The Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust

‘At last we have an update which comes to us from Nikki Brink who is the Project Consultant for the Johannesburg Property Company.

The total cost for the re-development of the RSPO is estimated at R350 000 000.00 (three hundred and fifty million rand). Only approximately R36 000 000.00 (thirty six million rand) of the above costs is currently funded via the insurance payout.

It was proposed that funding for the redevelopment be secured from private sector parties. In support of this proposal JPC called for “Expression of Interest” (EOI) in the redevelopment and lease of the property. The call was advertised and closed on 27 June 2011. Only 1 (one) EOI was received. The EOI was evaluated on 20 October 2011…..

The qualifying bidder who submitted an EOI was issued the Request for Proposal (RFP) document on 28 November 2011. The RFP closed on 6 February 2012 and their proposal was received today. The bid will be evaluation during the course of February 2012.

The insurance settlement offer has not been accepted as yet and can only be accepted or declined by the JPC after having evaluated the proposal. Therefore no money has been paid to the JPC as yet. The insurance company has spent R16 million to date on first phase. The cost has been astronomical as the contract followed the instructions of the Heritage Architect/Consultant appointed who ensured that the integrity of the Heritage building was kept sound.”

The astronomical costs are being blamed on the specifications of the Heritage Architect. We have to support what he demanded i.e. that they clean the site and start with the roof and put the right roof on from the beginning. Our quarrel is with the Insurance company which hasn’t funded the roofing of the clock-tower.

Most fortunately both Mlungisi Shongwe and Brian Mahlungu of the Johannesburg Property Company joined Flo Bird on Heritage Today to explain the progress being made on the restoration programme. Mlungisi denied vehemently that the site had been abandoned. There were still a few workers engaged in tidying up and finishing off Phase 1. He also assured Flo that the site was properly guarded night and day.

They were at paints to point out that they had had one proposal from the private sector which needed to be evaluated alongside the interest from the City for using it as the office of the Executive Mayor. Brian welcomed ideas, help and advice from the community especially the heritage specialists. He even suggested getting heritage specialists to train apprentices on the job. While we are definitely very short of artisans and craftsmen to handle heritage buildings, Flo did not think the Rissik Street Post Office was a good place to start practising skills. But if there are specialists out there who would be interested it would be worth speaking to the heritage architect in charge.
One suggestion she wanted to make was that the ground floor which was designed to people in and out of the post office should retain its accessibility and perhaps the Mayor would be willing to set aside a time when he was open to people coming in with ideas, complaints or queries. Open Government.
The question of the unroofed clock tower was raised. Mlungisi answered that the insurance company was refusing to cover these costs.
Flo asked the gentlemen to convey the message to Alexander Forbes , responsible for the insurance, in no uncertain terms. ‘STOP QUIBBLING. This is the rainy season. Just do you public duty to the people of Johannesburg and ensure clock tower is roofed NOW. I am going to haunt you till you do and I hope there are many other Joburg people who will not let Alexander Forbes forget their responsibility for saving our clocktower. “
Now everyone. Get tweeting! Spread the word. We want Alexander Forbes to roof the clocktower before Christmas.
Flo Bird

Tuesday 20th September 2011
Message from Mlungisi Shongwe of Jhb Property Company

PHASE 2
We have received one expression of interest from the private sector. Moreover, City’s leadership is deliberating on alternate funding and future use of the Rissik Street Post Office. The Rissik Street Post Office is on the agenda and within planning radar of the City’s leadership.

No surprise that the private sector isn’t jumping at the chance to pay for the restoration.
Good news is that City of Johannesburg is considering using it. It is no secret that we the stakeholders want it for the Office of the Executive Mayor. So think on chaps. It has the right stature and you are rapidly running out of space at the Metro Centre. Move the Mayor and EXCO out and you can move the desperately squeezed Building Plans section in! Over 1 million plans have to be stored there in various basements. Let the Plans breathe and give our Mayor a building in the heart of the city.
Flo Bird

Mlungisi Shongwe
Executive Manager: Stakeholder Management
City of Joburg Property Company SOC Ltd
Tel: +27 11 339 2700 Ext (177)
Fax: +27 11 339 2727
Cell:+27 84 5552436
Email: MShongwe@jhbproperty.co.za
Website: www.jhbproperty.co.za

The total cost for the re-development of the Rissik Street Post Office (RSPO) is estimated at R350 000 000.00 (three hundred and fifty million rand). The indicative reserve amount to be covered by the insurer is R35 000 000.00 (thirty five million rand) which amount is still subject to confirmation once the Bills of Quantities have been completed by the Quantity Surveyor. During the clearing and salvaging phase of the project the insurer has already expended almost R10 000 000.00 of the insurance cover which would leave about R25 000 000.00 of the insured amount for use towards the re-development phase. Over and above the R25 000 000.00 which is likely to be received from the insurer the COJ will be required to raise approximately R325 000 000.00 for the re-development of the RSPO.
JPC is in the process of evaluating and adjudicating all the proposals from interested parties. In this regard the successful bidder would be expected raise the total capital required to fund the re-development of the RSPO. This is a lengthy process that will require time, patience and partnership from all stakeholders.
We are committed to preserving and maintaining the heritage status of the RSPO building.
Message from Flo: Wow! The Insurance Company is only paying out one Tenth of estimated costs. What more could one expect from a bunch of sharks. That’s the best Alexander Forbes can offer the people of Johannesburg.
Flo Bird

RISSIK STREET POST OFFICE RESTORATION WATCH
Despite repeated e-mails and phone calls to senior staff oft the Johannesburg Property Company there is no reply.
Work seems to have come to halt and we suspect funds have run out. That is outrageous since the City of Johannesburg undertook to restore the building they had so disgracefully neglected. Lurking somewhere in the background is an insurance company which is no doubt quibbling and writhing around to escape restoring Joburg’s heritage.
Why JPC hasn’t the guts to explain their dilemma we don’t know, but there are sources they should investigate. Surely even the Lotto would consider the Rissik Street Post Office as important as a Youth Festival?
It is interesting that the Property Company insisted on having the glory of restoring the Post Office instead of the Johannesburg Development Agency.
JDA restored Constitution Hill, the Governor’s House, the Hillbrow Recreation Centre and Chancellor House so perhaps they would have been able to find the funding.
So thumbs down to the Johannesburg Property Company for refusing to explain the position.

RISSIK STREET POST OFFICE RESTORATION WATCH: 19 JULY 2011
From Kululwa Muthwa
The site inspection was conducted on Friday afternoon and the team was satisfied with the quality of work done by the roof contractor. The Principal Agent will issue a letter to the contractor at the project meeting today confirming that all roof works are complete. Photos were taken and we will forward you these as soon as they have been downloaded.
Regards the Call for Expressions of Interest (tender) which closed on June 27 2011 we are in the process of setting up an evaluation committee meeting. The committee will evaluate the bids received and take a decision on the way forward.

Tuesday 12th July RISSIK STREET POST OFFICE RESTORATION WATCH
Message from Kululwa on last week’s progress:

The inspection of internal beam fill cladding, external eaves fascia remedial works and internal timber handrails for the roof truss walkway will be done this morning after the project meeting. The roof inspection was not done last week as the Roof Contractor requested an opportunity to do a final snag list to make sure all details are properly checked for a possible roof works final inspection this Friday the 15.07.2011.

The final decision and confirmation of the final inspection will be made at the project team meeting today but is targeted to be this coming Friday.

Good news once again. Last week must have bee bitterly cold for the workmen up there but the roof is nearing completion. Not sure what has happened to the downpipes.

Tuesday 5th July
This news came in too late for announcement on Heritage Today but hopefully everyone else will carry this report sent to Kululwa and which she was only able to pass on to us after meeting she was attending.
An update on progress of works, the ridge cappings are complete, the team is currently working on Beam Fill which should be done on Thursday 07.07.2011. Please note tomorrow at the project team meeting we will confirm whether we can have a final Roof approval inspection on Friday 08.07.2011.

Tuesday 28 June RISSIK STREET POST OFFICE RESTORATION WATCH.
This message from the project manager, Kululwa Muthwa:
The workers are on site and the roof installation project is on track.
The gutters are in place on all sides, the team is still awaiting approval for the down pipes from the PHRA-G and currently working on beam filling which should be complete by end of this week.
We are not just calling for possible tenants but rather for proposals for the re-development and leasing of the building. The intention is that the successful bidder would invest in the building and be given a long term lease to amortize the capital outlay over the life of the lease. At this stage we do not have an approved budget for the building.

TUESDAY 14TH JUNE:
Feedback on the project is as follows:
Last week: the team worked on putting up ridge cappings, valleys, insulation boards, corrugated sheeting and box gutter on Market Street. This week the team should finish putting up Ridge cappings, Valley’s and the box gutters on Market Street
Message from Flo: I have seen the shiny new roof with all the sheeting on. Progress will be less visible for a week or two while they deal with the items Kululwa has listed for us, but work is certainly proceeding.
Meanwhile Brian Mahlangu has issued a press release for prospective tenants. You will only need R350 million….

Restoration Watch Tuesday 7th June 2011
Despite reminders by e-mail and phone calls there has been no information from the Johannesburg Property Company as to what work was completed last week and what work is scheduled for the week to come.

RISSIK STREET POST OFFICE RESTORATION WATCH TUESDAY 31ST MAY
Message from Kululwa Muthwa, project manager:

The work that we started last week continues for this week as well as it was work planned for 2 weeks. This week we are finalizing the activities that we started last week being as follows:

Erecting of timber walkway between trusses.
Installation of insulation.
Completion of eaves.
Installation of gutters.
Installation of roof sheeting.
Painting of gutters.
Prepare walls to receive flashings

RISSIK STREET POST OFFICE WATCH TUESDAY 24TH MAY 2011
Message from Kalulwa Muthwa, our project manager on this most important heritage site
The activities that are planned for this week are:

Erecting of timber walkway between trusses.
Installation of insulation.
Completion of eaves.
Installation of gutters.
Installation of roof sheeting.
Painting of gutters.
Prepare walls to receive flashings.

TUESDAY 17TH MAY 2011
Message from Brian Mahlangu of Johannesburg Property Company.
We are certainly making progress on the project as the roof and insulation sheeting was lifted, and out of 22 lifts of sheeting required we were able to lift 19 with the outstanding being done this week.
At last the old walls will be protected from the rain and hail which is coming so unseasonably. We’ll be putting the photographs Brian has promised on the websites and Facebook when we receive these.
Flo Bird

Tuesday 10th May Rissik Street Post Office Restoration Watch
The message from our project manager, Kululwa Muthwa, reads
The roof sheeting is scheduled to go up this weekend.
We are currently attending to finalising the gutters design and paint this week.
That means all the work has been completed fixing the roof trusses and securing the timbers. Shiny new sheeting should be catching the sunlight by next week. With the example of Chancellor House now successfully restored the City of Johannesburg is getting into gear.
Hooray!
Flo Bird

The lifting of trusses on Market Street side was completed and now all the roof trusses have been lifted.
This week the project focuses on erecting and bracing the roof on section lifted over the weekend which will be completed on 06 May 2011 due to JRA refusing to grant a wayleave to close off Rissik Street on Saturdays.
Installation of eaves detail plus gutters & downpipes also commences this week.
Thank goodness the weather held on Sunday or the lifting of the trusses from Market Street could not have been done.

Tuesday 12th April 2011.
Message from Kululwa Muthwa
The work scheduled for the past weekend went ahead without a glitch and we are on track for lifting the last set of roof trusses on Sunday the 17th April 2011.
The Contractor appointed for roof installation is Trencon and Ecotruss are sub-contracted by them. I think that praise is due to the entire team starting with Motsepe Architects right through to the sub-contractor.
Great News and we just need the coming weekend to be dry and the project will be a but ahead for fixing the corrugated roof sheeting.

Tuesday 5th April 2011
The work proceeds apace despite the fearful thunderstorm, driving rain and hail on Sunday. Go past and you’ll see the trusses have reached the tower. Kululwa reports on progress:
The next set of roof trusses are up and the contractor managed to execute all the work that was planned for this past weekend amid the rain. The project is on track and we are lifting the next set of roof trusses this coming Saturday and Sunday, that is if we manage to get way leave from JRA to close off Rissik Street (between President & Market streets). It was touch and go last week until Friday with the team worried that we would not be able to work on Saturday as we could not get approval from JRA to close the remaining lanes on Rissik Street and we managed to get permission from the JDA to use their way leave at the last minute. Whilst our arrangement with JDA is still in place for the coming weekend this arrangement can only stand if the JDA project has not progressed such that putting cranes for lifting the trusses on the closed lanes would cause damage to any work that the JDA would have done during the course of the week. In the event that the JDA concession can no longer be obtained and the JRA still not granting the way leave to close the remaining 2 lanes on Rissik street then we will be forced to work only on Sunday and lift the rest of the trusses planned for this coming Saturday on Sunday of the following week.
So let us all hope that the JDA work will allow Kululwa’s team to work both days. And congratulations to the chaps on top.

SUNDAY 27TH MARCH
GREAT NEWS: THE ROOF TRUSSES ARE BEING HOISTED ONTO THE NORTH WING.
Fanuel Motsepe, restoration architect for the project, phoned to say the first of the roof trusses was being installed today! I drove straight into town to see this magic sight. There was the crane all set to go and the end trusses were being assembled together to ensure they were stable while free standing so that the others could be linked to that unit. Hopefully, because the weather held, the north wing trusses were all hoisted today. The hoisting has to be done on a Sunday because they have to close the street off to do the work. Today it was President Street. During the week the trusses will be made fast and if all goes well in three weeks time they will be able to put on the roof sheeting.
So we are hoping that by mid-May the roof will be in place.
I know I’m two days early with the report , but I was so excited I couldn’t wait to tell everyone.

Meanwhile, if you see anything going on at this precious heritage building e-mail me on flo.bird@parktownheritage.co.za or respond on Facebook.

It is our building and our heritage. We are here to cheer Kululwe, Fanuel, Herbert and all the consultants and construction team right to the finish line. Next week we will publish the names of the team so far.

Special Mention goes to Brian Mahlangu, PR and Media Officer for Johannesburg Property Company. He answered my invitation to come on the talk show and recognised the public’s right to be kept informed. Thanks, Brian, you have earned an accolade as an RSPO Hero.
Flo Bird

STOP PRESS: Message from Kululwa
Dear Flo;
You will be pleased to hear that the shop drawings were approved by Herbet Prins on the 28th Feb and stamped by PHRA-G on the 1st March. I have been advised this morning that the contractor commenced with erecting scaffolding yesterday and I am planning to go on site during the course of the day to verify this.
Regards;

I am very suspicious of the Property Company. I am sure that the scaffolding was erected to keep people like us quiet. The cost of keeping the scaffolding there unused is huge and it is completely wasted. If the project were properly programmed and managed, the scaffolding would not be erected before it is needed.

The post office project feels very piece meal. I think that the scaffolding is more of a token to keep us quiet than an actual commitment to the thorough restoration of the building unfortunately.

Tuesday 22nd March
A sad day because this is the first time we have no progress to report. No reply from Kululwa and Brian Mahlangu is reproachful because he feels I shouldn’t be attacking the contractor for failing to provide the revised schedules as promised to Kululwa the week before last.
So the scaffolding is still there forlornly waiting for action.
Nothing to report so someone is slacking or someone simply isn’t telling us if there is good news. Not all action has to be visible.

The house destroyed by fire in Bloemfontein. A tramp apparently set it ablaze unwittingly, but most conveniently getting rid of an old building which the Free State Department of Education did not want to retain.

RISSIK STREET [POST OFFICE – NO ACTION AND NO ANSWERS FROM JHB PROPERTY COMPANY AND ANOTHER HISTORICAL BUILDING IS REDUCED TO ASHES

Thank you for your enquiry. Unfortunately I have very sad news for you. The house that belonged to Wolff Ehrlich in Bloemfontein burnt down during the early hours of Sunday morning. Only the skeleton is still standing. Apparently a tramp lighted a candle which started the fire.

The old houses that surrounded the Ehrlich house was demolished in 2007, but the permit committee of Heritage Free State (the Provincial Heritage Resources Agency or PHRA) refused permission for the demolition of Thüringen House since it was a house with both architectural and historical significance.

The Department of Education demolished the other old houses in the vicinity with the purpose to build a new office complex for the provincial Education Department. They were issued a permit by Free State Heritage on condition that Thüringen House was conserved and restored and used as part of the new complex. Building of the new office complex however, never commenced and Thüringen House was left empty by the Education Department.

Free State Heritage wrote a letter to the provincial Department of Public Works (the owners of the house) in 2010 to notify them that the house must be locked and restored, but no action was taken. Copies of the letter were also send to the premier of the Free State and the MEC of the provincial Department of Arts and Culture, but still no action was taken. Tramps were still allowed to stay in the house and now it had been burned down.

For what it’s worth now, I supply a little bit of information on the Ehrlich House.

I did not do a lot of research on the history of the house, but as far as I know, it was built in the 1890’s and Wolff Ehrlich was the original owner of the house. It was therefore especially built for him and his family. Wolff Ehrlich was a German Jew who settled in Bloemfontein in 1877 as a trader and shop owner. He was a member of the Bloemfontein City Council and was Mayor of Bloemfontein during 1906, 1907 and 1911/1912 and was a community leader in Bloemfontein. He was also elected as President of the Jewish congregation in Bloemfontein and was the first President of the united South African Jewish Board. He was later appointed as Senator of the National Party and died in Bloemfontein on 5 July 1924.

Ehrlich called his house Thüringen, after his birthplace in Germany, but the site was also known by the locals as “The Erf” due to the large erf (stand) it was situated on between Elizabeth and Charles streets. This house, built from red bricks and a corrugated iron roof, with it’s many chimneys and irregular roof patterns that reflected the light from different angles, was typical of the Free State architecture of the Late Republican (1890-1900) (or Late Victorian) era. The red bricks were later whitewashed and painted white.

Apparently the sisters of the Anglican mission stayed in this house after Ehrlich’s death and it was also used as school hostel of St. Michael’s School, as you know. Later on it was used as offices for the Department of Education and the interior of the house was changed. Inhabitants of Bloemfontein also called it the “Spookhuis” or Ghost House, as apparently paranormal activity were experienced by occupants of the house.

So it’s very sad that just the day before you enquired about the house, it was burnt down and it is a terrible loss to Bloemfontein. I took a lot of documentation photo’s of the house, both of the inside and outside in 2007, and at least have that on record. The original plans of the house are also being conserved by Free State Heritage.

Kultuurhistorikus \ Cultural Historian
Departement Geskiedenis\ Department of History
Nasionale Museum \ National Museum
Posbus 266 \ PO Box 266
Bloemfontein
9300

Our purple glory. Parktown, Parkview and Westcliff all enjoy these lovely foreign beauties. They are very much part of the legacy we enjoy so much in “The Parks”. So please help in looking after the trees as is suggested in a letter from Aurelia James who lives in Wexford Avenue.

We all inherited and love these beautiful trees on our pavements and in our gardens. Some of these trees are more than 50 years old. Please help us to care for your trees and give them a longer life.

Termites

Red sand on the bark of your Trees : wash this down with a hosepipe using strong pressure.
Spray afterwards with diluted sunlight liquid. This will irritate the ants.
Dilute ‘die-ant’ with water and pour around the base of the tree.
Repeat this after a few months if you still see ants

Ivy in and around your Trees : remove all ivy climbing up the trees and clear around the base of the trees. You should be able to see the large roots extending from the tree. Remove all paving around the trees. Rot will set in under ivy or paving and eventually your tree will DIE.

Take note of the foliage on your trees – this is an indication that the tree is suffering. This can be rectified but in some cases it is now too late. If you note a mushroom type of fungus on the trees – remove immediately. Please take advice on these and any other problems.

If you would like any further professional advice please phone Neil from

Scheduled for destruction in the week of 25th October in fact it was on the 6th November that the 72 London Plane Trees and two gums were chopped down. The day before their execution a small group

paid tribute to the trees by tying black bands around each doomed tree. For nearly 74 years they have lavished shade and oxygen on pedestrians and pupils at the schools along Empire Road – Parktown Boys High, Helpmekaar, Rand Girls and Parktown Public School. In the short stretch between Jan Smuts and Joubert Street every tree will be felled for the widening of the road to accommodate the BRT. In all the public meetings we accepted the need for the improved public transport, but we tried to find a way for some of the trees to be saved. We were promised plane trees to replace those we are losing. We were promised a decent landscaping budget so that pedestrians would have trees and some space between themselves and the cars.

Foolishly we believed the sweet talk. TAKE A LOOK AT KINGSWAY THROUGH AUCKLAND PARK. No space for pedestrians, three paving blocks and then you topple into the road, NO STREET TREES AT ALL AND NO SPACE TO PLANT THEM.

So we said goodbye and thank you to our trees and we reminded the City of Johannesburg that street trees belong to the community not to the Johannesburg Roads Agency or Johannesburg City Parks.

The trees were planted in Empire Road for the Empire Exhibition. They afforded us a lovely green heritage, shade when we were hot and cleaner air to breathe.

We will miss them and expect to be invited to plant the next generation of plane. We are not xenophobic about trees any more than we are about people, Just look around you and count how many exotic trees create the world’s biggest man-made forest where no trees are endemic.

Scheduled for destruction in the week of 25th October are 72 London Plane Trees and two blue gums. The day before their execution a small group paid tribute to the trees by tying black bands around each doomed tree. For nearly 74 years they have lavished shade and oxygen on pedestrians and pupils at the schools along Empire Road – Parktown Boys High, Helpmekaar, Rand Girls and Parktown Public School. In the short stretch between Jan Smuts and Joubert Street every tree will be felled for the widening of the road to accommodate the BRT.

Time for a quarterly update on heritage conservation in Johannesburg. The Rissik Street Post Office remains foremost and the heritage organisations have agreed now to take legal action. We understand that the City has been paid the insurance, but only sufficient to return it to the state it was in before the fire. That is completely unacceptable. It has to be restored and adapted for a new use, preferably by the Gauteng Provincial Legislature.

The really good news is that the Johannesburg Development Agency has taken action on Chancellor House, evicted the squatters and is now intending to expropriate the property so that it can be restored. We are looking forward to a tour of Ferreirasdorp which does not have to begin with showing visitors the disgusting state of an inconic building thanks to the greed of the owners, the total inertia of the heritage authorities and of the City of Johannesburg. One of them has taken action and to its great credit it has accepted responsibility and done something. SAHRA and PHRAG have sat on their rear ends doing absolutely nothing.

But it would also be good news if our Fire Services reacted faster. Perhaps they could go back to the old system of a lookout tower. That way fire at the Post Office would have been attended to a lot earlier. And we are not forgetting the fires at the Drill Hall, the fire at the Marshall Street Charge office – nothing has been done about that building. Public Works Department probably hasn’t found it on its inventory. Not surprisingly it was the JDA which restored the Prison Governor’s house after that fire.

The Barbican is looking wonderful which makes the Rissik Street Post Office an even sorrier sight. Old Mutual finally got around to doing something right in the City Centre.

In Parktown the restoration of WANOOKA is complete and once the St Andrew’s Road widening is completed many more people will get a chance to see it and note how magnificent the old house looks against the black glass backdrop of the new KPMG building. The heritage report drew attention to the fact that the garden had been raised to the level of the veranda, burying the steps. Impendulo architect Brendan Hunkin agreed that it should be lowered exposing the steps and stone foundations. It has made an enormous difference to the sense of space and grandeur. It truly looks like the home of the General manager of South African Railways. Wanooka was built as a single storey bungalow by a Canadian Mountie who had volunteered for the Anglo Boer war, ridden from cape Town to Johannesburg, but when they reached the Rand all the engineers were used to get the service op[erating and Captain Greenwood was put in charge of railways. After the war he was joined by his wife and their sons, but she died in 1908 and he returned to Canada. The house was taken over by Central South African Railways which became SAR & H and suitably enlarged to accommodate the general Manager.

The brick arches have been exposed though some have been painted where the cost of cleaning the bricks was too high and there were also arches made with concrete bricks. The landscaping has been designed to allow functions to spill out under the great pine tree and the house separated entirely from the modern building/. These all contribute to a creating a heritage gateway into the Parktown office node. It just needs our blue plaque which has to be repaired or remade to complete the work. We’ll include Wanooka on a tour after the World Cup.

Please don’t forget to pay your subscriptions which are now due. We are always most grateful for donations because the work we do covers so much more than the tours, the research and even the school tours. This is a very active heritage body and we need money for professional fees when we have found no other way of getting action.

But we are also contributing to the restoration of Lindfield in Auckland Park and have made a big difference to the old Parktown Convent Buildings where the painting is nearing completion. The funds we had voted for St Alban’s in Ferreirasdorp have not been used because we have had no answer from the Dean of the Cathedral which is in charge of St Albans. This has to be a co-operative project as we simply cannot hope to make an impression on the desperate need for gutters and downpipes. The cost of erecting the scaffolding alone would wipe out our contribution.

Scheduled for destruction in the week of 25^th October are 72 London Plane Trees and two blue gums. The day before their execution a small group paid tribute to the trees by tying black bands around each doomed tree. For nearly 74 years they have lavished shade and oxygen on pedestrians and pupils at the schools along Empire Road – Parktown Boys High, Helpmekaar, Rand Girls and Parktown Public School. In the short stretch between Jan Smuts and Joubert Street every tree will be felled for the widening of the road to accommodate the BRT. In all the public meetings we accepted the need for the improved public transport, but we tried to find a way for some of the trees to be saved. We were promised plane trees to replace those we are losing. We were promised a decent landscaping budget so that pedestrians would have trees and some space between themselves and the cars.

So today we said goodbye and thank you to our trees and we reminded the City of Johannesburg that street trees belong to the community not to the Johannesburg Roads Agency or Johannesburg City Parks. Parks.

The trees were planted in Empire Road for the Empire Exhibition. They afforded us a lovely green heritage, shade when we were hot and cleaner air to breathe.

We will miss them and expect to be invited to plant the next generation of plane trees.

“The HHP will be developed as a centre, firmly rooted in the community, that is an internationally recognised focal point for innovation in research, training and the provision of health care and community development services”.

After many years, this exciting vision is currently in the process of becoming a tangible reality. On Saturday 18^th September 2010 we had the opportunity to experience the Hillbrow Health Precinct first hand. Professor Helen Rees of the Reproductive Health and HIV Research Unit (RHRU) of the University of the Witwatersrand helped lead thirty people of our Parktown Westcliff Heritage Trust tour group around the area.

Inspirational in that the RHRU is one of the major role players in the re-development of the Hillbrow Health Precinct (HHP), an area on the borders of Hillbrow bounded by Kotze and Rissik streets to the north, Joubert Street to the west, Smit Street to the south and Klein Street to the east – a partner who is persevering and actioning the dreams into reality.

As a result of various efforts by the parties, significant upgrading of the HHP has occurred, and important research, community engagement programmes, and health services have been undertaken at, or on offer from, the HHP.

The RHRU relocated to the HHP, and has seen substantial and significant growth as on organisation. Through its various programmes, it has made a major financial contribution to both physical upgrading programmes (the Hugh Solomon Building, the ARV Clinic, the research facility, the removal of asbestos buildings on the site), while at the same time growing the number of clinics it serves, its community based and specialist programmes and its role in innovation and incubation. This work has been done in collaboration with both the City of Johannesburg and the Provincial Department of Health as measures to concretise the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the three parties in 2002.

Provincial government completed and operationalised a new Community Health Centre, and has staffed the new ARV Clinic established at the site. In addition, it has made various buildings (such as the Hugh Solomon Building) available for re-development.

Through these interventions, there has been substantial growth of the numbers of people using the Precinct and a significant number of health related NGOs are now located in the Precinct. The establishment of the community care centre has been a major accomplishment.

Various volunteer programmes – involving university students, community members, and overseas volunteers - have been developed and implemented.

Training programmes – again involving students and community members – are run at the HHP and service learning placements are offered. Job creation and skills development programmes help address the high levels of poverty in the adjacent community of Hillbrow.

As a result, the HHP is becoming a nationally and internationally recognised site of excellence in clinical and community based research and development.

Important CSI partners (Vodacom Foundation Altron and Altech) are participating as funders in respect of the Centre for Specialised Services as part of the Hillbrow Health Precinct. The partner institutions have agreed to establish a centre for maternal, child and other specialised health services so as to support the South African government in the implementation of the Comprehensive HIV & AIDS Care, Management and Treatment Plan, the National Strategic Plan, and health systems in general. The RHRU is managing the process of building refurbishment on behalf of the Gauteng Department of Health and the agreement is such that Building # 47 – the old Van Niekerk Operating Theatre Building, just west of the Hugh Solomon Building – is being made available for this purpose. This refurbishment is currently being considered by the Provincial Heritage Resource Agency and it is expected that due to the integrity, sensitivity and innovation shown in the scheme, that this will be looked upon positively.

Frustrating...?...as notwithstanding these positive changes, there are a number of pressing issues that need to be addressed. Safety (and perceptions thereof) remains an important concern for users and workers. The quality of the environment (filth and waste in every unmanaged corner), and the lack of hospitality, convenience retail and formal and informal networking spaces results in an experience of the place that is less than satisfactory.

Particularly serious is the extent of slumming both within the precinct in government buildings and in the surrounding areas. The importance of the precinct as one of Johannesburg’s premier heritage nodes remains at risk as many buildings are left to further degrade and degenerate. The RHRU has plans in the making for recycling and re-use of three further buildings and together with the University of Witwatersrand, City of Johannesburg and Provincial Department of Health are making meaningful inroads into precinct upgrade.

This is one of the good news stories – our heritage sites are being cherished – it’s not doom and gloom everywhere!

Co - Ordinator: Hillbrow Health Precinct
Reproductive Health and HIV Research Unit, University of the Witwatersrand,

IMPERIAL DEMOLISHES HERITAGE BUILDINGS

OPEN LETTER TO THE MEDIA - JANUARY 2008

RE: IMPERIAL GROUP (PTY) LTD SMASHES THE RAND STEAM LAUNDRIES HERITAGE BUILDINGS TO SMITHEREENS IN DEFIANCE OF PROVISIONAL DECLARATION AND CONTINUES IN DEFIANCE OF A STOP ORDER

Imperial Group (Pty) Ltd and/or its agents have violated the National Heritage Resources Act and demolished a large number of protected buildings. A stop order was issued and they continued to violate the act and ignore the heritage authority, they destroyed the remaining buildings and removed materials from the site. We are demanding that the authorities show “Zero Tolerance” to these powerful offenders.

In defiance of the declaration by the M.E.C. Barbara Creecy of the Rand Steam laundries as a provisional Provincial Heritage Site, Daniel Coetzee of D.E.M.O.B. Demolishers started stripping the buildings of roof sheeting and other metal. On 9th January 2008 Flo Bird warned Coetzee that this was illegal and he referred her to Dean Merridew of Imperial Group (PTY) Ltd who told her that he had a demolition permit from the City of Johannesburg. The City of Johannesburg does not out rank the Province and Merridew was informed that he needed a permit from PHRAG – the Provincial Heritage Resources Authority of Gauteng. Bird asked Merridew to instruct the demolisher to stop the work and he did so while she was on site.

On Thursday 10th January on the direct instructions of Dean Merridew the same demolisher, Daniel Coetzee, brought in huge mechanical equipment with instructions to destroy the buildings. The grab pulled over the walls then drove back and forth across the rubble crushing the bricks, splintering the Oregon pine and twisting any metal in its path. Whatever survived was lifted and dashed down repeatedly until it too was crumpled and useless.

Flo Bird, William Gaul and Henry Paine of Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust witnessed the wilful destruction. Efforts to halt proceedings by calling Mr Daniel Coetzee and Dean Merridew proved fruitless. Finally, Grant Botha, an official from PHRAG, arrived to deliver a stop order. There was no one of sufficient seniority to receive it on site, but Botha spoke to Merridew on the cellphone and notified him that he would fax the order through to him as the representative of Imperial and that a charge would be laid at the Brixton Police station the next day.

At that stage the buildings on the corner of Napier Road and Barry Hertzog Avenue, the filtration tower and part of the one laundry shed were still standing.

Grant Botha of PHRA-G laid the charge against Mr Dean Merridew of Imperial at the Brixton Police station. Case No 220/01/2008 on Friday 11th January and the Stop Order was sent to Merridew by fax.

In outright and continued defiance of the National Heritage Resources Act and presumably acting under instructions from senior authorities of Imperial Group, Merridew sent the bulldozers and TGB’s back in on Saturday and Sunday morning when the cottages under the oaks were then destroyed.

All of us readily complain about crime, but when we see a big corporate violate the law it brings into question just how serious we are about ridding our country of that scourge.

All we as a small group of heritage enthusiasts asked was that Imperial Group (Pty) Ltd uphold the law of the nation, the National Heritage Resources Act, and follow due process. This they have failed to do.

Imperial Group (Pty) Ltd has demonstrated its contempt for the law, for the heritage of Johannesburg for due process and for the people of Johannesburg.

We ask the authorities to prosecute the offenders. We require that, rather than imposing a fine, the offenders be instructed to reinstate all the buildings and the site be retained as a heritage site for generations to come.

Flo Bird                       Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust
William Martinson    Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust
William John Gaul    Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust
Fiona Coleman         Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust
Henry Paine               Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust
Herbert Prins             Egoli Heritage Trust
Geoffrey Klass           Parktown Association
Paul Jenkins              Westcliff Residents Association
Duncan Gibbon         Chairman, Parkview Residents Association
Steve Roulet
Nathalie Pencrech    architect
Kekeletos Maile
Sarah Calburn           architect
Jason Frenkel           architect
Clement Leseka
Lucy Maifala
Jill Hunter

Welcome to the first edition of the Johannesburg Heritage Journal – the first, we hope, of many editions.

The Journal is intended to provide a forum for the research that undoubtedly is undertaken into many facets of Johannesburg's – and the Witwatersrand's – rich history. It has come about because it was realized that no regular publication on this history and heritage exists. The political powers-that-be are less than enthusiastic in their approach to heritage: one only has to consider the depredation of our heritage fabric that occurs almost daily, with impunity. The Top Star Mine dump, mining head gear, the Rand Steam Laundry buildings, and, of course, one of the oldest buildings in Johannesburg, the Post Office in Rissik Street, are examples which spring all too readily to mind of our heritage being laid to waste . History is no longer considered a subject worthy of teaching in public schools – instead, some watered down version of "social studies" is presented in place of a discipline which has long been central in education at all levels.

Rather than being too negative, though, it was thought that something – albeit small - could be done to counter the gloom – and this journal is the outcome.

We are very proud and privileged to include in our introductory edition an article by Mike Alfred on the life and times of a man who was, almost single-handedly, responsible for the survival of Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand mines as the British closed in on the town in May 1900 … read about the life and times of Dr FET Krause.

Our first edition also includes a report on some of the prominent personalities laid to rest in the Brixton Jewish Cemetery – important, because the now dwindling Jewish community played such a vital role in early Johannesburg and beyond. An article on a little-known builder, Alfred Hoheisen, records some of his early life and work in Braamfontein and Yeoville, and also relates the fascinating tale of how this artisan, albeit indirectly, became the founder of the famous Delheim Estate in the Cape.

A third article focuses on the life of a middle-class Johannesburg family in the early part of the last century. Margaret Barry, in the preface to her charming album, Magnates & Mansions, writes: "This album is but a small portion of the large mosaic of social life in early Johannesburg … Hopefully, many other vignettes will be written about early residents and their families, with descriptions of their homes and other things important to their way of life." This article represents just such a vignette. So much has been written on the doings of the super-rich Randlords, and since writers such as van Onselen and Callinicos have shed abundant light on the trials and tribulations of the poor in the early years; it is quite refreshing to read of a family who, fresh from England, were able to adapt to life on the Rand without changing too radically their English ways and outlook.

We are also proud to publish an enlightening article on one of the few heritage sites in Sandton – Norscot Manor. This was written by the late Avril Reid, and traces the history of the Eriksen family in greater Johannesburg.

We look forward to the contributions our readers will surely make to the Johannesburg Heritage Journal. Please don't hesitate to submit your story, research or even brief anecdote on the history of Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand.

Follow this link to read up on an article by Neil Fraser - Partner of Neil Fraser & Associates

Laundry Lamentations

RAND STEAM LAUNDRIES, RICHMOND, JOHANNESBURG

Heritage report prepared by the Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust. March, 2006.

Stand Numbers: 32, 33,34,35,36, Portion1 and RE of 37, 225, 185,186,187,188,189
Street Address: 27-37 Napier Road
Township: Richmond
District: Johannesburg
Introduction: Running through the west end of Parktown and of Richmond are two streams; the Braamfontein Spruit and the Gas Works Spruit. The existence of a reliable, constant supply of potable and good quality water was very important for a number of industries, particularly laundry. The Zulu washermen, the AmaWasha, worked on the Braamfontein Spruit in a section which is now covered by the German School. Close by, and, much to the chagrin of the township owner of Parktown, the Braamfontein Company was the land owned by Louw Geldenhuys who likewise had a wash site which he leased to the washermen.

Up until 1899 the Gezondheitskommittee which administered Johannesburg repeatedly tried to get the AmaWasha closed. The Braamfontein Company opposed this, not out of the kindness of their hearts or concern for the Zulu washermen, but because of the rents received from the washermen and the company’s refusal to recognise the jurisdiction of the municipality over their private land. In 1897 which had been a really bad year because so many of the washermen had returned to Natal due to the political upheavals (Jameson Raid) they had taken 805 Pounds and sixpence.

Presumably Mr Geldenhuys has been doing at least as well from his site in Richmond. It was Lady Dunbar, however, who took over the battle of the washermen, persuading them to accept registration as her employees to avoid the forced removal to Klipspruit. The struggle on the Sans Souci site ended in April 1902 when they were finally evicted by Milner’s Town Council.

Professor van Onselen says the Sans Souci and the Auckland Park wash sites were the oldest of all the wash sites in Johannesburg, and that they had been in use since 1890.

The majority of residents of Johannesburg were working men living in lodging houses or sharing rooms. With no wives to do their washing, little time or space to do their own, they had little choice but to make use of the washermen and subsequently of the steam laundries.

The survival of the laundry buildings in Richmond is a memento of the social history of early mining days and also a reminder of the reliance of mining town on the natural streams of the Witwatersrand.

RAND STEAM LAUNDRIES

The name comes from the amalgamation of two laundries viz. the smaller Palace Steam Laundries (originally the Auckland Park Steam Laundry and re-floated in 1898 as the Palace Steam Laundry) and the Crystal Spring or “American” Laundry. The American Laundry was in financial difficulty and as Nelson who owned the Palace Steam Laundry, was already substantial shareholder, it was proposed that the he take over the bigger operation and that the two be run jointly under the name of the Rand Steam Laundries. This took place in July 1902.

Frank O Nelson, a laundryman from Chicago claimed to have established the first steam laundry on the Rand at the Robinson Mine. He built his home on part of the Rand Steam Laundries site. The building Plans say on stand 32, but the Valuation Roll lists him as an owner on Stands 37 and 38 with a fairly substantial house. The 1916 advertisement shows a twin gabled house facing Park Road on the land he owned. Designed by the architect Bertram Avery, it was a double-storey, attached to a unit containing a shop facing Richmond Road (now Napier Road) with lodging rooms above.

The road or lane which ran from Stanley Avenue to the edge of the property was named Nelson Terrace, presumably in deference to the laundry-master.

The Rand Steam Laundries were the biggest laundry operation in South Africa. The Union Castle line would rail its laundry to the RLS every week and there were depots in a number of centres.

An advertisement in South African Who’s Who in Business 1919 / 1920 has this description.

The housing for white workers would have been superior in size and location, probably the picturesque gabled cottages fronting Napier Road with its oak trees. It is possible that the cottages for coloured (originally Malay) workers was the serried row of smaller dwelling units, west of Nelson’s Terrace, but contained within the site with an exit into Park Road.

Both sets of accommodation have survived recognisably as originally residential although altered and very badly maintained. The gabled cottages are used mainly for storage by a metal worker, while serried row are in even worse condition and are used by a furniture maker. The walls between the cottages have all been broken through to create a single extended space, stepping down at each level. Their small gardens are piled high with old timber.

The original accommodation for black workers has not been identified during site visits, but a 1916 sketch in an advertisement shows a “Native Compound.” A remnant of that building might remain. The site needs to be fully investigated.

A large pepper tree is probably indicative of the location of the stables and farrier’s shed as pepper trees were always planted near stables to keep the flies away.

Mr. Amoils Senior acquired the property in 1946 and the laundry was later run by his son until it closed in 1962.

The original laundry buildings – washing and ironing as well as the dyeing and dry-cleaning sections are still standing. Mr Amoils pointed to section where soap was made. The boilers have gone as well as all the laundry equipment

The impressive chimneys on their corrugated iron roofs indicate the use of steam. They are striking buildings both inside and out, underlining the industrial character of the site and also the use of steam which was once the major power source in Johannesburg, operating the mines as well as manufacturing industries.

There is a large round tower where the bore-hole water was filtered to soften and purify it further.

Since 1962 the property has been used by a number of light industrial companies, mainly furniture makers and repairers with the occasional artist. In modern parlance it is a “hive” with tenants of every colour and creed.

Rand Steam Laundries Napier Road 1928 with mule carts ready for deliveries
RSL0012

Rand Steam Laundries 2006 viewed from Napier Road

Demolition In Progress

Torn apart as we watched. 10th Jan - Utterly destroyed on Thursday 10th Jan

Park Road cottages obliterated 10th Jan - On Friday 11th these buildings were still standing

NEWSFLASH!!!

IMPERIAL DEMOLISHES HERITAGE BUILDINGS

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

UPDATE

Letter to those who have supported our petition.

Many thanks for your support especially those of you sent the letter on to friends and organizations.
I apologise for the delay in getting back to you, but we are not really experts on computers. I have been writing to heritage organizations in South Africa and internationally because this cannot have been the first case of a developer smashing everything down to obtain a greenfields site. It would be most interesting to know what precedents exist and if there have been other convictions. We do have a precedent in South Africa.
We were horrified to read of the little church demolished in Kwa-Zulu Natal over Christmas. Recently one of the few surviving homes in Fietas was demolished without a permit.
SO WE HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT IMPERIAL DOES NOT SET A PRECEDENT FOR DISPOSING OF OUR NATION’S HERITAGE BY IGNORING THE NATIONAL HERITAGE RESOURCES ACT.
We need your help. Please follow up on friends to ensure they have signed the petition. They don’t have to know how to sign, just send a message to RSL@parktown.heritage.co.za saying they support the petition. Please TALK ABOUT IT. Don’t be scared to bore your friends with repetition. At least you’ll be talking of a different crime at the dinner table.
Ask The Star why it is has ignored the subject. At least two reporters have worked on the story yet not a peep out of a Jo’burg daily which used to be so concerned about our heritage. The Citizen, Business Day and Die Beeld have covered it as well as the Mail and Guardian, Sunday Independent and even a tiny contribution from the Sunday Times. Radio stations have been most supportive and followed up on the story led by Radio 702.
In case you haven’t got back to our website or the Facebook Page here is an update.
Monday 11 February Meeting with Tak Hiemstra of Imperial:
Flo Bird, Herbert Prins (Egoli Heritage Trust and Johannesburg Heritage Trust) and William Gaul (PWHT) met Mr. Hiemstra at his at his request.
It was not a happy encounter as he felt the Board members of Imperial were being maligned and we felt the Board members could not escape responsibility for the actions of their employees, Carsten and Merridew.
Mr. Hiemstra insisted that Mr. Carstens had acted entirely on his own authority and on the instructions of the Johannesburg building inspector. He could not explain why Imperial had not checked immediately with the Heritage Authority when they received the instruction from the building inspector dated 15 November to demolish the buildings. In October Imperial had received a notice from PHRAG of its intention to make the provisional declaration permanent and inviting the owner’s comments. On 8 November Carstens wrote to PHRAG on behalf of Imperial objecting to the declaration. It could hardly have slipped his mind that he had recently received notice of its further protection for 6 months after receipt of the PHRAG letter. Nor could Mr. Hiemstra explain why Carstens’ respect for authority did not extend to obeying the Stop Orders issued by PHRAG and the City of Johannesburg on Friday 11th January. At that stage there were a number of buildings still standing including the Napier Road cottages.
He insisted that Imperial had obeyed an instruction from the Building Inspector out of concern for public safety. The demolition cost R1,2 million. Why did not they simply repair the security fence and prevent anyone from entering the site?
He provided us with a copy of the letter from a professional engineer Mr. BG McLintock of BSM BAKER who said he had undertaken an extensive inspection of the site. It states that “The buildings on the site are generally in a state of disrepair and in our opinion are a structural risk.”

Tuesday 12th February
Mr. Hiemstra wrote to Flo Bird in a more conciliatory tone, proposing an architect be employed to suggest a solution which would give proper recognition to both the historic importance and the current requirements of the site.
He also asked that we stop our high profile media campaign against Imperial, observing that some of the points made by people at the meeting had been untrue.
Over the next two days we considered our response.
Thursday 14
We replied to Mr. Hiemstra that we would be prepared to negotiate a win-win solution as he had suggested, and that we would halt the adversarial comment temporarily, but that we could not discuss the future of the site while they were trying to sell it.
Friday 15th February
Mr. Hiemstra replied that they could not stop trying to find a buyer since there was good deal of capital tied up in the site, but they would certainly inform the buyer of the cultural sensitivity of the site.
It is true that at our meeting Mr. Hiemstra said that towards the end of last year they had not obtained approval for the franchise they had planned there and the site was therefore no longer needed which is why they had tried to sell it.
We cannot accept Imperial’s attempt to divest themselves of responsibility by selling the property. Their attitude is incomprehensible.
There has been no further communication with Imperial.
SUPPORTING THE POLICE INVESTIGATION
We are not idle. We are ensuring that the people who witnessed it and had any interaction with the demolishers are submitting sworn affidavits. Those of you who live near to the site and can testify until what hours the demolition work proceeded are asked to get in touch if you are willing and able to submit an affidavit.
We need to compile a list of the tenants who were give notice last year. We would like to know what reasons were given them and the conditions of the buildings they occupied.
So please send us any information you feel will contribute to the case.
WE WANT A CONVICTION AND WE WANT OUR HERITAGE BUILDINGS REINSTATED.
We ALSO WANT THE DEMOLISHER DEMOB, WHO UNDERTOOK THE WORK KNOWING IMPERIAL HAD NOT OBTAINED A PERMIT FROM PHRAG CHARGED AND PUNISHED AS PROVIDED BY THE ACT.
Please keep a watch on the site and if you see any changes let us know. It is being fenced which was a requirement of the City of Johannesburg.

Flo Bird

PROTEST ON 7TH FEBRUARY REPORT BACK

Thank you to all the people who came to hold a banner, sign a petition and greet the passing motorists who hooted their agreement.

Through Councillor Sharon Sabbagh we were told that the demonstration was illegal because we had not completed the right form. Our letter sent with Councillor Sabbagh to the meeting of the JMPD on 29 January had been acceptable at the area meeting, but on the morning of 7th February someone had noticed that we had not completed the correct form in terms of the Gatherings Act.

So when we arrived the site banners furled and only 5 of us inspecting the pavement we were not really surprised to see two vehicles of JMPD waiting around the corner, just beyond the trees Surprisingly they disappeared just a minute before 4 o’clock and we duly sent 15 banner holders out to face the traffic. They never returned and more people arrived, some with placards, all ready to take their place in the line. It was a pleasure to find heritage friends arriving from Parktown, Westcliff, Parkview, Auckland Park and Houghton. The architectural students from Wits provided a lively and much younger component. Richmond residents appeared to support us, several folk from Emmarentia and Melville. Most people had watched the demolition with sorrow and outrage. Three ward councilors held banners aloft and an ex-councillor wittily protested “Dirty Work”.

Thank you everyone and special thanks to the media although they kept me on edge because they were throwing the numbers of our legal demonstration out and I had vowed we would uphold the law.

Felicity who organised the banners, Millan who painted the lettering and my husband who found the broomsticks gave invaluable support. Geoff Klass agreed to be my deputy and share the responsibility if supporters stepped out of line. Vera organized the petitions.

UPDATE ON RAND STEAM LAUNDRIES

On Monday 11 February Meeting with Tak Hiemstra of Imperial:

Flo Bird, Herbert Prins (Egoli Heritage Trust) and William Gaul (PWHT) met Mr. Hiemstra at his at his request.

It was not a happy encounter as he felt the Board members of Imperial were being maligned and we felt the Board members could not escape the responsibility for the actions of their employees.

Mr. Hiemstra insisted that Mr. Carstens had acted entirely on his own authority and on the instructions of the Johannesburg building inspector. He could not explain why Imperial had not checked first with the Heritage Authority when they received the instruction from the building inspector dated 15 November to demolish the buildings. In October Imperial had received a notice from PHRAG of its intention to make the provisional declaration permanent and inviting the owner’s comments. On 8 November Mr. Carstens wrote to PHRAG on behalf of Imperial objecting to the declaration. It could hardly have slipped Mr. Carstens mind that he had recently received notice of its further protection for 6 months after receipt of the PHRAG letter. Nor could Mr. Hiemstra explain why Mr. Carstens’ respect for authority did not extend to obeying the Stop Orders issued by PHRAG and the City of Johannesburg on Friday 11th January. At that stage there were a number of buildings still standing including the Napier Road cottages.

He insisted that Imperial had obeyed an instruction from the Building Inspector out of concern for public safety. The demolition cost R1,2 million. Why did not they simply repair the security fence and prevent anyone from entering the site?

He provided us with a copy of the letter from a professional engineer Mr. BG McLintock of BSM BAKER who said he had undertaken an extensive inspection of the site. It states that “The buildings on the site are generally in a state of disrepair and in our opinion are a structural risk.”

Tuesday 12th February

Mr. Hiemstra wrote to Flo Bird in a more conciliatory tone, proposing an architect be employed to suggest a solution which would give proper recognition to both the historic importance and the current requirements of the site.

He also asked that we stop our high profile media campaign against Imperial, observing that some of the points made by people h\at the meeting had been untrue.

Over the next two days Flo Bird discussed the letter and response with the people involved in the mounting the protest.

Thursday 14

We replied to Mr. Hiemstra that we would be prepared to negotiate a win-win solution as he had suggested, and that we would halt the adversarial comment temporarily, but that we could not discuss the future of the site while they were trying to sell it.

Friday 15th February

Mr. Hiemstra replied that they could not stop trying to find a buyer since there was good deal of capital tied up in the site, but they would certainly inform the buyer of the cultural sensitivity of the site.

It is true that at our meeting Mr. Hiemstra said that towards the end of last year they had not obtained approval for the franchise they had planned there and the site was therefore no longer needed which is why they had tried to sell it.

GAS WORKS SPRUIT

The spruit has been canalised and covered for the upper reaches so there is no evidence left here of an early wash site. For that it was essential to have pools and rocks. These certainly existed on the Braamfontein Spruit close by until it too was destroyed in 1979 and the equivalent outcrops with small waterfalls must have existed on the Gas Works Spruit owned by Mr Louw Geldenhuys, although not within 50 yards of the former, as the Braamfontein Company claimed.

The present use of the property for light industrial and manufacturing is unauthorised. The properties were zoned residential in terms of the Johannesburg Town Planning Scheme of 1946, but the Rand Steam Laundries would have operated under an existing use right.

The proposed new use according to articles in the press (see Rosebank Killarney Gazette issued 7 March 2006) is for motor car showrooms.

This is incompatible with the retention of the many significant heritage buildings on the site and certainly adds no value to the revival in Richmond / Milpark of higher density housing mixed with small offices and retail use.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANCE:
These were the observations and conclusions of the Joint Plans Committee after the visit to the site in October 2005.

At its meeting on 10 February 2006 the Board of Management resolved to submit a report to PHRAG and apply for the provisional declaration of the site in order to protect it during the time of transition. Its size makes a Heritage Impact Assessment essential before it can be rezoned and this study would no doubt support the points made above and resolve the questions of where other important elements were located.

This decision was strongly supported by of a group of members of the Trust on 4th March who visited the site as part of a tour of Parktown West-Richmond. The Trust has also received a number of enquiries regarding the future of the buildings so the concern is wider than was realised.

References:
Bodman, W North Flowing Rivers of the Witwatersrand
Callinicos, Luli Working Life 1886-1940 Ravan Press, Johannesburg. 1987
City of Johannesburg: Valuation Rolls 1904-1925
Building Plans
Clifford, Jacques All washed up: Rosebank Killarney Gazette: Week ending 10 March 2006.
Friends of the Johannesburg Art Gallery: Artists at Home: Mbongeni Richman
Buthelezi: Newsletter January 2004
Macmillan, Allister The Golden City W. H. & L Collingridge Ltd,
London c1936
Smith, Anna H. Johannesburg Street Names Juta & Company, Johannesburg, 1971.
Van Onselen, Charles: Studies in the Social and Economic History of the Witwatersrand
1886-1914 Vol 2 New Nineveh Ravan Press, Johannesburg, 1982.

Johannesburg Heritage

PROTECTING OUR HERITAGE AND ENVIRONMENT

IMPERIAL DEMOLISHES HERITAGE BUILDINGS

OPEN LETTER TO THE MEDIA - JANUARY 2008

Follow this link to read up on an article by Neil Fraser - Partner of Neil Fraser & Associates

Laundry Lamentations

RAND STEAM LAUNDRIES, RICHMOND, JOHANNESBURG

Heritage report prepared by the Parktown and Westcliff Heritage Trust. March, 2006.

RAND STEAM LAUNDRIES

Rand Steam Laundries Napier Road 1928 with mule carts ready for deliveries

Rand Steam Laundries 2006 viewed from Napier Road

Demolition In Progress

Torn apart as we watched. 10th Jan - Utterly destroyed on Thursday 10th Jan

Park Road cottages obliterated 10th Jan - On Friday 11th these buildings were still standing

NEWSFLASH!!!

IMPERIAL DEMOLISHES HERITAGE BUILDINGS

CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS

UPDATE

Letter to those who have supported our petition.

Flo Bird

PROTEST ON 7TH FEBRUARY REPORT BACK

UPDATE ON RAND STEAM LAUNDRIES

On Monday 11 February Meeting with Tak Hiemstra of Imperial:

Flo Bird, Herbert Prins (Egoli Heritage Trust) and William Gaul (PWHT) met Mr. Hiemstra at his at his request.

Tuesday 12th February

Thursday 14

Friday 15th February

GAS WORKS SPRUIT