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
Originally designed in 1908 as a modest single-storey home by Robert Howden, its fortunes changed when it was bought by the Hunt family, owners of Williams Hunt Chevrolet, in the late 1920s. Elegant gables were added to the northern facade, and then an additional storey. It was used as the official residence of the Dean of St Mary’s Cathedral in the 1960s and 70s, a politically-charged time for the Church.