Tshwane

The Anglo-Boer (1900-1902) Vereeniging Peace Agreement document ending the war between the Boers and the British was signed at Pretoria’s gracious Melrose House on 31 May 1902 and formally announced on 2 June 1902 in front of the Raadzaal, Pretoria. This again put the whole country under the British rule. Alfred Milner, the High Commissioner for South Africa and Governor of Transvaal and Orange River Colony was responsible for the design and execution of the policy of South Africa until 1905.

After a long process the Transvaal (December 1906) and Orange River Colony (June 1907) were awarded responsible government. Jan Smuts had negotiated the deal in Britain in December 1905. But there was a greater goal in the minds of Generals Louis Botha and Jan Smuts: unification of the whole country. “I have the fullest faith that I shall be able …. to make those two great races of South Africa one solid, united and strong race,” Botha said at the 1907 Colonial Conference in London. Between October 1908 and May 1909 the National Convention was charged with the unification of the four provinces. (There was no Black, Coloured and Indian representation). Three years later Louis Botha became South Africa’s first Prime Minister and Herbert Gladstone the Governor General.

On the 31st May 1910 South Africa was united and the Union of South Africa was born.

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In the early 2000s Intersite Property Management Services published the newspaper 'Pretoria Station Update'. The purpose of the paper was to publicise plans for the precinct and to track the restoration project which followed the tragic 2001 fire. The December 2001 issue carried a fascinating story unpacking the mystery and debate of a swastika found on the famous clock tower.

One of the most distinctive features of the Pretoria Station is its elegant clock tower, the first thing anyone notices as they drive south along Paul Kruger Street in central Pretoria. However, when restoration work began on the station a few months ago, few realised that this relatively small feature held a lot more interest than the rest of the building put together!

Pretoria Station (Heritage Portal)

The destruction of the roof by fire on 19 February allowed workers to properly reach the clock tower for the first time since construction in 1910 - one of the many opportunities arising from the disaster. Up till now, the roof structure and tiles have prevented the building of scaffolding around the tower, making cleaning and maintenance almost impossible.

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