LINDFIELD HOUSE - A VICTORIAN HOUSE IN JOHANNESBURG

Katherine LOVE is the owner of Lindfield House in Auckland Park, Johannesburg. The house museum, at 72 Richmond Avenue, is furnished in the Victorian era style, and was recently declared a Provincial Heritage Building. It was designed by Sir Herbert BAKER and built circa 1910 on half an acre of land. The Victorian era covers the period from the late 1830s to 1900. It was built for Dr. ST. John STANWELL and his wife Alice. St. John was born in 1870, the son of Willaim STANWELL and Fanny, who lived in Yorkshire Street, Wardleworth, Rochdale, Lancashire, according to the 1871 England Census. William was also a surgeon. By 1881 the family was living at The Elms, Yorkshire St, Wardleworth. St. John married Alice EVANS in 1898 in Stamford district, Lincolnshire. They left Southampton on the Kildonan Castle on 07 December 1901 for the Cape, along with Mr and Mrs STANWELL. He graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1893, and was registered as a doctor in South Africa in 1903. In 1913-1915 his office was at 40 Wolmarans Street, Johannesburg. Dr. STANWELL died in 1931 in Natal. Alice travelled between South Africa and England a number of times. On 17 April 1913 she arrived in Southampton on the German from Natal. On 04 October 1913 she left Southampton on the Durham Castle for the Cape. On 04 November 1922 she left Glasgow on the Ulysses for the Cape. On 04 August 1926 she arrived in London on the Dunluce Castle from Port Elizabeth. On 28 November 1928 she left London on the Gloucester Castle for Port Elizabeth.

Lindfield House

Through the years the house has been altered and extended. In 1924, A.J. MARSHALL, Sir BAKER's partner, made some changes. In 1933, Nellie EDWARDS, the city's first female architect, added more rooms. Nellie EDWARDS was born 02 August 1897 in Britain, where she did her training. When she registered with the Institute of South African Architects in 1927 she was resident at 86 Marathon Street in Kensington, Johannesburg. By 1933 she had been in practice on her own for nine years and had designed apartments, schools, churches and was at the time designing two blocks of hostels for government schools, a handiwork block and laboratories for another school. She was appointed an arbitrator in about 1933, giving her age as "thirty-six years old on 2 August 1933." By 1947 she had had offices at 111 - 112 London House in Loveday Street. She retired in 1951, resigning from the Institute of South African Architects in 1963.

When Katherine and her mother, Katharine McGill LOVE (maiden name VILJOEN), bought the 22-room house 43 years ago, the shingle roof and two tall chimneys were removed. Katherine was born a block away. The Apostolic Church offered to buy her parents' house and demolish it to build a church. She and her mother saved the fireplaces, doors and windows, and used them at Lindfield. Katherine's father, Aubrey Clarence LOVE, died in 1968. When her mother passed away in 2005, Katherine turned the house into a Victorian museum and about 10 years ago she started giving tours. She also conducts walking tours of Auckland Park. She has never married and has no heirs. During tours of the 22-roomed house, of which 18 are open to the public, Katherine wears the uniform of a Victorian parlour maid. The entrance fees are the only income she receives. Her family has lived there for two generations, building up a collection of 19th and early 20th century furniture, art, decorative and utilitarian objects representative of the Victorian and Edwardian eras. Katherine also gives talks and presentations on the Victorian and Edwardian eras. The by-appointment house tour lasts approximately an hour and a half, and is followed by afternoon tea. Call Katherine on Tel: 011 726 2932 to arrange a tour.

Katherine Love (Photo credit: Beeld newspaper)

The suburb of Auckland Park was laid out in 1888. It was named for New Zealand's largest city, Auckland, by New Zealander John LANDAU, who bought J.J. LINDEQUE's farm on the present site of the Johannesburg Country Club. The area reminded John of a valley near his home in Auckland. He turned the farmhouse into the Auckland Park Hotel, to compete against the nearby Sans Souci Hotel. He constructed a lake filled with water flowing from the Braamfontein Spruit held concerts in the grounds and started a half-hourly bus service from Commissioner Street. In 1906, the hotel became the country club and the lake disappeared. The Standard newspaper carried the first advert for the sale of stands in the suburb. By 1905, an employee of the Auckland Park Real Estate company, Horace COLLINS, renamed the streets after places in the Thames Valley in London and streets associated with the London office of the company. The area was always known for its bluegums, planted by J.H. HARDY in 1888 when he built the first house. At the turn of the 20th century, Auckland Park was in the country relative to the Johannesburg city centre. In Richmond Avenue there is a large oak tree, planted from an acorn by Bill WILSON, whose father brought back the seed from service in WW1. Julius JEPPE built a grand house in Molesey Avenue. When the Prince of Wales, later the Duke of Windsor, visited South Africa in 1925, he stayed at 1 and 2 Greenlands Road.

THE SOUTH AFRICAN RUGBY MUSEUM

The South African Rugby Museum in Cape Town showcases South Africa’s rugby heritage. The museum is on the ground floor of the Sport Science Institute. Exhibits include a replica of the Webb Ellis Cup, first won by the Springboks at Ellis Park in 1995 and again in October 2007 in Paris. Visitors can hear radio commentary from the 1950s to 1970s by Gerhard VIVIERS and Charles FORTUNE.

The origins and subsequent changes to the Springbok emblem are also on display. You can sit on old wooden Newlands rugby benches and watch videos. The rugby boots of some of South Africa’s goal kickers such as Naas BOTHA, Joel STRANSKY and Frik DU PREEZ are on display, along with a depiction of how rugby boots are made. The careers of Springbok stars from schoolboy, to club level, to provincial team and eventually to the Springboks makes for fascinating reading. 

Address: Ground Level, Sports Science Institute, Newlands, Cape Town

Telephone: +27 (0)21 659-6768

Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 10h00 to 16h00

JOUBERT HOUSE IN MONTAGU

Joubert House in Long Street, Montagu is a house museum depicting the country lifestyle of the 1850s. It is the oldest dwelling in Montagu. The house was built by then 22-year old Pieter Gideon JOUBERT for his parents from sun-baked bricks and clay, in what was then called Agter Cogman's Kloof. His father, also Pieter Gideon, was the town’s first Justice of the Peace. The wallpaper in the Ken Birch room is unique, being specially printed in the Netherlands from a sample of the original that was found in the room. The peach pip floor in the kitchen and pantry was laid according to a the old local method. A small room houses a large collection of toys from bygone days, including some individually numbered handmade porcelain dolls. The dolls costumes are historically correct, including underclothing and leather shoes. On 25 January 1981 the house was almost lost after a devastating flood. The Montagu Museum trustees and Ken BIRCH helped fund the restoration. The house was declared a national monument in 1975 and was re-opened on 14 October 1983 by State President Marais VILJOEN. There is an indigenous medicinal plant garden behind the house. The museum has been researching and recording the oral history and traditional uses of medicinal plants, in the Montagu district, passed down by the Khoikhoi, San and early farmers. A book, Herbal Remedies of Montagu Museum, was published, and the garden is often visited by foreign botanists and pharmacologists. Dirkie JOUBERT, daughter of Pieter who built the house, wrote a book, Crab Soup and other stories, in which she relates how she began gardening with herbs, helped by a local Khoi who brought herbs from the surrounding mountains for her to use.

LARGEST RUGBY MEMORABILIA COLLECTION IN SOUTH AFRICA

Barry NAUDE has built up a rugby museum on his farm, Driekoppen, in Hanover, Free State. It is South Africa's largest collection of rugby memorabilia, including books, jerseys, ties, photographs and badges. In 1974, at the age of 10 years, he started collecting rugby memorabilia and making scrapbooks from articles in newspapers and magazines. He has more than 1000 rugby books. More than 200 rugby jerseys, 200 ties and 30 jackets are also on display. In 1995 the North-Eastern Cape Rugby Union closed down and Barry became the keeper of its memorabilia. Most of the items on display have been donated. Barry and a friend, Hannes KOTZE, are working on making the Test Programmes from 1891 to 2009 available in book form. They also want photos and/or signatures of all the 814 Springbok players for the book. Visitors are welcomed by appointment (this is a working farm). The farm is just off the N1 south of Hanover. Contact details: Mobile No. 0823177655 / 0832348779 or barrynaude@webmail.co.za or jmk@intekom.co.za

NEW MUSEUM

The village of Magaliesberg has a new attraction - its own living museum. The late Pierre Richard Hartley THERON wanted to turn the local community hall into a museum but was not able to do so before he was murdered on his farm on 07 June 2004. In his memory, a non-profit organisation, the Magaliesburg Historical Association, was founded. The last five years have been spent researching the area's history. On display at the new museum is a coca pan bar counter dating from the 1800s when the first gold was discovered in Goudkoppies / Blaauwbank. The village's original telephone exchange board is also on display. The museum also sells local history books and souvenirs. The museum is situated on Charles GOTTHARD's property - Out of Africa/La Provence - in Magaliesburg on the R24 towards Rustenburg. Tel: Nicola at 083 377 2254.

MUSEUM WINS AWARD

Port Elizabeth's Red Location Museum has won a national award for architectural excellence at the South African Institute for Architects‘ recent awards evening in Midrand. Red Location Museum, in the oldest part of New Brighton, won the World Leadership Award in the Best Architecture and Civil Engineering Category in 2005. In 2006 it received the inaugural Lubetkin Award from the Royal Institute of British Architects. The museum was designed by Noero Wolff Architects in association with John Blair Architects.

SCHOEMANSDAL MUSEUM DESTROYED

The Schoemansdal Museum was recently destroyed by fire. The fire broke out during the night, destroying the information centre and the open air museum. The damage was caused by runaway veldt fires, with damages estimated at R3-million. The open-air museum was dedicated to showcasing South Africa’s pioneering history.

KHOISAN HISTORY IN PORT ELIZABETH

Bayworld Museum, in Port Elizabeth, has a new permanent exhibition. "The First People of the Bay" is made up of original artefacts, and displays the history of the Khoi people. Medicinal herbs, rock art, clothing, musical instruments and Sarah BAARTMANN formed part of the exhibition. Made up of different groups, the Khoi arrived in the Bay over 2000 years ago. The Khoi have been referred to as Strandlopers and Khoi Khoi (men of men).

SENSITIVE WETLANDS THREATENED

Ekurhuleni Democratic Alliance councillor Andre DU PLESSIS wants to know how an agreement to build a museum and entertainment centre on environmentally sensitive land changed into a proposal for a town house development. The land is near the Blaauwpan wetlands in Kempton Park, a registered nature reserve. Fredonia Investments offered to purchase the land in 2003 for R10,5-million for the development of the Africa Hall of Fame. This offer was then transferred to Universal Pulse Trading 18 for the development of town houses. As far as he could find out, the land's deeds have not yet been transferred from the council to Universal Pulse Trading 18. The town house development would lead to the loss of habitat and species in the wetlands. One of the conditions of the purchase agreement was that Fredonia would have 45 days from the signature date to apply to the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs (GDACE) for permission to develop on the property, and provide the department with an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). The company failed to send an EIA in the specified time frame, yet Ekurhuleni municipality allowed Fredonia to nominate Universal Pulse as purchasers of the land. In the meantime, the Hall of Fame Trust is running a demonstration of the museum from a building in the Blaauwpan area, which is being renovating with a R2,9-million council donation meant for the construction of a new museum building. Lesego wa Lesego is the managing trustee of the International African Music and Film Hall of Fame Trust and owner of Universal Pulse Trading 18. He denied that the townhouse development was new, and that the donation had gone to the creation of the demo museum.

THIEVES HIT KLEINPLASIE

Scrap metal thieves have hit the Kleinplasie Open-air Museum in Worcester. This follows after the former Minnie Hofmeyr College in Worcester was also vandalised. Thirteen stables at Kleinlplasie were vandalised, with all metal fixtures stolen. The damage is estimated to be in the region of R200 000. To prevent further loss and damage, all the stable doors have been removed. The thieves stole the bolts and hinges, as well as electrical cables and copper piping. Kleinplasie has a wall around it, but it is often broken by vandals or thieves. The plaques that were on the buildings, declaring them national heritage sites, were stolen long ago. It is high time that scrap metal dealers be charged with buying stolen goods, especially when these goods are from our national heritage!

Kleinplasie (meaning small farm) depicts the lifestyle of the Cape farmers in the early 1800s. Here visitors can see how things were done all those years ago - from tobacco rolling, candle and soap making, and coffee roasting to baking bread.

HELP NEEDED

The Herman Charles Bosman Living Museum in Groot Marico is looking for an old recipe. Their youngest project is building a replica hartbeeshuisie. They need the recipe for the mixture with which the floors were whitened. The Museum was established in 1993. It is housed in a replica of the school in Heimweeberg where he taught in 1926. Local residents donated mud bricks made the way they were more than a century ago - with Marico soil, and plastered with a mixture of clay and cow dung. If you know the secret recipe (afwit resep) call Santa and Egbert van Bart at 083 272 2958 or 014 503 0085 or email: info@marico.co.za

NEW DIRECTOR FOR AMATHOLE MUSEUM

Fred KIGOZI is the new Amathole Museum director. Fred is a former curator of animals at the Amathole Museum and spent the past six years working at the Bayworld Museum in Port Elizabth. The position at Amathole became vacant after the death of Lloyd WINGATE last year. Future plans for the museum include broadening the museum programme, especially outreach programmes to all the people of King William's Town and its surrounds; improving education programmes and positioning the museum as a research institution. The museum operates on a very limited budget making it difficult to fulfil all its goals. Lloyd WINGATE served the museum for over 30 years and was a computer whizz. Fred holds a Masters degree in Zoology from Rhodes University, a Bachelor of Science Honours degree from the University of Port Elizabeth, and a Bachelor of Science degree from Makerere University in his home country, Uganda. He has done several short courses in management, finance and strategic management. Kigozi worked for the Amathole Museum as the Curator of Mammals for six years, doing research, assisting in education programmes and exhibitions. He is married to Lydia, a teacher. The couple have four children - Annet, Jonathan, Joseph and James.

NEW EXHIBITION IN PIETERMARITZBURG

Khanya NDLOVU of the Voortrekker / Msunduzi Museum in Pietermaritzburg specialises in Zulu and Coloured history. She's been working on research for an exhibition, due to be opened at the end of August, on the Coloured people of Pietermatizburg. The project was started at the beginning of 2007. It will look at the contributions and achievements of Coloured people, as well as some of their history in KwaZulu-Natal. Early British settlers such as Henry Francis FYNN and John DUNN both had several Zulu wives. Khanya is hoping that sponsorship from the Msunduzi Municipality will be approved so that the exhibition can include a touch-screen computer that enables genealogies to be seen thanks to the work of Father Duncan McKENZIE from Durban. Khanya leaves the museum at the end of the month to become curator at the Durban Local History Museum.

WARNINGS IGNORED

For nearly 400 years, Robben Island was a place of exile and imprisonment for troublemakers and lepers. It was declared a World Heritage site in 1999. Robben Island was run by the prison services before 1994. They made sure that the island's fauna and flora was well-cared for, making it a place with a large variety of animals and birds. Sadly, and infuriatingly, the island is now an environmental crisis because of a lack of proper management by Robben Island Museum who took over from the prison services. An explosion of feral rabbits, despite warnings by environmentalists to management over 3 years ago, has caused great damage. The warnings were ignored. Other animals such as deer, springbok and bontebok are starving to death. Concerned citizens have dug into their own pockets to help the starving animals, with volunteers taking food to Robben Island.

LILIESLEAF FARM

Liliesleaf Farm, where the Rivonia trialists, including Nelson MANDELA and Walter SISULU, met in the early 1960s, is to be renovated as a museum and resource centre. The project will cost about R50-million, funded by the National Lottery, the Department of Arts and Culture and a cigarette company. The farm will open as The Learning Centre, which will include a Liberation Centre, a coffee shop with a curio outlet, exhibition areas and a 66-seat auditorium. The museum will include the main house, where Arthur and Hazel GOLDREICH were interrogated by police during the raid; a thatched cottage where Umkhonto weSizwe and SACP members met; and two outhouse buildings from where MANDELA and other key members of MK operated for two years.