September 17, 2004
By Lucille Davie
CURIOUS about where all the rubble from the Sophiatown demolitions ended up? Most of it was removed, but some of it remains, hidden under mounds of grass in open lots, or dumped at the edge of the Melville ridge, just below the police flats in the suburb.
The Sophiatown Heritage Precinct plan will allow Joburgers and tourists a look at this and many interesting remnants of the vibrant community who were forcefully removed to Soweto in the 1950s and '60s. The suburb was flattened and rebuilt to house working class white residents, and given a new name: Triomf.
SiteSolutions, together with Crea8 Architects, were given the brief to consider whether there were any signs of the "popular memory" of Sophiatown left, and what to do to commemorate these memories.
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.
It was found that there are several reminders of the previous "physical environment" belonging to the community who lived in overcrowded, slum conditions in the small suburb.
Four buildings were left untouched when the suburb was levelled: The Christ the King Anglican Church in Ray Street; Dr Alfred Xuma's house in Toby Road, and several blocks down from this house, a house belonging, it is believed, to a prominent Indian family, also in Toby Road and known as the pink house; and St Joseph's Home in Hermans Street, a home for orphans.
Remnants
Other traces of the day-to-day existence of former residents, have been found:
- an open space associated with Sophiatown and referred to as Freedom Square, located beneath a school playing field alongside the Christ the King Church, and used for political meetings
- kerb stones in Good Street, as well as markings of pavement recesses, denoting entrances to properties
- a mutilated but surviving oak tree at 8 Bertha Street
- grass mounds in the open space opposite the commercial centre in Edward Street, indicating remnants of remaining rubble
- indentations, some now footpaths in the same area, possibly demarcating where Tucker Street used to be but now used as parkland
- dumped rubble on the empty stand adjoining Christ the King church, together with trees, and a nearby telephone pole. Rubble is also visible in the two open stands in Gibson Road and along the edge of a rock face overlooking Albert's Farm, west of the police flats
- telephone poles along Hermans Street, the boundary road of the original Sophiatown
- an archaeological site consisting of "surface scatter of cultural material" (crockery, tins and bottles) on the open ground on the corner of Millar and Milner streets
- kerbing in Bernard Street, beyond the boundary of Sophiatown, but outside the St Francis Xavier Catholic Church and opposite a nunnery dating from around 1929, both possibly used by Sophiatown residents. This suggests that demolition took place beyond the boundaries of Sophiatown as well.
People living in the remains of houses (Photo by Paul Singleton)
Recommendations
In order to make use of these remnants, the plan proposes that a heritage walking trail be formulated, with the aid of signboards. The trail would start in an existing vacant building in the commercial hub, which belongs to the City
Other recommendations include creating a memorial garden, planted with trees and shrubs, on the corner of Edward and Millar streets, directly opposite the present commercial centre on Edward Street. An archaeological process of uncovering the historic imprint - the original foundations of a section of houses - will form an outdoor memorial exhibit. Linked to this would be an outdoor interpretation display containing photographic material, explanations and a map of contemporary and historic Sophiatown.
A similar archaeological dig in Gold and Good streets would reveal evidence of entranceways and foundations of sections of houses.
An outdoor interpretation point near the Trevor Huddleston grave and memorial, around the back of the Christ the King Church, together with a remembrance garden on the vacant plot of land adjoining the church, is also recommended.
Another proposal suggests turning St Joseph's home into a museum and community centre, especially with a training centre for the disadvantaged, while establishing an oral history programme to record memories of former residents. The present garden would be landscaped to form a community space.
Gateways would be erected on Millar, Thornton and Coronation streets. Artistic billboards and distinctive signage, supported by printed maps and brochures, would be produced. Original construction materials that characterised historic Sophiatown, like brick types, corrugated metal, street signs and street lighting, will be used for this purpose.
The plan proposes too that the 63-year-old mural in the Christ the King church, presently hidden under whitewash, be restored.
Dr Xuma's house and the pink house should be signposted with explanatory boards indicating their significance. The pink house should be purchased by the City and used for heritage promotion programmes or as a tourist facility. Interpretative signage should also appear on the telephone poles and trees in Herman Street.
The plan also suggests the undertaking of an oral history research project, a complete landscape audit linked to an archaeological project and an archival research project. In addition, an inventory of all archives should be compiled, including an inventory of the physical landscape, to be plotted on to the City's GIS system.
The plan has been approved by the City and the next step is to find the funding. Application has been made to the National Lotteries Board, for an initial R3-million, to erect signboards and gateways, conduct archaeological studies and put up rudimentary displays by February 2005 - to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the first removals in 1955.
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