In the article below, Jaco Mattheyse explores the history behind a well-known Krugersdorp landmark: the old Police Station on Commissioner Street. He begins by unpacking the social and political landscape of the town in the 1890s.
ARTICLES
BOOK REVIEWS
I presented this story at the Valentine's Day Johannesburg Heritage Foundation celebration on the lawns of Northwards and thought Heritage Portal readers would also enjoy this South African story of love, endurance and resilience against the backdrop of the Second World War. It was one of seven presented at this event.
BLUE PLAQUES
This marks the site where South Africa's first champion tree stood, declared in 2004. The tree was over 100 years old, with a girth of 4m, but a severe pruning in 2005 killed the tree. The giant oak was a meeting place for the community in old Sophiatown, before forced removals by the apartheid government between 1955-61.