cash was so scarce that it was almost imposable for andy one to...

The unearthing of the programme and proposal to save the Colosseum in the early 1980s led me further into a sleuthing foray. At the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation research centre I presented the 1980s papers. Mary Boyeasse, a keen researcher, then said ‘we have that one already’ but five minutes later she reappeared with a rare original souvenir programme of the 1933 opening of the Colosseum. The 1982 prospectus takes on a new look because the design was based on this original souvenir programme. I wonder how many copies of this programme have survived in private hands?

What an exciting find this is and of course it adds to the story of the Colosseum and a connects the dots from opening to closing of the theatre, from 1933 to 1985.

Programme cover

The opening hyperbole burbles awkwardly: "A product of South African creative arts, technical skills and craftsmanship for the enjoyment of South Africans. The supreme achievement of South African theatre construction, unexcelled anywhere in the world for luxury and modernity, unapproached in our own country. A wonderland of illusion, made possible by the great assembly of marvellous devices within its walls."

The man who had the vision based on business success, expansion and progress was the American entrepreneur Isador William Schlesinger (1871-1949), the Chairman of African Theatres and the pioneer of the...

[Originally published in mid 2015] Following a spate of attacks on colonial monuments around the country, paint was splattered on a post-apartheid statue on Gandhi Square in downtown Johannesburg. Eric Itzkin takes up the case of Gandhi and his bronze effigy.

For many people in South Africa and internationally, M.K. Gandhi represents a figure of great moral authority, an icon of peace. Introduced in 2003, the statue on Gandhi Square offers a tribute to Gandhi’s civil rights work in South Africa, and a means of recognizing and celebrating Johannesburg’s multi-cultural diversity.

Nelson Mandela has been among those who have paid homage to the Indian freedom fighter who began his struggles in South Africa. In an article dating from 1999, Mandela wrote:

Gandhi threatened the South African government during the first and second decades of our century as no other man did. He established the first anti-colonial political organization in the country, if not the world, founding the Natal Indian Congress in 1894. The African Peoples’ Organisation (APO) was established in 1902, and the ANC in 1912, so that both were witnesses to and highly influenced by Gandhi’s militant Satyagraha which began in 1907 and reached its climax in 1913 with the epic march of 5 000 workers indentured on the coal mines in Natal. That march evoked a massive response from the Indian women who in turn, provoked the Indian workers to come out on strike. That was the beginning of the marches to freedom and mass stay-away-from-work which came so characteristic of...

The William Cullen Library is a much loved landmark on Wits University's East Campus. It was built in 1934 on the west side of the Library Lawns and houses a vast number of valuable collections. The article below, compiled by Rowallan Hugh Fitchett, traces the architectural history of the building. It was originally published in a mid1990s edition of Between the Chains, the journal of the Johannesburg Historical Foundation.

The William Cullen Library on the east campus of the University of the Witwatersrand is almost certainly the building most appreciated by members of the academic staff. I have heard this opinion on numerous occasions from lecturers and students in a wide range of disciplines, outside as well as within the Faculty of Architecture.

My own interest in the building was stimulated first by architectural form, which appealed to me above all other buildings on campus when I registered as a postgraduate student in 1979. This interest was heightened in 1981 when my future wife informed me that it was the first building designed in this country by her grandfather, William George Whyte at the age of 25 after emigrating from Scotland. My interest was accentuated from 1987 onwards on account of the material contained in the library. I spent months if not years in transcribing material from irreplaceable 17th and 18th century volumes which (correctly) were not permitted to be photocopied. My association with the library is thus an intimate one, architecturally and academically.

The architectural history of the William Cullen Library begins with...

In the early 1990s the Sandton Historical Association, with expert guidance from Professional Land Surveyor Werner Kirchhoff hoped to erect a Beacon monument to mark the boundary line between two of Sandton's original farms. Although the initiative did not get past the planning stage, the vision for the project was documented in an excellent article written by Avril Reid and Kirchhoff. Below are a few extracts from the article (SHA's 1993 annual magazine) revealing some fascinating history about beacons and boundaries.

A beacon, or boundary corner mark, marking the division between two of Sandton’s old farms was recently relocated at the South-Western corner of Sandown at the junction of West Street, Linden Road and Wierda Road East. It is at a point where traffic improvements will make a new island and it is proposed to mark this historic point with a concrete pyramid replacing the original stone cairn.

Proposed Sandton Beacon

This interesting landmark has been relocated by Werner Kirchhoff, Professional Land Surveyor, who was instructed by Nedcor to resurvey the boundaries of Erf 535 Sandown Extension 44 where they are extending their Technical Information Centre.

During the early years of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (Transvaal), land ownership was extremely important - abundant land was a principal reason for the Great Trek. The Sandton beacon identified above...

I have noticed that many people are trying to establish the location of the Lord Howe Race Track in Kelvin. It is possible that the borehole is still there so if one can find it the rest may fall into line (see sketch below). Another clue that could assist the heritage enthusiast is that the main straight was at the top of a hill and finished in a dip. I can recall these details as I spent quite a bit of time in the pits and in the grandstand as a child as my dad, Prosser Roberts, was a fearsome racer during the 1930s. He raced the Bugatti pictured above.

Sketch of the Lord Howe Race Track in Kelvin, Sandton

Memories of the Lord Howe Circuit

The borehole was a godsend in the summer months as the track got stinking hot. I can remember walking from the grandstand to the borehole for a drink of that cold clear water but by the time I got back to the grandstand I was thirsty again! It had an old reciprocating pump driven by a Villiers two stroke motor with no silencer. The crack of the motor’s exhaust hurt my ears. The drive was a flat belt which was looked after by a kind hearted old man who was liked by everybody. When you arrived for water he would give the belt a pull to start the motor and when you were done he would...

His name is immortalised in one of Johannesburg's most well-known streets, it is inscribed on the foundation stone of the landmark Johannesburg Library and it is painted on his old office which is now home to the popular Arts on Main in the Maboneng Precinct. But who was D.F. Corlett? The following article, published in the South African Builder in September 1923, gives some insight into the man.

Foundation Stone of the Johannesburg Public Library (The Heritage Portal)

Daniel Fargher Corlett was born at Ballaugh, Isle of Man. He served his time with his father, taking charge of the business for the two years prior to leaving for South Africa.

Like many other young fellows possessed of energy and ambition, he realised the limited opportunities in his native land, and emigrated to South Africa in April, 1897, coming direct to Johannesburg.

Portrait of D.F. Corlett (SA Builder)

He secured employment with Messrs. Prentice & Mackie, the well-known contractors, and was with them at the outbreak of the Boer War in 1899. During the campaign he served with Bethune's Mounted Infantry, returning to Johannesburg...

In a speech given to the Sandton Historical Association in the late 1970s, Councillor Bill Hedding mentioned a very special historical site in the area - a school that managed to survive the onslaught of apartheid legislation and was connected to some of the most influential people in South Africa at the time. It also appears that part of the school is one of the few, if not the only, memorial to US President John F Kennedy in Africa.

No story about the schools in Bryanston would be complete without relating the story of the school which has had the biggest battle to survive. I refer to the Witkoppen School for Blacks [now Witkoppen Primary School], which though it is not in Bryanston, has been the concern of Bryanstonians and others for many years. A Mr Mason, who had started the nucleus of a school in 1927, donated two acres of his farm on which it stood to the African people of Witkoppen. The Anglican Board of Management controlled the new school.

Main Entrance to Witkoppen Primary School (The Heritage Portal)

In 1955 the Bantu Education Act was passed and the then Bishop of Johannesburg, the Rt Rev. Ambrose Reeves, decided to close the school rather than hand it over to the state. The Principal, Mr Jack, called a meeting of...