South Africa General

Her birthplace remains a bone of contention but Charlotte Maxeke's legacy as a woman visionary is cemented in the annals of South African history. She was born Charlotte Mmakgomo Manye on 7 April 1874 in either Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape, or at Botlokwa Ga-Ramokgopa, in Polokwane District, in the Limpopo Province, South Africa.

She received a missionary education at Edwards Memorial School in the Eastern Cape in the early 1880s. After the discovery of diamonds, Maxeke moved to Kimberley with her family in 1885. While in Kimberley, she became a teacher.

As a dedicated churchgoer, Maxeke and her sister, Katie joined the African Jubilee Choir in 1891. Her singing talent attracted the attention of a Mr. K. V. Bam, a local choirmaster who was organizing an African choir to tour Europe. Charlotte’s rousing success after her first solo performance in the Kimberley Town Hall immediately resulted in her appointment to the Europe-bound choir operation of which was taken over from Mr. Bam by a European.

The group left Kimberley in early 1896 and sang to numerous enthusiastic audiences in all of the major cities of Europe. Command royal performances, including one at Queen Victoria’s 1897 Jubilee at London’s Royal Albert Hall, added to their mounting prestige.

At the conclusion of the European tour, funds were made available to tour Canada and the United States. The results were the same, packed concert halls and delighted audiences, hearing the unique harmony of an African choir and Charlotte’s unforgettable solos, for the first time...

The old saying that “Good walls make for good neighbours” has been taken to heart in Johannesburg, where high walls have sprung up where once there were only low diamond mesh fences and hedges to keep the children and pets from straying onto the road.

A boundary wall (which is freestanding) is built to serve a number of purposes that including security, privacy and spatial division. A fence will serve the same purposes, but tends to be less durable and long lived, owing to the materials generally used; namely thin timber planks or wire diamond mesh, whereas walls are associated with brick, stone or concrete (both pre-cast and insitu).

When a boundary wall is built it hides from view the house it protects, this is a great pity especially if the house has architectural or historical significance. It also restricts the view out for the occupants; such is the way many choose to live in the 21st century, enclaved behind those high walls.

When it comes to building a boundary wall there are several considerations, starting with the planning and whether or not you wish to do it yourself or employ a building contractor. No matter which option is chosen it is important to determine the height of the wall, where it needs to be built and what the material of construction will be. Part K of the National Building Regulations (SANS 10400) lays down the rules for wall construction. Should the wall be less than 1.8 metres high it is considered...

Limit State Design shares the same acronym – LSD with the psychedelic drug Lysergic (Acid) Diathylamide, the “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” of the Beatles, even if John and Paul denied the association. Likewise more than a few Structural Engineers that studied in the “Swinging Sixties” are in denial over the merits of LSD, a design philosophy at variance with the time honoured pre-computer age method of ASD – Allowable Stress Design.

The term Limit State merely indicates a boundary condition beyond which the whole structure or an element thereof is considered to be no longer fit for purpose. This may arise in many ways but the principal Limit States to be considered are firstly one of Ultimate Strength and secondly of Serviceability. In the former we are concerned with the maximum loading capacity of the structure (at imminent collapse) – the Ultimate Limit State. In the case of the latter we are concerned more about the appearance of the structure; not only damage to finishes and the durability of the shell but also the detrimental effects on occupants should large deflections or deformations take place. These definitions are those of the structural engineer, whereas an owner or a developer may have his own views and it may well be acceptable for a building to have reached its “Limit” and be ready for redevelopment long before its structural fabric has deteriorated; as was often the case in the Johannesburg CBD when buildings were torn down after only a few...

We are very excited to publish this detailed article on the life and achievements of Sir William Hoy. The piece was compiled by Dr Robin Lee of the Hermanus Historical Society (click here to view details of the important work carried out by the society). Main image - Hoy's home in Parktown (Wanooka).

“He stopped the railway coming to Hermanus…” - almost every resident of the town knows this much about Sir William Hoy, and many visitors know it too. Perhaps slightly fewer know that he and his wife are buried on the crown of Hoy’s Koppie, because it was his favourite place to sit in the late afternoon, to survey Walker Bay and plan the next day’s fishing with his ghillie, Danie Woensdreght.

Hoys Koppie (Hermanus History Society)

But William Hoy had a life outside Hermanus that renders his actions about the railway to Hermanus an insignificant part of his life’s story. From his base in the Cape Railways and, later, South African Railways and Harbours (SAR&H) he was drawn into some of the major events of the first 30 years of the 20th century.

In this research report I will first give an overview of his career and then explain his involvement in the following historical developments:

• Organising and often personally undertaking repair of railway lines destroyed by...

The zenith of long distance passenger travel by train world wide was during the period between the two World Wars (1919 to 1939) thereafter there was increasing competition from other modes of transport, notably the airliner and the motor vehicle (utilising modern road infrastructure), which led to a rapid decline in patronage for rail travel. At the ending of the Second World War (1945) there was a large surplus of Douglas Dakota twin engine aircraft that were sold off at bargain prices, this effectively kick started the modern airline industry.

One hundred years ago aviation had literally only just got off the ground and was at an early stage of development and road infrastructure was poor and not fit for long distance travel, thus the railway was the main carrier of freight and passengers.

The discovery of gold along the Witwatersrand (the “Rand”) in 1886 completely eclipsed Kimberley and the boom town beside the diggings, to be called Johannesburg became the driving force behind the South African economy, even before political union in 1910. The old saying “All Roads lead to Rome” could well be corrupted to “All Railways lead to the Rand” such was Johannesburg’s importance (click here for more details). Its geographic position on the Highveld, far inland meant that transport corridors from the coastal ports were quickly implemented, the most important being the main railway line coming up from Cape Town. The Cape Government Railways (CGR) had already pursued a policy of building railways towards...

Present day Southern Africa has inherited its railway gauge from a bygone era of 142 years ago, when in 1873 the decision was made to reduce the gauge from 4’-8½” to 3’-6”, when the Cape Government Railways (CGR) planned its extension from Wellington to Worcester for the reasons why see “Ox Wagon to Iron Horse” - click here to view. The extension was the first phase of a railway line that would finally link Cape Town with the diamond fields of Kimberley, the latter being reached by 1885; the year before the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand.

The purpose of constructing the railway line was two fold, firstly to speed up the journey to and from Kimberley and secondly to transport heavy goods and its building became the impetus for the laying of more tracks from the ports to the interior. The CGR led the way in railway construction right up until the end of the 19th century and strongly influenced its neighbours, Natal and the Boer Republics, in their choice of gauge; as a break in gauge would have had negative logistical and economic consequences, as was to be the case in Australia where each state chose a different gauge, which thus precluded through running.

Cecil John Rhodes had in common with his contemporaries John D. Rockefeller (oil), J.P. Morgan (banking) and Andrew Carnegie (steel) the desire to build a business empire. When Rhodes became the Prime Minister of the Cape in 1890 (he had been the...

In 1996, George Zondagh, then Chief Architect at the Department of Public Works, set out a few ideas about the role of the Department in heritage preservation. Although some parts of the article are out of date, many of the key principles are just as relevant today as they were two decades ago. The article first appeared in Restorica, the joural of the Simon van der Stel Foundation (today the Heritage Association of South Africa). Thank you to the University of Pretoria (copyright holders) for giving us permision to publish.

Not only must state buildings be properly maintained and conserved, but they must be promoted as part of the bringing together of this nation, so that a new future can be forged out of yesterday's heritage. Whether it is recognised or not, this is the only heritage we have. We must build on it, refine it and put it to such use that those who will come after us will be grateful for the generation of today. 

Although South Africa's history does not date to antiquity, the country has a noble heritage in the buildings built through the years. Time is mentioned to put into perceptive how long the Department of Public Works has been about.

Since the building of the Castle in Cape Town after Jan van Riebeeck had landed there, Public Works, not quite in its current guise, has provided and commissioned public buildings for many clients and users. This does make Public Works the oldest Government Department in...

Born in Palermo on 1st October 1910, Giuseppe Maniscalco was one of a large family of 8 children. After the sudden death of his father, his mother was unable to support the children alone and therefore decided to leave Palermo and travelled to family and friends in Trapani. With the consent of Giuseppe's mother, the children were split up and were adopted by other friends and relatives.

Giuseppe decided he would like to live with his uncle, Rizzuto Noncencio, who had a farm near Casablanca, in Morocco. His uncle traded in mules and horses, introducing stallions from the Abda and Chianda areas of Morocco, to improve the strain of Sicilian horses. All went well with Giuseppe until one day he had a traumatising experience involving the foreman, Mr. Poleo, who was unsuccessfully herding some animals into an enclosure. Frustrated, he told Giuseppe to stand at the main gate, waving his arms while he herded them in from behind. The animals stampeded towards him and he took fright and ran away. He hid in the bush and was rescued by 2 Arabs on camels who took him to their village. He spent a week with them, not understanding anything they said.

As no one had come to try and find him from his uncle's farm, he decided to run away again and made his way to the farm of Mr Pietro Mazzara, a Sicilian who had been farming in Morocco for many years. This family adopted Giuseppe and soon he was...

Last month we published an article from the Restorica archives where the author spoke about the power of excursions to heritage sites to inspire the youth (click here to read). We are sure most readers can remember at least one phenomenal trip during their childhood that has left an impact to this day. Over the last few weeks we have been sent some wonderful stories and photographs of recent adventures.

The stand out submission came from Holly Muggeridge from Riverview Prep School in Malalane. Teachers from the school arranged a visit for Grade 4 and 5 pupils to the landmark Samora Machel Monument and Museum near Mbuzini (commemorating the air crash that killed the Mozambican President, top government officials and Soviet airmen in 1986). Muggeridge was so moved by the experience and the explanation of the Monument’s design and symbolism that as soon as she arrived home she set about building a scale model. This was not part of an assignment set by teachers but a spontaneous reaction to what she had seen and felt on the trip. She also experimented with various sounds for a video recreating the wailing sound that the Monument makes when the wind blows (architect José Forjaz placed small holes in the steel tubes to create this sound). If this wasn’t enough Muggeridge turned from artist and director to journalist, recording how her fellow students had experienced the outing. It is truly amazing to see how the excursion acted as a catalyst for a creative explosion...

On 28 April 2016, Benedict Wallet Vilikazi was honoured with the prestigious Order of Ikhamanga. This National Award recognises the profound impact Vilikazi had on South African literature. In the article below Veronica Klipp from Wits University Press traces the life and achievements of this South African icon.

Benedict Wallet Vilakazi has been called the “Father of Nguni Literature”. He was born on 6 January, 1906 at Groutville Mission Station near Stanger in KwaZulu-Natal. The poet grew up in the neighbourhood of the mission station and in 1912 entered the primary school at Groutville, remaining there until he reached Standard 4. He continued his schooling at Marianhill, the Roman Catholic Monastery outside Durban, and after reaching standard 6, took a teacher’s training course.

Vilakazi’s gifts and ambitions came to the fore when he attended the Catholic Seminary at Ixopo in KwaZulu-Natal, where he devoted much of his spare time to distance education. He succeeded in matriculating, after which he taught at the Ohlange Institute in Phoenix near Durban. In 1934 he attained a Bachelor of Arts degree in African Studies. At the time, Vilakazi was already known to academics at the University of the Witwatersrand, which was in the process of publishing his first book of poems, Inkondlo kaZulu (tr: Zulu Horizons). This was the first book of poems ever published in isiZulu; it also marked the launch of the newly established Bantu (later: African) Treasury Series (published by Wits University Press), a collection of 20 classic works written between 1935...