September 27, 2006
By Tabisa Mntengwana
JOZI is getting ready to party and is planning a host of events for its 120th birthday. Activities across the city range from parades to exhibitions.
Celebrations kick off with an exhibition at Constitution Hill opening on 2 October; then a plaque will be placed at the Randjeslaagte beacon, 50 vintage vehicles will parade past the James Hall Transport Museum, there will be exhibitions at Museum Africa and a Mahatma Gandhi exhibition at Constitution Hill.
The Newtown Diwali Festival, now in its second year, will also mark the city's birthday.
Randjeslaagte beacon
The Randjeslaagte beacon is situated at Boundary Road on the border of Berea and Parktown. It was declared a national monument in 1965, marking the apex of a triangle, where Johannesburg was first developed after the discovery of the main gold-bearing reef in 1886.
Gold was discovered in the dusty veld by George Harrison in 1886, sparking the growth of the metropolis. The sides of the triangle, which mark the beginnings of the city, are at End, Diagonal and Commissioner streets, in the city centre. The triangle's corners in the CBD would have had beacons, but they made way for buildings.
A ceramic plaque will be placed on the Randjeslaagte beacon; it will be open to the public from 4 October.
Vintage cars dating from 1886 to 2006 will travel from Rosettenville to Nasrec to mark the city's 120th birthday
"Placing the plaque at the beacon is part of the birthday celebrations," explains Eric Itzkin, the deputy director of immovable heritage in the City's arts, culture and heritage services department. "The beacon serves as a national monument and we hope that people will go and view it."
James Hall Museum of Transport
For its celebration of the city's birthday, the James Hall Museum of Transport will hold a parade of 50 vehicles dating from 1886 to 2006. The parade will be held on Sunday, 29 October, starting from the museum. The vehicles will leave the museum at 10.15am, and travel to the Auto Africa Show at Nasrec.
From the museum, the vehicles' route is: up Rosettenville Road; right into Turf Club Street and past the Turffontein Race Course and fire station; across Klipriversberg Road towards Southdale Shopping Centre; left into Harry Street and along to Rifle Range Road; right towards Southgate Shopping Centre, passing the mall; right to Nasrec, where they are expected to arrive at 11.15am.
Museum Africa
Museum Africa will hold an exhibition showcasing the history and transformation of Johannesburg. Opening on 4 October, it will feature some of the finest historical photographs of the city, show how the city has developed and re-developed, focusing on the contrast between the present and the past. Scenes from the late 1800s and early 1900s will act as a background to explore Jozi's growth.
The photographs, meanwhile, will focus on various themes, such as commerce, labour, migrant workers, culture, arts, ethnicity and mining. The exhibition will also explore the changes made to the urban landscape over the last century, with special attention given to Market Square, which was called Library Gardens and now is Beyers Naude Square, Mary Fitzgerald Square, and the Newtown cultural precinct. Museum Africa is in the precinct.
According to a report from the department of arts, culture and heritage services, the contents of the exhibition will be related to the history curriculum for primary school learners and will be developed and presented at schools and to museum visitors.
"The exhibition will be available for viewing at the museum for the next four years," said the curator at Museum Africa, Zola Mtshiza, who hopes large numbers of people will visit it.
Constitution Hill
The Gandhi: Prisoner of Conscience exhibition, commissioned by the City of Johannesburg, opens on 2 October, which is Mahatma Ghandi's birthday.
It will focus on the years Gandhi spent in Johannesburg, where he grew from a shy and inexperienced lawyer into a political leader. There will be a special emphasis on his experiences in jail and how these affected his evolving philosophy of Satyagraha (truth force or passive resistance).
The permanent exhibition will be mounted in Number Four Prison at Constitution Hill, where he spent some of his time in jail. The display will illustrate how his time in jail affected his thinking, bringing him closer to Satyagrahis from all walks of life, as well as to African prisoners.
Gandhi was one of Number Four's most famous inmates.
Newtown
Also on the cards is the second annual Newtown Diwali Festival, on Saturday, 7 October, where Jozi's birthday celebrations will be launched. A whole range of activities is planned for the festival, from music to dance and from food to shopping and children's entertainment. Indian classical musical maestro Patrick Ngcobo and jazz musician Kunlé will perform; and dancers from the Gauteng Indian Dance Academy will set the mood for the Bollywood street party with Lotus FM DJs.
There will be an esoteric fair that will feature diviners, astrologers, numerologists and pranic healing practitioners. While some learn more about their future or are healed, shopaholics will be able to browse stalls selling home décor, Indian wear and beauty products.
Children will also be entertained – at an art workshop they will learn various art techniques, painting clay lamps and beadwork.
Elsabe Booyens, the City's marketing manager, says that the decision to celebrate Jozi's 120th birthday at the Newtown Diwali Festival is an exciting initiative.
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