In the article below, Oscar Norwich, Johannesburg historian and collector, explores a few early gaols in Johannesburg and then reveals the history behind the Johannesburg Fort. The piece first appeared in the 1983 edition of the old Johannesburg Historical Foundation's journal 'Between the Chains'. Thank you to the Norwich family for their kind permission to publish this article.
BOOK REVIEWS
J. B. Taylor’s A Pioneer Looks Back is one of those understated memoirs that rewards careful and sympathetic reading. It is not the self-promoting autobiography of a dominant Randlord, nor a triumphalist corporate history written to secure a legacy.
BLUE PLAQUES
In 1898 a Swiss Chalet was built here for merchant Carl Rolfes. In 1906 it was bought by Randlord and MP Sir Lionel Philips, chairman of Rand Mines. His influential wife Florence founder of the Johannesburg Art Gallery and described as 'No Ordinary Women', masterminded the creation of the present Villa Arcadia with Architect Sir Herbert Baker.