MY
GAUTRAIN RAMBLES
While using Gautrain transport on a daily commute, I noticed how some
of the stations are close to interesting areas worth exploring. Instead of
zooming past or jumping on a bus, I did a bit of rambling about. This is a blog
of what I saw and learnt on my walks through those areas - or at least, some of
what I saw.
PART ONE
PARK
My ramble from PARK STATION started by first walking all the way
through the station for real trains (and long-distance buses) to the back, or what was in the old days, the front. There
is actually no way to describe the scene - 'weird' doesn't quite do it justice.
It is a place of desperation - everybody looks unhappy and unexcited. Food in
the street at the back (or front) is served 'a la African'. The samp in a
plastic plate, the home brew in a plastic glass and a chunk of fatty meat
carved up and served on the metal table, on the table itself - not a plate. The
meat is flame-grilled over a fire in a drum.
This photo of the front - the 'KFC Station'.
The toilets in the fast food court are okay and the men's urinals
have little goals with a ball hanging in them to aim for - but this area is a 'fast
fat food zone'. (Burger King has discontinued its range of salads.) It is
terrible. Okay for bad coffee, terrible tea, cold water or juice for the road.
There is a bit of history to the station. On 24 July 1964, a
"symbolic" petrol and dynamite bomb went off during peak hour and
eliminated the first 'white racist supremacist' in the long struggle for freedom.
77-year-old Ethyl Rhys was disintegrated holding the hand of her 12 year old
grandchild who had her face torn off for a horrific permanent disfiguration
that oozed her entire life. The 'martyr', 'hero' convicted of the 'heroic'
attack said this about the explosion:
I felt a tremendous understanding of the
world
Such a good idea
So beautiful
From the station, I went up the steep Rissik Street, following the
curve to the left when it became Loveday, then through Theatre Park to the
Civic Theatre. I bargained it was safe to walk as all the homeless hanging
about were in no state to chase me up a hill so steep.
The CIVIC THEATRE has a lovely foyer - aircon! The toilets are
great but unfortunately, the restaurant is only open when there is a show on. It
is an opportunity to pick up flyers and look at posters and news clippings -
very interesting older posters can be seen along the passages on the sides. To
the right (the east) of the entrance is nice little rose garden and famous
stars hands- and feet- prints in cement. Besides people like Rolf Harris and
Tobi Cronje, there is Phyllis Spira and Dawn Weller - two icons of ballet in
South Africa. (Dawn's footprint shows an almost perfect 'fifth position'.)
Going back past the foyer back into the top of the garden and to
the left - the western side - of the theatre complex. (left of the theatre
parking at the corner of Stiemens and Simmonds). Here is one of the nicest mid
city nooks in the world overlooked by the lovely ballet studios.
To the left of the ballet studio is a walkway up to Hoofd Street
with the NATIONAL SCHOOL OF ARTS in front. It looks as if the school buildings
are ready to fall down any minute.
I walked around the corner to look at some clear geological
folding before coming back in Hoofd turn left in Joubert Street. On the corner
is Braampark office buildings. (They look impressive from the lower down the
hill.) Across the road is the Constitutional Court and at the bottom of the
court is the QUEEN VICTORIA MATERNITY HOSPITAL. The 'art deco' building is
abandoned and … what a mess! The photo shows the Victoria Hospital with its
huge balconies next to the bottom end of the Constitutional Court's parking
lots. Back then, it was believed fresh air was good for mother and child.
Nowadays even the baby rats wake up coughing from all the pollution in this
area.
The foundation stone for the hospital was laid by Lady Selborne in
1906.
At present the hospital occupies a temporary site, but the
erection of the new hospital is being proceeded with, and on Aug. 16th the
foundation stone of the building was laid by the Countess of Selborne.
South African Medical Record
The stone now lies at the back of the old Fever Hospital.
Opposite the Constitutional Court is the old FEVER HOSPITAL that
is now used as a children's shelter. It is worth talking, or sneaking, past the
guards to see the very small abandoned synagogue in the grounds. The place
looks rough.
Next to the Fever Hospital, and part of the same complex is the
CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL/TRANSVAAL MEMORIAL INSTITUTE built in the memory of those
from the Transvaal who had died in WWI. It now serves to help children who are
in trouble. Seeing the squalor of a place that takes care of children is grim.
Inside are signs warning the children smoking dagga is against the rules of the
institution.
The hospital is haunted by the murderess, Daisy de Melker, whose
ghost returned to happier hunting grounds, after she was hanged at age 46 in
Pretoria Central Prison in 1932. Here she worked as a young nurse and gained
first-hand knowledge of poisons. She was only ever convicted of the murder of
her son, the only one of five children who had survived childhood. Her two
husbands also died of what was clearly poisoning but there was not enough
evidence for a conviction.
At the bottom of the hill by BP I turned left into Empire
(actually I cut trough BP and watched the trailers being loaded for long trips
'home' - half of Gauteng's rubbish is exported), and almost immediately right
in Hillside. The fat free cappuccino at BP is okay but their muffins are bleh.
A little further, along the road at Engen the coffee is quite unacceptable but
the muffins are good.
A few steps from Empire in Hillside Rd, there is a bridge across
the Limpopo River that is still very small and mostly underground in this area.
Up and around the curve when it becomes Girton Road. Along this
stretch, there are some really impressive modern office blocks.
At Nedbank I turned right into St David and walked across the
intersection to MIKE'S KITCHEN to look at the menu. The heritage people have
gone to a lot of trouble to save the building - I wish they would go to the
same amount of trouble to get the name boards, which completely spoil the
building, removed.
Most dishes on the menu at Mike's Kitchen are as unhealthy as
those at the station but the portions are way bigger. The majority greater than
35 BMI patrons were tucking into their 600-gram steaks with gusto, so I left
without trying the delicious looking salads. I was thinking of asking for the
salmon and avo salad - without the onion, but turned left out the gate instead
(onion with salmon?). I still don't know who 'Mike' is.
From Mike's Kitchen I walked north along St David Rd -there is a
slight uphill to the highway and Oxford Road. Before reaching the corner with
Victoria Road where the wall is low there are clear views of the NORTH LODGE
house.
North Lodge is one of the most haunted houses (ghost and
poltergeist activity) in South Africa. The house was built for Henry S. 'Oats
King' Wilson. He made his money by supplying inferior quality horse-feed, he
imported from Argentina, to the British Military during the Anglo-Boer War.
Mixed in with the feed were seeds of the kakiebos weed that spread throughout
South Africa in a matter of months.
There is great anger every year when gardeners and farmers
struggle to get rid of the obnoxious weed. Some curse 'Oats King' Wilson and
every curse adds to the evil of the house. Others plot the most imaginative
revenge strategies and upon their deaths, their ghosts make their way to North
Lodge, looking for him. The two ghosts who are most commonly encountered is an
older woman dressed in black carrying garden sheers, and a young woman holding
a single white lily - the 'gardener' and the 'sacrificial virgin'. During
recent renovations, two small secret rooms hidden within the structure of the
house were found. The rooms were used for 'religious' purposes.
Note the incorrect spelling on the plaque - Wison is a powerful
Chinese family.
Across the, dangerous to cross, Victoria Road and around the back
of a house called 'Dolobran' is Jubilee Street. There are nice houses in this
area.
ENDULINI is not such a great place but the first owner, Major
Charles Mullins, received the Victoria Cross - a rare occurrence. The
requirement for receiving the Victoria Cross is for the recipient to be guilty
of an act of complete idiocy in the face of the enemy. Major Mullins got it for
charging the enemy after they had already been defeated at an obscure place
called Elandslaagte near Ladysmith. The little station was captured by General
de Kock when he invaded Natal with his Johannesburg Commando and volunteers
from Germany, France, Holland, America and Ireland.
The British attacked with batteries of Royal Field Artillery, the
Manchester and Devonshire Regiments, the Gordon Highlanders, the 5th Lancers,
the Dragoon Guards, the Imperial Light Horse and the Natal Mounted Rifles.
After a massive artillery bombardment, they charged and white flags appeared
amongst the Boer positions. As an afternoon storm rolled in, General de
Kock changed into his Sunday best clothes, put on his top hat and
counter-charged through the thunder and mud. And died.
A short distance further is the MORMON TEMPLE, the first Church of
the Latter-day Saints in Africa built 130 years after the first convert was
made in 1853. They never needed a church before as most Mormons moved to America
as fast as they could. I immediately liked and disliked the place at the same
time. I loved the feeling the hassles of the world stayed in the street behind
me. But …
The ostentatious wealth contrast sharply with the squalor found
round the corner at the hospital with the impossible name. Within one humanity,
how can one reconcile the souring spires of the temple with the cockroach
invested crumbling of the hospital? The serenity with six hour queues at the
pharmacy? The immaculate gardens with the rubble-strewn street? The fragrance
of the rose garden with the urine stench ten meters away? The despair of the
poor and sick with the hope of the healthy and wealthy?
When man builds for God, it is perfect, when for the poor - maybe
less so.
I loathed walking along Jubilee Rd to the east past the back of
the hospital. It is a horrid experience of filth. On the corner of the road
that runs down to the hospital is the spectacular Emoyeni situated on the
highest point of the ridge - the word means 'up in the air'.
The road curve right and becomes York at the entrance to the WITS
medical school. In the faculty building, is the ADLER MUSEUM.
This is one of the great places to visit along the walk, it is a
pity the museum and cafeteria is only open weekdays. The cafeteria borders on
being superb; there is a nice coffee bar with acceptably clean toilets hidden
away on the other side.
As one would expect the take away (and sit) foods serve the normal
incredibly unhealthy fare with some exceptions, notably sushi (good!!) and
salads. There are also some sweet-tooth treats and hard to resist home-style
puddings. Try to find a table outside in the garden. The muffins are good and
the coffee as well. But what is it with the red coffee shops? The right color
for a coffee shop is the dark green and black of Starbucs. A latte can be blue
and light like the sky and tea can be red and frivolous like a woman in a red
polka dot dress, but coffee must be dark and brooding with a frown of concentration.
What is good about the museum comes from the context problems it
presents to the poorly informed visitor.
·
The
relationships between exhibits are difficult to understand - for example, it is
unclear how health sciences and a sangoma fit together. What it does make clear
is how modern scientific medical practice is culture dependent. The science has
to fit in with the intransigence of the sangoma - not the other way round.
·
The
relationship between the past and the present is unclear. The medical
practitioner will understand the progress made since the use of certain of the
exhibits. To the outsider it is all scary, more like torture instruments, than
the tools of healing.
With that said, it is exactly these discrepancies that make the
museum interesting to the mind outside of the medical profession as it reflects
on society, and the attitude of society, towards medicine. The science now has
a holistic approach and it takes cognizance of the cultural milieu. Not all
medical practitioners will apply what is scientifically the best for their
patients because they are also part of a culture with its own taboos.
Something in the medical profession has remained unchanged
throughout the ages (and it is not the Hippocratic Oath).
Going down the hill, I turned left and tried to see something of
the buildings of Roedeen School with some Baker designs but the wall is too
high and only the top of the chapel sticks out.
Oh well, on to the SUNNYSIDE HOTEL across the road on the corner.
The gardens are lovely even though they are scattered with rubbish posturing as
art. I really think garden gnomes would have been much more fun - seriously
what is it with this junk? The place - wow for the chandeliers! Okay, I admit,
I was charmed. I would have preferred not to like the place (colonialism and
all that), but I did. The staff were cool in their uniforms, and proud to look
'classic'.
At this institution, the toilets are immaculate; the pub unashamedly
pretentious and unhealthy catering is done professionally. The visitor will
feel it a privilege to have their arteries clogged. (There is a Rea Vaya stop in
front of the hotel for those who decide to stop for breakfast or lunch.)
Lord Alfred Milner lived in the house from 1901 until he left the
country in 1905 and hated every minute of it, and every second he had to spend
in South Africa - but there was a South Africa before Milner, and there was a
South Africa after Milner.
On his instruction, the Boer Republics were destroyed during the
Anglo-Boer War. In his own words, denuded
of everything, and it was done so the Boers would become dependent on
British largesse for rebuilding their farms and towns. This allowed him to move
ahead and extend British control over the whole country and most importantly, over
the Boer leaders like Botha and Smuts. This led to the attempted Anglicization
of South Africa.
What motivated Milner is a matter of some controversy and it goes
beyond simple imperialism and conspiracy theories that involve gold mines.
Easiest to say is it was a number of factors with strong financial
undercurrents. Milner knew how bad the British financial situation was. South
Africa, or more accurately, a South Africa under British control with citizens
loyal to the crown, was part of the solution. Under Milner, racist laws were
expanded, and whereas before it was casually applied, it now became the main
means of ensuring sufficient black workers for the mines at low wages.
Everybody who was not pure blood was discriminated against. Chinese people were
brought to South Africa and Milner had them flogged into the mines. The mines
flourished.
Though the British took control of business and established an
externally controlled capitalist state - which endures to the present - his
Anglicization plan was already failing by the time he left because he ignored
the realities on the ground. The Afrikaners refused to accept the British
because of the religious differences between the two groups and attempts to
force the issue caused attitudes to harden. This took the form of an Afrikaner
withdrawal 'into the laager'. A protection of the own at all costs - and it
disastrously led to Apartheid.
After Milner left, the Selbornes moved in and they seem to have
been a little happier.
From the hotel, I went back to the corner and up the hill to Ridge
Road and then right. Just near the corner are some diamond companies and the
house called 'The Hamlet'. The house was built for an accountant with the
surname 'Diamond' and it is all a bit much of a coincidence. The house looks
like a church.
Further along Ridge Road is THE VIEW/TRANSVAAL SCOTTISH
HEADQUARTERS where visitors are made to feel like long-lost friends but
unfortunately, like the Adler Museum, only open during the week.
The house was build for Thomas Cullinan who made his money from
diamonds and who almost captured Jan Smuts (later Field Marshall and Prime
Minister) at Moordenaars Poort. So it explains on the blue plaque in front of
the house but Cullinan is far more interesting. He was a true success story - a
bricklayer who invested all his spare money in property (including The View)
and took a chance to prospect far from
the known gold and diamond fields. West of Pretoria, he found diamonds in what
is now the town of Cullinan.
His war experiences where less glamorous. Cullinan was part of a
9000 strong British force, which tried to capture Jan Smuts and his 400 men. In
August 1901, during the Anglo-Boer War, Smuts went on a raid into the Cape
Colony and crossed the Stormberge by way of Moordenaarspoort. Entering the pass
Smuts went forward with four men on reconnaissance and landed in an ambush. All
four the men died. His horse was shot out from under him and this saved his
life, as there was so much firing a cloud of dust and smoke covered his rolling
for cover.
Because of this encounter, Smuts was accused of being reckless but
only one more of his troops died (rumor has it Smuts himself shot him when the
troop went 'bossies') before he got off the mountain. This was mainly due to
the mountain living up to its stormy reputation. It was so cold that 90 of the
Boer horses died from exposure over the next three days. But the British were
even more immobilized and took up defensive positions. After a final night
battle that went to the last bullet, Smuts and his men managed to escape to
continue their raid much to the consternation of the Capetonians.
The house is now home to the Transvaal Scottish Regiment, a unit
formed from British (Scottish) troops who preferred the South African weather
and didn't want to go home after the Anglo-Boer War.
Their first serious action was when they became part of Jan Smut's
20 000 strong force, complete with tanks artillery, fighter planes, frigates
and bombers, in 1922. The war was against the miners during the Rand Rebellion,
which took place in areas of Johannesburg and those who were captured were
imprisoned in The Fort.
The Scottish had a far worse time during WWI. In Delville Wood
they lost 74% of their force. In June 1942, during WWII, most of the unit was
captured by Rommel during the battle for Tobruk in Libya. Since then the unit
has been involved in peacekeeping tasks and drinking beer in one of the
loveliest pubs in South Africa.
Next to The View is HAZELDENE HALL, a beautiful place hidden
behind a high wall and gates. To the left of the wall there are bushes and it
is possible to peep through them to get a glimpse of the astonishingly
intricate cast iron veranda and decorations.
Going back to Park Lane I followed it past the Parklane Hospital
with its dirty toilet, through the pedestrian gate to the left of the hospital
and down past a nice art deco building (Johannesburg has the third most art
deco buildings in the world).
Further downhill is the BRENTHURST CLINIC. Clean toilets, terrible
cafeteria - the pap and boerewors at Joburg Gen looked more appetizing than the
toasted cheese sandwich with its lettuce leaf. The hospital was started by Jack
Penn who with Chris Barnard
are the country's top names in the human repair business ( so Jaap Boekkooi - 1979). Penn being
the scalpel virtuoso who straightened out Johannesburg's
collective nose but who still
truly cared about everybody's right to look human. This took him to the worst
afflictions suffered by man from atom bomb victims in Hiroshima to the victims
of leprosy in Lambarene. From WWII, Korea, Vietnam all the way to the Yom
Kippur war - everywhere where people needed reconstructive plastic surgery.
Jack Penn was also an accomplished sculptor who did the Jan Smuts
bust, which used to be at the 'old' airport. One of the many curious stories
from his life resulted from his friendship with the Israeli general Moshe
Dayan. Dayan spent most of his time in the front lines in the Sinai during the
1956 war and, though he wasn't hit his distinctive eye-patch drew the attention
of every Egyptian sniper from miles around. Because his eye was damaged in
particular way, he had to wear the patch to prevent sand from getting into the
socket. Penn reconstructed the eye at Brenthurst and in 1967; Dayan could drive
around the Sinai without the patch.
I managed to find the DISTRICT GRAND LODGE OF SOUTH AFRICA after
some floundering about. It is at the back of the hospital parking. The building
is not a 'temple', as freemasonry is religious but not a religion, but a
'hall'. All 'halls' are built next to fountains or springs and this one is no
exception. Freemasons are supposedly an organization of men who hold that God
is the father, all men are brothers and the best way to worship is in practical
help to humanity. Staring at the place, I saw an old friend who worked there,
and he gave me a guided tour. It is a weird place, and for anyone who gets the
chance, worth a visit. This is old time luxury deluxe and apparently, the food
is outstanding. Still, in all honestly, and based on the 'coffin as a
decorative centerpiece' weirdness scale, I think masons are nutters.
It is believed the masons evolved from medieval guilds of the
stonemasons, or even the Templers - this is nonsense. The organization started
in 1717 when a grand lodge was formed in London and secret societies were quite
the rage. This society just had more invented history and claptrap than all the
others had, so it survived the next 300 years. And if humanity's love for money
and being part of conspiracies to put one over the other sods, are anything to
go by, it will not be short of members for the next 300 years.
Next to the hospital is ST MARY ON THE LIMPOPO ANGLICAN CHURCH and
it has literally been built on top of the Limpopo River.
The Limpopo River (or Crocodile River) has its source in Berea and
it is 1700 kilometers to the mouth of the river in Mozambique. All along, it is
being fed by the numerous springs in the area. The word 'limpopo' does not mean
anything it is the sound and the rhythm of the river.
Goodbye, I am going to the great
grey-green, greasy Limpopo River,
all set about with fever-trees,
to find out what the crocodile has for
dinner
(Rudyard Kipling - the Little Elephant in
'Just So Stories')
In front of the Brenthurst, is Princess Ave that I followed to the
west and PIETER ROOS PARK - and it is a mess. A homeless filled disaster - and
pretty dangerous. It should really be avoided. The drug-dealers park their cars
on one side of the park, they hide the drugs where they can keep an eye, and
then they send their runners across the park to where the buyers park. Most of
the deals happen around seven in the morning when the police are changing
shifts. The security guards tell that one night somebody got cross with
somebody and one of the lovely trees was used for a hanging.
The famous Edoardo Villa piece, "Oops" is in the park
and is often used as a washing line. It looks like a Henry Moore - Villa claims
he had never seen a Moore - I believe that … not!
In 1941, during WWII, Villa was wounded and taken POW together
with 38 000 Italian troops at Sidi Barrani, west of Tobruk in North Africa. It
was the beginning of the end for Italy during the war. Villa was taken to a
prison camp near Cullinan where he took up sculpting. After the war, he stayed
in South Africa, prospered and lived a long life. His sense of humor is the
saving grace of his art.
Deeper in the Park is a memorial to the minesweeper HMSAS Parktown. Originally, the
memorial had an anchor as it central motif but this was liberated shortly after
the admiral of the navy's unveiling, and sold to the Nigerians.
The Parktown was sunk by German E-boats after the
fall of Tobruk on 21 June 1942. (After the Italians ran away from the Allies,
Rommel came and the Allies ran away from him, then later the Germans ran away
from the Allies.)
The soccer in the background is played wearing studded soccer
boots on a 'carpet'. The 'field' had been ripped to pieces but somebody will
sponsor new grass soon enough.
I survived the park and walked up the steep Queens Road turned
right in Sam Hancock, and left up stairs to the CONSTITUTIONAL COURT. Which has
an art collection. The collection is dominated by conceptual rubbish. It is so
bad, it is illegal under constitutional law:
For the purpose of this Act, "torture" means any act or omission by which severe pain
or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted, by a
public official . . .
The saving grace is a fantastic Marc Chagall lithograph called
L'Ange au Chandelier. Though a 'lithograph' is just the fancy name for a
copy/fake of the original created or approved by the artist and there are quite
a lot of them around, Chagall fakes are proudly being displayed and they are
worth as much as R300 000 each. The copy was made from the right half of a
Chagall painting called 'Jacob's Dream' - the left half is sloppy and ugly and
by leaving it out the artwork was greatly improved.
Chagall found out by creating a highly complicated system of
signed and unsigned copies he could make a little extra money. Obviously, this
created a fantastic opportunity for forgers who just had to fake a pencil
signature (not the entire painting) on an unsigned copy to increase the value a
hundred-fold. It is almost impossible to tell even by an expert if the
signature was forged. The question must therefore be asked, "Is this fake
a forged fake, or a real fake?"
Oh well, it is gorgeous.
In parts, the architects blend the old buildings of the prison
with the new court nicely.
Further back is THE FORT, which was a prison in 1892. It was
situated on top of hospital hill to give the bored guards the incredible view
to the north to look at. In secret, a fort was then built around the prison by
Paul Kruger. (A fort in the middle of the city?! And from 1896 to 1899, nobody
noticed?!) Word was put out it was a state owned gold mine to explain the
rising structure. The 'Uitlanders' ('foreigners') were no longer fooled when
one morning they could see long range cannons on top. The fort was built not to
protect Johannesburg but to blow it apart if the 'Uitlanders' started trouble
or joined another invasion force as they had done before. The 'Uitlanders'
asked Lord Milner to put pressure on Kruger to have it destroyed - he planted
grass and trees on the sides to make it look like a garden.
After the Boers abandoned Johannesburg in 1900, the British moved
in and the first one into the The Fort was Breaker Morant. Morant was an Australian
who was part of a less than prestigious unit (the 'Bushveldt' Carabineers truly
were the dregs) who did no fighting and was relegated to doing escort and guard
duties - mostly though, they spent their time getting drunk and told stories
about how many Boers they had shot. Morant said he came here to shoot Boers, not to
play so he was bitterly
disappointed with his duties. When he was left to his own devises away from his
officers he murdered, again and again and then felt sorry for himself when he
was caught. His execution in 1902 made him an Australian folk hero - or maybe
it was the rather romantic movie, which was never intended to be factual.
Towards the end of the Anglo-Boer War, General Christiaan de Wet
was the commander of the forces of the Republic of the Orange Free State and
the world's greatest exponent of guerilla warfare. He was convinced to lay down
arms with the understanding that at the first opportunity the Boer republics
would rise up again and regain their independence.
In 1914, WWI presented such an opportunity. The rebellion started
with de Wet forging ahead even when the Transvaal refused to honor the
agreement (De la Rey refused to lead). De Wet believed horses would always have
a place in war, much like the Poles before WWII. This was romantic but rather
silly. The 'Special Motor Car Contingent' chased him across the country, took
him prisoner, threw him in The Fort and kicked him until he couldn't tie his
own shoelaces.
The view from The Fort towards Hillbrow is depressing and the
reality of miles and miles of squalor, even more so. It is just so dirty!
Edging to the right I emerged in Joubert Street in front of the
Civic Centre. These are ugly buildings. They are so ugly that when I tried to
take photos the guards escorted me off the premises - the mayor does not want
anybody to know how ugly his office is. The architects were heavily influenced
by the disastrous French architect Auguste Perret who designed some of the
ugliest buildings in the world. It is so ugly it is worth seeing. It is uglier
than the buildings built by the communists in East Germany.
From here, it was an easy downhill walk along Rissik Street past a
statue I barely looked at to the cool of the station and home for a cup of tea.
There are actually quite a few places where one can find a decent coffee in
Johannesburg but a good cup of tea can only be brewed at home. And I wanted
tea.