December 15, 2004
By Lucille Davie
THE City is to commemorate the forced removals of Sophiatown residents at the end of February 2005.
While various commemorative events have been held since 2002, this more formal, solemn event, to be held on 25 February, will pay tribute to the approximately 65 000 people affected. The residents were forcefully removed from 9 February 1955 until 1963, and dumped in box houses in Meadowlands, Soweto.
Sophiatown - a portion of the farm Waterval, bought in 1897 by Hermann Tobiansky to be developed as a suburb for whites - was established in 1904. But before 1913 blacks had freehold rights and they bought properties in the suburb. By the 1920s the whites had moved out, leaving behind a vibrant community of blacks, coloureds, Indians and Chinese. When the suburb was flattened in the 1960s it was again occupied by whites, and renamed Triomf. Today it is a mixed suburb once more, comprising mostly working class people.
It is envisaged that invitations will be sent to senior politicians in national, provincial and local governments, representatives from foreign embassies, as well as representatives from District Six in Cape Town, Lady Selbourne near Pretoria, Fietas and Albertville in Johannesburg. These townships also underwent forced removals during apartheid.
It is anticipated that the event will take place at St Joseph's Home for orphans, in Good Street. The home, now a national monument, was one of the few buildings in the area to have survived the demolitions. Others are the Christ the King Church, past ANC president Dr Alfred Bitini Xuma's house in 73 Toby Street, and 33 Toby Street, a house believed to have belonged to a prominent Indian family.
Preliminary arrangements include music by the Soweto String Quartet, poetry reading by Don Mattera, a former resident of Sophiatown, recollections of Good Street by singer Thandie Klaasen, and a keynote address by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Representatives from other demolished townships will exchange messages of peace, with the ceremony concluding with a candlelit procession to the top of the koppie behind St Joseph's Home.
A budget of R100 000 - supplied by Region 4, the area within which Sophiatown falls - has been allocated for the event.
Meanwhile, plans are afoot to recognise Sophiatown's heritage, in the Sophiatown Heritage Precinct plan, which aims to unearth historical remnants of the former community.
The plan recommends several measures to tap into the memories of the historic suburb: an orientation centre, a memorial garden, a heritage trail, interpretative boards, gateways to demarcate the suburb, a museum and community centre, and archaeological diggings.
Once funding has been obtained, the first steps - signboards and gateways, archaeological studies and rudimentary displays - will be in place for the February ceremony.
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