Johannesburg

For many years Bill Hedding was known as the ‘Father of Bryanston’. He played a central role in the development of the suburb and the recording of its history. He was the founder of the now defunct Sandton Heritage Association, a long term city councillor and at one point the Mayor of Sandton. In the late 1970s he gave a speech on the history of Bryanston. Below are a few edited excerpts to give the reader an idea of the origins and development of the suburb.

Because Bryanston is on fairly elevated ground, "modern" early settlement of the area tended to be confined to lower lying areas where water was available, near spruits and rivers. Until recently the area abounded in game, including larger antelopes. With the advance of man with his guns, this game, especially the larger antelopes, soon disappeared, though duiker and steenkop survived until the early 1950s. The tenacious guineafowl survived a decade longer, with a flock still surviving on the undeveloped ground immediately to the north of Bryanston Laerskool in Sloane Street [now filled with a number of residential complexes].

The Braamfontein Spruit which forms the southern and eastern boundary of Bryanston has a special significance in the history of South Africa. A prospector by the name of Pieter Jacobus Marais, while on his way from Potchefstroom to Pretoria in 1878 [other sources state the journey happened in the early 1850s] camped at the natural causeway across the river in Bryanston Extension 7. Being a prospector...

Part of Kitchener Avenue, in Kensington, Johannesburg has been replaced by Albertina Sisulu Highway. Perhaps soon, Rhodes Park, Roberts Avenue and Milner Crescent will be renamed to burnish the heroes of more recent history? Significantly, Cecil John Rhodes statue on the UCT campus has been recently vandalized in a fierce show of anti- colonialism. It might thus be apposite to record something about the lives of those British ‘heroes’ who played such a prominent role in South Africa during and around the time of the Anglo-Boer War, at the turn of the Nineteenth Century. These street names are a comment on the nature of pro-British sentiment just over a century ago. In an extension of the intense Anglophilia of the times, we note that many of Kensington’s other streets are named after British Navy warships.

The four short essays that follow are about men who served Britain when she was strong and ubiquitous. All men wore power with distinction. They were superior and one might guess, unconsciously arrogant, able to focus immense resources, ruthless when the occasion demanded and utterly loyal to British interests. They attended and managed Britain’s affairs in South Africa at the end of the Victorian Age. Might our history have been any different without them? Alas, one has to live with one’s history even though one retrospectively  ponders more positive outcomes.

Kitchener (source unknown)

 ...

H Ferdinand Gros was of Swiss origin. He arrived in South Africa circa 1869. On July 16th 1870 he was advertising that the Photographic Salon 'will resume again' in the 'Burgherdorp Gazette'. In the 'Diamond News' on March 9th 1872 he announced that he was taking over the studio of Weber and Gros and that he would soon open a 'Superb Salon' at New Rush (Kimberley). The New Rush studio was advertised for sale in 'Diamond News' 13th April 1872. However, this sale appears not to have happened as in 'Diamond News' on October 8th and December 10th 1872 he was still advertising the New Rush studio. He visited the goldfields at Pilgrim's Rest and Mac Mac ('Diamond News' May 9th 1874 and February 13th 1875). He also visited Lydenburg goldfields. In 1877 he set up the 'Photographic Gallery' at the corner of Church Street and van der Walt Street, Pretoria. In 1877 he photographed the Transvaal Annexation Commission at Ulundi House, Pretoria. He also photographed scenes in Pretoria during the First Boer War, these were later bound in to the limited edition (200 copies) of 'News of the Camp' (1880-81). He photographed Chief Sekukuni in 1879. Circa 1888 he made a photographic tour of the Transvaal. He returned to Europe in 1895 and his Pretoria studio was taken over by J. Perrin (Cowan 1978, pp.99-101).

Below is a small selection of photographs taken by Gros. 

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The story of the Foster Gang is one that continues to grip audiences around South Africa and the world. Below is a remarkable recollection of the saga by A.J. Hoffman, one of the detectives on the case. The piece was translated from Hoffman's book 'Op die Spoor van die Misdadiger' by his grandson Andre. Thank you to the team from Kensington Heritage for sending it through.

Before my mind's eye I see them now; Robert Foster, aka Robert Ward Jackson, the most notorious gang member in the history of South African crime; John Maxim, alias Maxwell, originally an American cowboy and Carl Mezer alias Smith the youngest of the gang and also the worst. I can still see Foster's thin face and his shaggy hair hung in tatters over his narrow forehead as I remember. His eyes were far from one another, and his lips thin and crooked. John Maxim was well built and wide, he was dark with a thick moustache. Carl Mezer was shabby and messy and there was a wild look in his eyes. He always looked a scared and pathetic figure.

As a detective my responsibilities were largely in locating native criminals, I seldom encountered murders committed by whites. But when the Foster gang was in operation, every officer was put on the trail of the bandits. I also...

To the north of Johannesburg lies a hill of great historical, archaeological and geological importance. In the article below Lilith Wynne explores the archaeological aspects of the Lone Hill site. The article first appeared in the 1988 Journal of the Sandton Historical Association, two years after Professor Revil Mason made his 'discovery'.

Right in the middle of Sandton is a site which could become an important part of our community life and a focal point of education. According to Professor Revil Mason, Director of the Archaeological Research Unit of the University of the Witwatersrand, this discovery represents one of the finest Iron Age Smelting and Forging sites in Southern Africa, and may even be the most complete.

Regrettably, the area is scheduled for town house development. Fortunately, soon after the discovery, building and development was stopped by the owner, Mr Oswald Buckner. Sponsored by the Sandton Council, the Archaeology Unit with Professor Mason and Mr Robbie Steel moved onto the site to make a detailed investigation. It soon became apparent that in Sandton we have a site of national historical importance, one that merits all efforts to preserve it.

Development around the area today (The Heritage Portal)

Excavations begin

The first excavation showed a large iron smelting area, dated by samples of charcoal to about three hundred years ago. Fragments of...

In the article below, Oscar Norwich answers the fascinating question 'When did Johannesburg first appear on a map?''. Norwich was a prolific collector of maps and his priceless collection is now held by Stanford University. He was also the long time Chairman of the old Johannesburg Historical Foundation. The article first appeared in the 1984 edition of the Foundation's journal Between the Chains.

For many years the writer of this article has been asking both in South Africa and in overseas cartographical circles, when did the name of Johannesburg first appear on a map. After some years of research, a surveyor’s plan illustrated here was found housed in the Africana (Strange) Library of the Johannesburg Public Library. A surveyor’s plan is definitely acceptable as a map. Its author was Johann Rissik, of the Surveyor-General’s office, and it is dated 15 December 1886, approximately three months after the official Government Gazette proclaiming the opening of the Witwatersrand gold-fields.

'Stad Johannesburg'

The city of Johannesburg is vital in the history of South Africa as the centre of the largest and wealthiest gold fields yet known to mankind, discovered there in 1886. The Government then in power in the Zuid-Afrikaansche-Republiek (Z.A.R.), took steps, on receiving the official news of the discovery of...

The aerial view of the old Borrowdale Farmhouse and outbuildings is truly remarkable. Today the area is dotted with established trees and multi-million rand homes so it is hard to imagine the rural landscape of the past. In the article below Valerie Gordon-Bennett shares some of her memories of growing up on Borrowdale Farm before and during the early days of Sandton. The article first appeared in the 1994 annual magazine of the Sandton Historical Association.

An aerial view of Borrowdale Farm

Borrowdale Road in River Club, Sandton, runs up from the Braamfontein Spruit to what is now Coleraine Drive. In the 1930s and 1940s, the farm of the same name -Borrowdale Farm - covered most of the ground between Coleraine Drive Ballyclare Drive, the Braamfontein Spruit and Bryanston Drive, with Bryanston on its north - nearly 200 acres.

Site of Borrowdale Farm (google maps)

The name ‘Borrowdale’ came from my great-grandfather, William Spark, who lived in the small village of that name in the Lake District, and operated a ferry on Derwent Water. His son, my grandfather, Joseph Spark, came to South Africa in 1898 and worked as an engineer on the railways. He married...

A while back we spent a few hours paging through the 1904 Minutes of the Johannesburg Town Council (still a town at that stage). It was a remarkable experience travelling back in time and imagining what life was like for people from all walks of life when Joburg was still a teenager. Below is a short selection of some ordinary and extraordinary events from 1904.

A Smallpox Scare

In mid 1904 a man named Mtumbela died of smallpox in Charlestown. This caused some panic among council officials as he was employed by a company based in Anderson Street. Urgent instructions were sent to disinfect the company’s premises and to ensure that all employees were vaccinated.

As more information emerged the chances of an outbreak seemed minimal. Mtumbela had been out of town for some time and no cases had been reported in the interim. Nevertheless, with outbreaks in the Orange River Colony and Natal happening at the time, the Council put stringent measures in place to increase the vaccination rate across the town.

Norwood Petition

The year 1904 brought good news for the residents of Orange Grove and those wishing to travel to the suburb’s famous Hotel: the Council had approved funding for the construction of a tramline. The proposed extension of the line from the Hotel to the southern boundary of Norwood was, however, rejected. Residents of Norwood were incensed and sent a petition with 80 signatures to the Council. The Council’s response to this petition and others was minuted as follows:

After...

Below is an incredibly powerful and detailed case study compiled by Dennis Radford in 1986. It looks at the restoration of 4 Anglo-African Street in Grahamstown and the creation of the Eastern Star Museum. The article was first published in Restorica, the old journal of the Simon van der Stel Foundation (today the Heritage Association of South Africa). Thank you to the University of Pretoria for giving us permission to publish.

It is widely acknowledged that one of the greatest problems concerning the conservation of architectural heritage, not only in this country but elsewhere, is the finding of a compatible new use for the historic older building. By compatible it is meant that the form, spaces and details of the old are not obliterated by the adjustments necessary for housing the new use.

The following article traces in some detail the process that was followed to ensure such a happy result. The building used as an example is No 4 Anglo-African Street, a part of a complex of buildings that originally made up the Eastern Star premises c1871 and which is now a working museum of printing. The chief purpose in presenting this information is to show how closely the principle and practice of conservation must be intertwined to ensure a satisfactory result. 

After restoration (Dennis Radford)

In early 1981, the author took...

In August 1988 an article appeared in The Star with the headline 'Sandton historians seeking facts about mystery man'. Researchers from the Sandton Historical Association (SHA) had found a neglected grave in the veld just off Sloane Street in Bryanston but knew nothing of ‘John Richard Davis, born 8th December 1876, Died at Craigieburn, 25th May 1948’. The case generated significant interest and caught the attention of Davis’ daughter Molly Steel and others who helped researchers to build a picture of Bryanston’s mystery man.

Davis grew up in Rossacarbery, County Cork in Ireland, was schooled in England and completed a Diploma in Engineering while studying in Glasgow in the 1890s. The reasons why he came to South Africa at the turn of the century are unclear but according to Steel he arrived ‘with only 6d in his pocket… and spent it on a cup of coffee!’ He worked on the mines for many years before starting a spare parts business, specialising in Austin engines, in Motortown in 1920. The same year he met and married Nora Coventry from Bergville, Natal. The couple had Molly in 1923 but separated a few years later.

By the mid 1930s Davis was a wealthy man thanks to hard work and the rapid growth of the motor industry. Along with his partner John Macrae, he established Craigieburn, a grand hunting estate located to the east of where the Bryanston CBD is today. He was active on the social scene and counted many affluent Johannesburg citizens...