Dave Baguley and Malcolm Barnfield positioning the sundial, while checking the time

The Wilds THE Wilds, consisting of 40 acres of indigenous parkland donated by Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Company in 1924, has seen a revival in the past few months, after local resident TJ de Klerk started offering guided walks. Over the past two months he has taken 1 000 people on walks in this forgotten treasure, many of those exploring the garden again for the first time in 20 years. He approached Johannesburg City Parks regarding the neglected public toilets and missing tree markers - the toilets have subsequently been given a coat of paint and new seats. About 100 tree-markers are to be placed on trees in the eastern section in the coming weeks by the Dendrological Society. In the pipeline are permanent route markers in mosaic and cement. A brochure and trail guide for The Wilds is being compiled. "Invitations have been extended to Birdlife SA and other birding associations. Tourism associations and special interest groups are also making inquiries," De Klerk says. Security Two guards are on duty at the kiosk during the day, and two guards keep an eye on things at night. Metro police oust vagrants as soon as they take up residence in the gardens. Enos Mhlanga, the chief horticulturist at The Wilds, says walkers are coming back, in addition to the usual weekend braai and wedding parties. Also, since the clearing and cleaning, the gardening team is now more inspired, says Jenny Moodley, the manager of media relations for City Parks. Future plans include replacing the defunct borehole pump so that the stone waterways can flow once again. RELATED LINKS: The not-so-wild Wilds AN INDIGENOUS garden just beyond Hillbrow - The Wilds - is just as beautiful as it has always been. All it needs is for Joburgers to re-discover it. Read more Joburg's bulbous treasure ONE OF South Africa's finest succulent collections is housed in the Johannesburg Botanic Gardens, but you will have to make an appointment to see it. Read more Visit the eagles at Wits Botanical Gardens FOUR years ago the Witswatersrand Botanical Garden had a crisis. Their magnificent Black Eagle male disappeared and it was thought that a 40-year-old breeding programme would come to an end. Read more

The sundial in place, showing 1 o'clock

Only the sunny hours on this sundial A STONEMASON and a sundial maker came to lend a hand when it was discovered that the old brass sundial in The Wilds had disappeared. May 10, 2005 By Lucille Davie A NEW sandstone sundial, which bears the inscription "I only count the sunny hours", has been installed on the pedestal of the old sundial in The Wilds in Houghton. The old brass sundial was placed in the garden in 1942, donated by R Craib of Houghton Estate. However, it disappeared some time ago. Sundial maker Malcolm Barnfield and stonemason Dave Baguley installed the beautiful stone sundial at the top north-west corner of The Wilds, on Sunday, 8 May. Armed with buckets of cement and sand, a canister of water, a rubber mallet, a spirit level and plenty of muscle power, the two men tracked the sun as they busied themselves cementing the base of the sundial - four segments of a cake - to the pedestal. These pieces were pushed a little here, pushed a little there, and then hammered with the rubber mallet. Baguley kept a careful eye on the spirit level throughout. The base in place, another layer of cement towelled on, the sundial was lifted and finally placed on top. Barnfield looked up at the sun, Baguley moved the piece of stone, and lifted up his mallet and level. Just as he was finishing the job, someone noticed that the base segments had moved, but it was almost 1pm, time to calculate exactly the angle the sundial should be positioned. "Oh, it will have to come off," said Baguley, lifting the dial. The cement was removed, the segments were re-positioned, cement was put back, and the sundial was put in place again. "We have four minutes," said Barnfield, looking up at the sun. The men worked quickly but carefully, positioning the dial for 1pm. "Twenty seconds," said Barnfield. The mallet was picked up again. "Ten seconds." They both checked the level. "That's it," said Barnfield, and the dial was in place for 1pm, the shadow just off the Roman numeral number one. It looked lovely, a beige-pink slab facing north. Baguley speculated that this could be the largest stone sundial in the country, with a diameter of 60cm. The story began after Noreen Auerbach, 83, who used to visit The Wilds with her children in the 1950s and 60s, visited again recently with her daughter, and asked after the sundial. But they could not find it - it was hidden under overgrowth at the top of the hill. The Sunday Times reported the disappearance, and the search was on. That was when local resident and unofficial custodian of The Wilds, TJ de Klerk, got involved, getting Johannesburg City Parks to clear the spot. Yet all that was found of the sundial was the stone pedestal. Barnfield spotted the The Sunday Times article, and offered to make a new sundial, free of charge. The lettering around the base of the dial harks back to an earlier plaque to former prime minister Jan Smuts, placed somewhere in The Wilds, and also missing: "Blessed too is he who learned to know the Gods of the Wilds". The new sundial is made from Naboomspruit sandstone, a particularly hard and durable stone. Baguley, a stonemason for 50 years, learnt the craft in England after WW2 when damaged buildings had to be repaired. Barnfield usually makes sundials in brass and copper, for private gardens. Originally a mechanical engineer, he developed his interest in sundials nine years ago and has made more than 2 000 dials. One of his works, made for a customer in the US, fires a canon. Examples of his work are available on his website. The sundial is alongside the reservoir on the western side of The Wilds, and above the nursery. Be prepared for a stiff climb, but the sundial and the view of Houghton and Hillbrow is worth the huffing and puffing. Permission to use web site material Publishers may use material from this site free of charge, as long as: Credit is given to either the "City of Johannesburg website (www.joburg.org.za)" or to "Johannesburg News Agency (www.joburg.org.za)"; If the article is used online, a link is provided to the original article on this website; The name of the article's author is acknowledged; The webmaster is informed of how and where the material is used (fill in this brief online form). Johannesburg News Agency is operated by BIG Media at 011-484-1400 Print this Page E-mail this article to a friend Help using Joburg.org.za