October 11, 2002
By Sheree Russouw
LIKE many kids who grew up in the southern suburbs, my childhood is filled with memories of climbing Wemmer Pan's mine dumps. I remember the sense of adventure and exploration, and the sandy feel of the mine dump's yellow dust, which seemed to cling to my skin for days. Up there, the view of Johannesburg was striking and the city seemed to stretch out forever. Some locals still insist that it's the best view of the city for miles.
Today, the mine dump is grassed over, and even if you want to reach it, you first have to cross a new highway that separates the park from its mine dumps.
But that is not the only change - in the 1990s, people stopped going to Wemmer Pan. What was once a bustling scene of family picnics and Christmas festivals was demoted into a lot of empty space. Wemmer Pan became marked as a forgotten feature of the south, wracked by crime, vandalism and pollution.
It was also the gruesome haunt of the notorious Wemmer Pan serial killer, Cedric Maake. He is believed to have been South Africa's second-worst serial killer, and for many Joburgers, the park is synonymous with his brutal murder spree at Wemmer Pan in the late 1990s.
"All those murders, and all that crime at Wemmer Pan puts me off. I haven't been there for a couple of years but I think it has deteriorated a lot. It could be a nice spot, if it was made safe," says a former resident of the south, who did not want to be named.
But people are now steadily going back to Wemmer Pan, thanks to the efforts of the Pioneers Park Management Company. It is charged with managing the park for the next decade, and it hopes to restore it to its former glory.
"If you look at it in the last few years, Wemmer Pan was just allowed to rot. The Nationalist government stopped pumping money into the park, and the new government just forgot about it," says Neil Hodgskin, the chief executive of the company.
"I think that the worst thing for Wemmer Pan was the serial killer. It was the last straw for the public and there was no further hope for it after that. But now that's all behind us, and there has not been one crime at the pan for a long time. We have security guards now and there is a continual presence of the Metro Police. People are coming back," says Hodgskin.
Wemmer Pan, or Pioneers Park, was built at the turn of the last century to honour the city's gold barons. Soon after, its 3km expanse became a scene for family outings and people came from all over the city and beyond to watch its illuminated musical fountains. The navy built a cadet school there, and more and more, rowing enthusiasts came to the dam to muscle their way across its waters. They still do.
But the arteries of the renowned fountain, the copper cables, have been ripped out, and the musical fountain will make music no more. Sporting facilities such as the rugby and soccer fields have been invaded by weeds, and a substantial part of the infrastructure is rusting and in disrepair.
"When I went to Wemmer Pan about two years ago, I saw what a bad state it was in. I decided to approach the community and see how we could turn it around," says Hodgskin. The Wemmer Pan Forum was established, comprising 16 community members drawn from business and civic organisations in the south.
The forum members decided to form the company in March 2001; it has a 10-year mandate to manage Wemmer Pan. "The community response has been excellent. We are all passionate about the south, and Wemmer Pan is a large part of the south," says Hodgskin.
A rower skims his away across the dam Wemmer Pan
Unlike its counterparts in the northern suburbs, recreational facilities in the south have always been badly maintained and under-resourced. "There is a disparity in the facilities of the north versus those of the south. And it has got so much history, and such a melting pot of people. Desmond Tutu went to St. Martin's [a Rosettenville-based school] and a lot of the country's struggle history traces back to the south." The infamous female murderer Daisy de Melker once lived near the Turffontein Racecourse, which is opposite Wemmer Pan.
Hodgskin and his fellow committee members have not yet drawn a salary from the company, and have paid for much of the refurbishment out of their own pockets. "Nobody's given us anything. We have not received a fund from the City Council. We've raised all of our money on our own initiative. And we've paid for a lot of stuff ourselves," says Hodgskin.
An upmarket Portuguese restaurant has replaced the drug-infested nightclub, Funk, which was shut down by the City Council last year. New indigenous trees are being replanted by school children, who also take part in clean-up campaigns.
Says Hodgskin: "The park is cleaner than ever before. We've reinstated at least 15 percent of the lights that have been stolen. The grass is regularly cut. Still, some of the park has been damaged to the point that it never recovers, and some of the trees will take years to recover or they will never at all."
Lizelle Bernard, who used to live in Rosettenville, has not given up on Wemmer Pan, and says she may go back soon. "I'd go back if it was decent and clean. We used to go there a lot when I was a child. We always used to have braais there and swim in the dam. It was the best place to take our dogs for a walk. The musical fountains at Christmas time were always so beautiful to see."
But there is little hope of the return of the fountains. "I think that is the saddest part of Wemmer Pan's demise. What was once a fully functional lighting and music system is now abandoned, and has been vandalised. It was all so badly managed. It will take more than R3 million to fix up the musical fountains, and we may never recoup our losses," Hodgskin says.
As a youth-friendly alternative, the company is looking into the establishment of a skateboard park. "For a long time, we've been thinking about what would the kids in the south like to have. Now we know. They want a place of extreme sports like a skateboard park, a place where they can play soccer and beach volleyball. But we're still not ruling out bringing back the musical fountains."
Curling weeds have made their home at the now defunct Shade Cloth building, which used to showcase some of the prettiest flowers in the country. In its heyday, its annual exhibition was likened to the UK's Chelsea Flower Show. Now, Hodgkins says the building will be revamped and turned into a multi-purpose venue to host music concerts and cater for large events. "Any money that will be paid for rentals will get put back into the park. That's the most important thing. We want to create a situation where the park becomes self-funding. That's the key to making Wemmer Pan successful again."
In his youth, Hodgskin regularly swam across the dam, which is reputed to be the largest area of open water in Johannesburg. "I've seen the biggest fish pulled out of that dam. It's rich in biodiversity." The bird population is up again - a few months ago ducks were the cuisine of choice for hungry squatters. "The reed banks are flourishing. At night you can even hear the bullfrogs."
It's a pretty sight watching the willow trees swaying in the breeze, their branches dipping into the dam. For years, they have been rooted like sentries to the dam. "I wish I could work here every day. I've fallen in love with it. I've seen a tremendous and unbelievable transformation. Look at that," he says, his eyes fixed on a team of rowers skimming their way across the dam. "It is so beautiful."
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