Over a long period of time, Louis Botha Avenue has undergone a drastic turn in many aspects from what it used to look like a century ago. Commerce there has had its highs and lows, with several businesses coming and going. Places such as the iconic Victory Theatre recently changed into a church venue, and the Doll House roadhouse, which was a notable pub in the 1930s, has closed down – but like a few other places, the Orange Grove Veterinary Hospital has managed to maintain its authentic nature while improving its services to fit into the modern world.
I was standing in front of this yellow building. From afar could be heard the hooting of cars rushing up and down the avenue. As I walked in, I could not help but notice the mesmerizing sound of three beautiful birds of varying hues – white, light blue and yellow – chirping as they flew from side to side of a cage hanging in the reception room.
RIGHT: A painted wall at the hospital entrance informig us on the services offered by the vet. Photo: Rose Clemence Shayo
Inside the waiting area there was pets’ food, chains, tags and toys of different colours all around the room, and clients sitting with their backs to each other on benches placed in the middle.
Despite there being an increase of pet services in Johannesburg, the Orange Grove Veterinary Hospital remains the oldest and biggest vets’ hospital in the north-eastern part of Johannesburg, with customers coming from the inner parts of Johannesburg and others travelling all the way from Pretoria.
How Orange Grove suburb came to existance
Along Louis Botha Avenue in the Orange Grove suburb, two buildings away from the old Victory Theatre at Number 119, is the seemingly forever standing pet hospital where there was once a small house surrounded by restaurants and other residences. The place is now surrounded by shebeens, churches and offices.
“Orange Grove was established in 1902. It was then called Lemoen Plaas [orange farm],” according to the Your Neighbourhood website. The place was known for its orange plantation, hence the name.
The OGVH was established as a veterinary practice in 1947. The practice was part of the Sundown Veterinary Hospital owned by Jack Boswell, one of the first private practitioners in South Africa.
Louis Botha Avenue was considered the main road connecting Johannesburg and Pretoria and all the areas in between. The area was also considered a hub for people from different areas going to work or just coming there to have fun, and this made it a suitable place for this business.
LEFT: Dr David Moore, the co-owner of the Orange Grove Veterinary Hospital and the oldest veterinary doctor at the hospital. Photo: Rose Clemence Shayo.
“When the practice first started, the main population groups here were Italians and Portuguese who settled here in the early 1950s. In those days [Louis Botha Avenue] was the busiest arterial route in the whole of Africa,” said Dr David Moore, the co-owner of OGVH.
Renovation of the Orange Grove Veterinary Hospital
The area is still a hub for migrants, although the races have changed as the area is now occupied by many Africans.
The marketing manager, Candice Segal, arrived for the hospital tour and together we headed downstairs, where most workers spend their time during the first half of the day.
The renovation that took place in 1970, the 1980s and 2006 gave this historical veterinary hospital a modern look. The workplace downstairs is divided into six clean rooms.
These consist of the x-ray room; the theatre and the isolation room for pets with illnesses that have not yet been identified; a parlour with a grooming area, bathing area and pet cages for some of the pets that must sleep in or are left for a period of time; the storage room; and lastly an open area at the middle for ultrasonography (these are images produced during an ultrasound), dental care and preparation for the theatre.
ABOVE: Dr Keith MacWilliams (right) and Vet assistant, Simon Motshabi attend to one of their patients. Photo: Rose Clemence shayoBELOW:A sedated dog is covered with tinted foil and a cloth during the sterilization surgery. Photo: Rose Clemence Shayo
Different services offered at the vet
Usually the hospital is packed on Monday mornings and the waiting area becomes tightly occupied as clients begin bringing in their sick pets after the weekend, or coming to consult.
I went into the theatre room with Segal, where Dr Keith MacWilliams was conducting a spaying operation (surgery to sterilise a female dog) with nurse Vanessa Anderson assisting during the process. One rule in the theatre is ‘DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING’, Segal reminded me.
A warm pad was placed under the dog, which was laying on the surgery table with its stomach facing the roof. A pipe connected to a breathing machine monitored its state during the surgery. Half of its body was covered by gold-tinted foil to keep the dog warm, as I am told temperatures tend to drop during surgery.
In the open area, Dr Lara Frampton was conducting a dental cleaning for a dog that had two lumps on its front-right limb and was to go in for surgery soon after the spay was done.
Upstairs in the waiting room a big cage holds a beautiful green, yellow and lime parrot quietly looking at every person entering the room.
The parrot belongs to a client who is currently on vacation. Whenever the room gets a bit too quiet, the parrot says repeatedly, ‘eema (EE-muh), eema’ – a Hebrew word for “mother”, referring to its owner.
“Is this your parrot?” An old lady asked. “No,” I said as she joined in admiring its beauty.
A client’s parrot is kept at the hospital while its owners are on holiday. Photo: Rose Clemence Shayo
The transformation
In 1963 Dr Gordon Beverley bought the practice and was later joined by Dr Moore in 1968. Moore and Dr Romberg took over the practice in 1970 after Beverley left. In 1970 the practice was turned into a hospital, which has been growing ever since. The hospital is currently owned by three doctors: Moore, Williams and Romberg.
The veterinary practice not only transformed its ownership, but also its services and technology. In 1970 the practice became a hospital. Although there were no computers then, everything was clearly recorded in books.
“They used to have those old x-ray machines – the ones where you put the plate in water – and now they have computers,” said Johannes Mdzimba.
Mdzimba (56) has been working at the hospital for 38 years, making him the oldest doctor’s assistant after the sudden passing of Michael Mpofu in October from a head tumour. Mpofu had spent 39 years working at the hospital.
Steadily the vets have been able to grow and increase their services. In 2006 the Pampered Pet Parlour started at the hospital as there was a high demand from customers who wanted to groom their pets but had to take them to other places. Gift Nare has been grooming at the parlour since it was started, 13 years ago.
“When you groom a dog for the first time it is difficult: A biting dog cannot look you straight in the eyes. I have been bitten by dogs several times,” Nare said, pointing out a few recent scratches.
Not only do customers enjoy the services, workers also enjoy working there, as Nare explained: “Here they trust us. Where I used to work, they used to follow us everywhere, but here they trust we can do our job properly.”
The hospital has also become an academic hospital for veterinary students.
Niven Pillay, a final-year diploma in veterinary nursing student from the University of Pretoria who was at the hospital for his field work, said he enjoyed the hospital’s ways of operating. He said some of the methods differed from other hospitals he had been to, “from how they endorse animals to the general practice management”.
Orange Grove Veterinary Hospital’s oldest customers tell stories of the hospital located on Louis Botha Avenue. The practice was established in 1947 and changed into a hospital in 1970. Sally Gallagher a customer since 1963 and Greg Bortz whose family has been using the hospital before he was born to tell us of their experiences.
Stories and histories
Sally Gallagher is 80 years old and a full-time employee at Paramount Group (a company dealing with armoured weapons). She told old stories about different experiences she and other people had with the hospital, leaving both of us cracking into laughter.
“My dog had diabetes… We went down to the vet… she ran to the entrance [and] went up straight to the back room where they administer injections. Her tail was wagging and she was perfectly happy. This was in 1985,” Gallagher said, laughing.
One way to keep customers is by providing them with quality service. Gallagher has been a loyal customer of OGVH for the past 56 years. On the other hand, Daniel Forsthofer’s family is the third generation using the same vet his grandparents used.
The hospital has a few memorable cases that still stand today. Apart from the cats, dogs and birds, the famous stripper and snake dancer Glenda Kemp used to take her snakes to the vet in the1970s before going up onto the stage.
“We used to see some snakes belonging to Glenda Kemp, who was a stripper. She used to have pythons, one of them an opus,” said Dr Moore. Segal laughed in the background as she heard the story for the first time.
“We used to have to certify the pythons as healthy because she used to travel to – in those days – Rhodesia, Mozambique and South West Africa.” Dr Moore told the story with a smile on his face while looking at his wristwatch as the clock was ticking.
A patient belonging to one of the hospital’s generational clients Mr. Greg Bortz who has been coming to the vet with his parents since childhood in the 1970s. Photo: Rose Clemence Shayo
The distractions
The avenue is said to have changed a lot compared to how it was between the 1960s and the 1980s. The crime rates are rising day in day out. Moore said there had been two armed robberies at the hospital over the past decade.
“Security was better during apartheid,” he said.
A range of fan animal bones displayed at the hospital revealing health and unhealth knees. Photo: Rose Clemence Shayo
Moore is not the only one who agrees about the rise of crime in the area. There are others who also share the sentiment.
In 2010 “Louis Botha Avenue had begun to deteriorate in that there were people moving out. A lot of people moved out from the houses around it because they did not feel safe or secure,” Gallagher said.
Robyn Cullis is another client who has been with the vet for 10 years now. Cullis got herself a cute and healthy white-haired rescue dog from the vet. Her other dog has skin allergies, which requires her to visit the vet regularly for injections, special food and grooming.
OGVH nurse Vanessa Anderson, who previously worked with the Johannesburg Zoo dealing with wild animals, finds her work here less stressful.
“Here you can get bitten, but you are not dealing with animals that can eat you,” she said.
Anderson said apart from the cats and dogs, the vet sometimes gets budgies, guinea pigs, rabbits and chickens.
Surely Louis Botha Avenue is one of the major historical places in Johannesburg. Seeing most of the places in it having to shut down should be a wake-up call for effort to be put in to ensure that these places are well looked after as a way to preserve the histories associated with the place and to pass the knowledge on to the generations still to come.
ABOVE: A structure of a dog’s head showing different organs found in the head.Photo: Rose Clemence ShayoABOVE: A statue of a dog’s anatomy exposing different parts of the inside of the mammal placed in one of the hospital’s consulting rooms. Photo: Rose Clemence Shayo
FEATURED IMAGE: An image of a dog playing outside. Photo: Supplied
International Assistance Dog Week celebrates furry heroes known as ‘man’s best friend’.
When Annay, Danny, and Felix from Paws For People Therapy Dogs trotted into the frail care unit at Golden Harvest II, the residents’ faces immediately lit up. They sat up straighter in their chairs, hurriedly put their tea and biscuits to one side, and all vied for the attention of the newcomers. Little Annay and Danny jumped onto the laps of the senior citizens, and Felix, a young German Shepard, settled for just laying his head in their open hands.
As they moved from room to room, each resident opened their arms and welcomed their furry friends into their space, and some even chased after the dogs because they had missed their turn. This is just a mere snippet of the day in the life of a therapy dog.
The work of these dogs and their handlers is unknown to many people in the world but contrastingly means everything to others, and Thursdays at Golden Harvest II have easily become the elderly residents’ favourite days.
Paws For People Therapy Dogs also visit hospitals, special need schools, and care facilities as well as work in Bite Prevention and Responsible Pet Ownership campaigns. Their dogs and handlers have come to embody real-life superheroes.
Annay getting and giving all the love at Golden Harvest Old Age Home. Photo: Victoria HillFelix was staring lovingly at a senior citizen who was enjoying her tea and rusk. Photo: Victoria Hill
In all areas of life, dogs have come to represent protectors, companions, or helpers. Their ability to be trained yet still have their own personalities has made them favourites among humans.
This International Assistance Dog Week, running from August 4 to August 10, sees appreciation for all types of service or therapy dogs, big and small, thanking them for their never-ending, unwavering, and unconditional love. This week of awareness was created to recognise the role service dogs play in an individual’s life, including allowing one the freedom and confidence to live a full life.
Assistance dogs come in different types, including guide dogs for the visually impaired, seizure or diabetes alert dogs, service dogs for those with physical disabilities, therapy dogs, and autism support dogs, to name just a few.
However, most public areas do not allow assistance dogs on their premises, besides the most well-known guide dog.
This is due to an element of lack of knowledge about the importance of the dog’s job and role in his or her handler’s life. Whether an assistance dog has one person to assist or aids many at one time, they are devoted to their job with all their heart.
Those needing assistance dogs often feel ostracised or not welcome in certain spaces, and sometimes are stopped from entering a place on its threshold. It is important to discern the difference between having a pet and an assistance dog that is highly trained.
Assistance dogs must undergo training and assessments to be classed as such, and they are chosen such that their temperaments are in line with their job description.
For many handlers, assistance dogs become an extension of themselves, and these dogs serve as faithful companions even after retirement.
FEATURED IMAGE:Annay and Danny sitting on the lap of an elderly lady whose face lit up when they walked into her room. Photo: Victoria Hill
In-depth 2019: Louis Botha Louis Botha Avenue’s ‘Little Italy’: What is left of la dolce vita? By: Gemma Gatticchi Amid Louis Botha Avenue’s shift in demographics, a few businesses stand out as relics of the former Italian migrant community that made the area home....
Despite tuition appearing cheaper on paper, Wits students from financially disadvantaged households still grapple with mounting debt and the hidden costs of higher education.
Wits students face growing debt and hidden expenses that make higher education increasingly unaffordable despite seemingly low tuition costs.
Universities struggle with declining government subsidies, inflation-driven expenses, and financial strain, forcing them to raise student fees to survive.
NSFAS funding limits and inconsistent policies deepen student inequality, threatening to reverse the hard-won progress of the Fees Must Fall movement.
When Medupi Reginald Mathunyane, a final-year Biological Sciences student at Wits University, was defunded by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in 2022, the weight of uncertainty hit him hard. Months of appeals followed, each one a battle against bureaucracy and mounting financial anxiety. Today, as he nears graduation, his debt exceeds R100,000, growing every semester.
“I’ve done everything I can just to stay in class,” Mathunyane says, his voice carrying both determination and exhaustion. “But the stress of thinking about how I’ll pay back this debt never goes away. It’s like carrying a shadow over my studies, reminding me I might not make it through without sacrificing my dedication to my studies, with the hope that someday I will be funded.”
Mathunyane’s story is not unique. Across South Africa, students from financially disadvantaged households are feeling the squeeze. Yet on paper, higher education appears more affordable than ever. Professor Imraan Valodia, a former Wits University dean and respected economist, explains that comparing tuition fees over time without accounting for inflation gives a misleading picture.
“Degrees are not entirely more expensive,” he says. “If you take R60,000 in 2010, it would be roughly equivalent to R125,000 in 2025 when we adjust for inflation. By that measure, a R100,000 degree today is technically cheaper.”
But Valodia stresses that these numbers mask the lived reality for students. Over the past 15 years, South Africa’s consumer price index has averaged around 5% per year, while the higher education CPI (which tracks costs specific to universities such as equipment, laboratory maintenance and academic resources) has risen even faster. This means that even if tuition has not increased as sharply in nominal terms, the cost of delivering quality education has, leaving institutions and students caught in a financial tug-of-war.
At the heart of the affordability debate lies South Africa’s strained public finances. For years, sluggish GDP growth has constrained government revenue, leaving the Treasury with difficult choices between competing priorities: healthcare, social protection, infrastructure, and education all vie for the same shrinking fiscal pie.
The 2025/26 Budget allocated R146.6 billion to post-school education and training, about 5.7% of the total R2.58 trillion consolidated budget. Debt-service costs alone consume nearly R426.3 billion, almost three times higher.
The numbers reflect the impossible trade-offs. South Africa spends generously on education in global terms, at about 6.1% of GDP compared to the global average of 4.4%, yet this has not translated into affordability for individual students. Much of the spending goes to maintaining an already burdened system rather than making degrees cheaper at the point of entry.
Wits spokesperson Sherona Patel highlights the pressures universities face, which often go unseen.
“The University generally receives its income from three sources: state subsidies, student fees, and third-stream income such as donations or contract research,” Patel explains. “If subsidies decline in real terms, then student fees increase. Surpluses are reinvested into the academic project to ensure sustainability for future generations.”
Patel points out that the higher education inflation rate often outpaces general inflation. Specialized laboratory equipment, international journal subscriptions, and research costs are usually denominated in foreign currency, leaving universities vulnerable to exchange rate fluctuations. On top of this, Wits must cover additional domestic expenses, including diesel and water tankers during load shedding and water shedding, private security around Braamfontein, and inter-campus transport.
Despite these pressures, Patel notes that Wits allocated R2.33 billion in financial aid, bursaries, and scholarships in 2024, helping over 30,000 students access higher education. Historic debt totalling R63 million was cleared for nearly 800 students. Even with these efforts, Patel admits that the University cannot cover all student costs without risking insolvency. “Free education and debt clearance require national solutions involving government, the private sector, and donors,” she says.
Even the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, meant to be a buffer against financial exclusion, has struggled to keep pace with rising costs. In February 2025, the scheme announced a 4% increase in allowances for university students and a massive 46% increase for those in TVET collegesto cushion the blow of inflation. Yet students argue that these increases barely scratch the surface in cities like Johannesburg, where rent and transport costs quickly erode monthly stipends. NSFAS itself acknowledged the pressure, stating that “where necessary, NSFAS will take extraordinary measures to ensure that NSFAS-funded students are not left stranded due to skyrocketing accommodation costs.”
For the Wits SRC Treasurer General, Liyabona Baartman, the statistics do little to soften the financial reality facing students.
“The financial barrier is tuition and accommodation together,” he says. “Take someone studying medicine at UKZN and someone doing the same at Wits. The UKZN student pays less. Yet NSFAS applies the same funding formula across the country. That does not make sense. Living in Johannesburg is more expensive than living in KZN. NSFAS needs a case-by-case approach.”
Baartman also warns that the gains of the Fees Must Fall movement are being undermined.
“Before Fees Must Fall, NSFAS was a loan. We fought tooth and nail to turn it into a bursary. That was a major gain. But now, those gains are being reversed. NSFAS used to pay the full cost of accommodation. Now there’s a cap, leaving students stranded. The inconsistency in challenging the system has allowed these rollbacks to happen.”
For Mathunyane, the numbers are not abstract. They are lived experiences: long nights balancing part-time work and studies, the constant worry of falling behind, and the persistent anxiety that debt may derail his dreams.
“I’ve survived this far,” he says. “But I don’t know what will happen after I graduate. The debt does not go away. It feels like the system is built to make you survive, not thrive.”
At the heart of the debate is a national question: who should bear the cost of higher education? Families already grappling with unemployment and inflation feel the pinch. Universities warn they cannot fund every student without collapsing. Students insist that education is a right, not a privilege reserved for the middle class.
As Patel explains, “Student funding is a national challenge and requires broader discussions and solutions.” Baartman counters, “We cannot let the gains of Fees Must Fall be rolled back. Free education is still the goal.”
Until these tensions are resolved, higher education remains both a lifeline and a financial cliff, cheaper on paper, yet still impossible for those who need it most.
FEATURED IMAGE: Graphic of Wits University the stock market prices Going up to and logos by Phenyo Selinda
“Believe women when they ask for help and believe men when they threaten women,” said Dr Nechama Brodie.
Dr. Nechama Brodie signing her new book Domestic Terror at its launch at Rosebank on September 6. Photo: Seth Thorne
Incidents of domestic violence are not isolated – they show patterns of systemic violence in South Africa. This is the chilling reality explored in Dr. Nechama Brodie’s new book Domestic Terror: Intimate partner violence in South Africa.
The book tracks South African women’s experiences with domestic violence over a 100 year period, many of them living in fear and terror in their own homes, some murdered by the intimate partners they shared those spaces with.
Brodie, a veteran journalist, writer and lecturer at the Wits Centre for Journalism was in discussion with broadcaster and journalist Azania Mosaka at the book’s launch at Exclusive Books, Rosebank on September 6.
“By definition, terror is the deliberate instillment of fear…when controlling partners feel as if they are losing control, they up the levels of violence to instil more fear and for them, control,” said Brodie. There are many instances of instilling fear, from smashing a phone to stalking – anything that may cause emotional, physical or any other form of distress.
“Women are often killed with protection orders in their handbags. Police should intervene ‘on the small stuff’ (warning signs) before the ‘big stuff’ happens.”
Dr Nechama Brodie
There is a huge failure of the police and justice system when women seek protection from their domestic partners but are not taken seriously. A more intersectional approach which includes healthcare services and the judiciary is needed she emphasised.
A big takeaway from this book is that the warning signs are usually there. Friends and family see abusive relationships and may know about the abusive nature of partners (mainly men) but ignore it until it is too late. Some families and friends paint violent partners as “devoted” and ignore calls for help from women by sending them back to the abuser for “the sake of the family” explained Brodie.
Journalist and presenter Azania Mosaka facilitating the conversation at the book launch on September 6. Photo: Seth Thorne
“Bodies show a life of terror,” said Mosaka, referring to a 2019 case of a 54-year-old woman who was murdered by her partner and had her body dumped in a veld, left to decompose. Pathologists had to examine her bones, with her cause of death (ultimately finding that she was beaten with a brick) indistinguishable from previous injuries – some healed, some had not. Almost every bone imaginable was broken at some point.
For those who survive and report their abuse, the risk of being retraumatized is high during the trial process. Character assassinations, slut shaming and sanitizing the abuser’s image are some of the things victims face in court. “The fact that she was drunk or spoke back does not excuse her for being murdered…this links to the historical nature of the societal entitlement of men over women’s bodies,” explained Brodie.
This is Brodie’s third book on true crime in South Africa. She admitted that she thought she could not finish the book halfway through because of the subject matter, but it was more important to finish writing it. “The terror was far too real. It is a heavy book to read because some of the stories become relatable,” she shared.
Having read the book, member of parliament Glynnis Breytenbach said it is “hugely important, impeccably researched . . . It must be said, and it must be read”.
Attendee, Tannur Anders says she wants to read the book because “Dr. Brodie is an incredible researcher and journalist. [Her] extensive data-driven work provides valuable insights to better understand South Africa.”
FEATURED IMAGE: Dr. Nechama Brodie poses proudly with her third crime book at its launch on September 6. Photo: Seth Thorne.
The struggle veteran’s 93rd birthday sees the opening of an exhibition, chronicling both his his life and legacy.
Dozens gathered at the Constitution Hill in Braamfontein on Sunday, August 21, 2022 to honour anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Kathrada with a special collection of personal artefacts and imagery.
The Ahmed Kathrada foundation hosted esteemed guests at the Old Fort section of the historical monument in celebration of the life lived by “Kathy” or “Uncle Kathy”, as he was fondly known. Among attendees were Kathrada’s wife, Barbara Hogan.
Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela at the exhibition entrance, the Kathrada Foundation’s director, Neeshan Balton said: “[The exhibition] hopes to tell the story of the liberation struggle… it also hopes to get people to experience what living in prison on Robben Island would’ve been like.” He added that the exhibition shows that “freedom and any struggle to be achieved can’t be work overnight, it requires work over generations”.
“Seeing this exhibition in his honour not only gives the family hope but the world hope that his fight for freedom and non-racialism will continue,” said Yusuf Areignton-Kathrada.
A corner of the exhibition holds up a wall reading of the letter that Kathrada penned to former president Jacob Zuma in 2016. Photo: Keamogetswe MatlalaThe display of Kathrada’s favourite garments. Photo: Keamogetswe Matlala
From his favourite brown checkered blazer and black slip-ons to a addressed letter to former president Jacob Zuma, and a replica of his prison cell – the exhibition shows the highs and lows of Kathrada’s life.
Kathrada had served as a parliamentary counsellor to the late Nelson Mandela during his presidential tenure before his passing in 2017. The two had been in prison together at Robben Island before Kathrada was transferred to Pollsmoor prison from which he was released in 1990.
Reflecting on Kathrada’s life, speakers went as far as when he was 17 years old starting out as an activist against the Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Act. Despite having held many leadership positions by the end of his tertiary life, “he knew that the struggle had not ended,” said Irfaan Mangera, one of the foundation’s activists. Mangera remembered Kathrada as an outspoken activist who was respected regardless of his young age among his fellow activists.
The South African Revenue Services commissioner, Edward Kieswetter reminisced on the day Kathrada died as he stood beside him in hospital. Kieswetter said, in his last days, Kathrada’s fight had lost spirit as the new generation leaders “were failing to honour the promise of our constitution, to heal the wounds of the past and to establish a democratic society”.
The permanent exhibition will be accessible to the public during normal trading hours.
FEATURED IMAGE: An attendant of the exhibition glaring at the wall detailing the struggle veteran’s last years’ on earth. Photo: Keamogetswe Matlala
Students are finding that their historical way of living and their future outlook have drastically changed, due to the impact of covid-19 in affecting household incomes.
Self Made may have made the life of beauty mogul, Madam CJ Walker, accessible to a wider audience, but the miniseries under-delivered on historical depth.
The pink church with the blue door is one of Melville’s iconic historical sites. The landmark follows the journey of prayers, businesses and an overarching spirit of a building with tales stretching over 115 years.
Placed on a steeply sloping site, in a quiet part of the usually vibrant Melville suburb, the former Church could slightly confuse one about what it currently is. Since its inception over a century ago, the marvel that is the pink building, still stands.
At first glance it is a church, the closer one examines the pink-painted building with a high-pitched roof, it becomes evident that although initially built for the purposes of worship, it is no longer being used for what it was originally intended.
The walk from Auckland Park to the one-story building, situated at the corner of Chatou Road and Landau Terrace is an intriguing and dynamic one as the pace and activity of the area changes.
Initially one is hit with the loud commotion of traffic, businesses and early morning folk making their way to work on Empire Road in Auckland Park. The change in scenery and ambience is evident as one moves further away from Auckland Park and closer to the Pink Church. The calmness and quiet cannot be evaded: fewer cars and people. On this warm summer morning only the green vision of leafy elongated trees and private houses consume people.
Arriving at the Pink Church with its brick-layered paving and white, steel-barred gate, its longevity is displayed by the worn-out white trimmings on its apex rooftop, which are etched with marks that represent wrinkles of this long-standing landmark. Its exterior clearly reveals that, like fine wine the building has matured with age. Fenced by a pink wall, the former church now serves as a print studio to Collin Cole who warmly welcomes me at the entrance.
FROM THE BACK: The north entrance of the Pink Church, on Second Avenue, previously a parking area, the space is now used as an acid room. Photo: Palesa Dlamini
Arriving at the Pink Church with its brick-layered paving and white, steel-barred gate, its longevity is displayed by the worn-out white trimmings on its apex rooftop, which are etched with marks that represent wrinkles of this long-standing landmark. Its exterior clearly reveals that, like fine wine the building has matured with age. Fenced by a pink wall, the former church now serves as a print studio to Collin Cole who warmly welcomes me at the entrance.
Initially, comprising two stands which were later consolidated to stand number 239, the eye–catching structure came into existence in 1903 as the Auckland Park Wesleyan Church. Plans of the space before it came into actuality show that there was never a doubt about what colour to make the place of God as these too show a pink structure to be constructed and it has remained as such.
The pungent smell spawned by conifers which encircle the building infuses the air and is reminiscent of Christmas trees. These saplings, which are a type of pine tree are of great Christian significance as they form part of the religion’s ethos.
The book of Kings in the Old Testament of the holy book, the bible, conveys how Solomon constructed the Lord’s temple using wood from these kinds of conifers. The man of God paved the walls and ceilings of the temple with cedar and used planks of cypress for the floors. The temple had two folding doors made of cypress wood.
FROM THE SIDE: The Pink Church surrounded by leafy trees that extend over the building.
Having housed various types of works during its existence, 25 years later, the place of worship remained as such after it became home to the Melville Auckland Park Hebrew Congregation, as it served as a synagogue. The building’s tradition as a church remained when The Old Apostolic Church of Africa took over it in 1956. Offices have been housed by this establishment. It has been a dwelling to its current owner and has served as an office space for a variety of other businesses.
In glancing at the magnificent creation, one cannot ignore the preservation of the character and church–like atmosphere of the historic stand.
AT WORK: Owner of the Blue Door Print Studio, Collin Cole cleaning one of his prized printers at his studio.
Cole, who is the current occupier of this inviting space, a print maker by profession, distinguished this as the best and most attractive place to utilise for his studio, print-making classes and business.
The 58-year-old blonde-haired man smiles as he welcomes me warmly at the gate of his recently acquired studio.
As he leads me inside the structure, I am greeted by two folding wooden ingresses at the south side of the building. This is now a sunlit interior space where the light is inviting as it fills the high structure from its seven high built arched windows with three on either side of the Pink Church and one just above the main south side entrance. The most noticeable feature is the apex shaped skyline surrounded by a high pitched wooden roof which according to Cole is approximately 12 metres from the floor.
“That skyline is one of my favourite things about this beautiful place. I mean the light from all sides and especially from the skyline is just breath-taking. It is especially good for the kind of work [printing] that we do here,” Cole said.
The room Cole and I stand in previously consisted of what he calls “boring white walls” which the print maker decidedly painted an exuberant red after occupying the space on his 58th birthday on May 25 last year.
Two full-size West African figures guard the short staircase down to his corridor gallery. Further down, to the right of the gallery, is a strong room which the first occupants of the Pink Church, Christian congregants in 1903 used as the church safe.
In sneakers, jeans and t-shirt, Cole takes me on a tour of this exquisite heritage site. The once irreparable wooden floors have been transformed into concrete cement screed and decorated with multiple rainbow colours to add a little bit of class.
With his two year–long lease agreement with his landlord Lebrun Rossouw, Cole has no immediate plans of relocating.
“When I first saw the place it was actually being used as an office by architects Britz and Scholes and I knew I wanted to own it at some point. I was immediately drawn to it because of its classical look, architecture and structure,” Rossouw says.
Rossouw, owner of The Jolly Roger Pub located in Parkhurst, north of Johannesburg saw the former church as the best place for a bachelor such as himself at the time. He lets out a laugh as he explains why a church was the best fit for him.
INSIDE: The former place of worship now carries print works and machinery used to produce them.
“I can’t think of anything more romantic than living in a church. It contrasted the atmosphere I experienced in my pub because when I would come home all I felt was calmness. The romance of a church as a home cannot be put into words,” he said.
Rossouw took ownership of the Pink Church after it had been empty and abandoned for three years.
“It was derelict, had no windows, doors, toilets and was occupied by vagrants,” he explained.
The businessman renovated the distinctive piece of property as he turned what used to be the pulpit area into his private sleeping quarters by erecting a white two-metre-high wall which now boasts the initials B.D in the colour blue, which are a representation of what the building currently is, The Pink Church with a Blue Door. Rossouw proudly speaks of one of his most prized possessions, The Pink Church
“When I first moved in there, there was a mezzanine floor and stairs as well as a conference room which had been and added by Britz and Scholes. I added and changed a lot. I added a kitchen, I extended the entrance so I could use it as a parking space. It now extends closer to the road. I added a garage at the back and I created a bathroom too,” Rossouw said.
Seventeen years subsequent to acquiring the gemstone, Rossouw, following careful consideration and thought explains that he is always open to change.
Having been used as an office from 1978 the Pink Church was occupied by 15 staff members who worked for the architectural firm, Britz and Scholes.
One of the former staff members was 56-year-old, Fiona Garson whose first job was as a junior architect at the firm. Speaking of the building during her time there, in 1988, Garson fondly recalled the interior at the time and the great way owners of the building at the time transformed the building.
A VISION: The brightly painted walls of the building carry the print works of current and former students.
“Britz and Scholes were the owners of the building. It was a nice building. There was an entire mezzanine level and a double volume in the middle. The staff would sit upstairs and everyone had their own alcove to work in,” she says.
After a moment in silence as if travelling back in time to when she was 23 years old [1988], Garson takes a deep breath and continues, “I remember how beautiful it was especially because of the way it was oriented. It had a high volume inside and it was an interesting space to work in because I don’t think a lot of people envisioned the place as an office and not a church.”
According to Garson, her then R2 367 pay check was enough for her to get by as she could pay the rent at her small flat in Yeoville as well as pay for her car.
Garson is currently one of the directors of Cohen and Garson Architects and was part of the team responsible for designing the Wits Art Museum in Braamfontein.
Britz and Scholes sold the building for R400 000 in 1990 to Dug toy (Pty).
When the Melville Auckland Park Hebrew Congregation was formed in the western suburbs of Johannesburg, the Pink Church was purchased by the Jewish community in 1929, more than 20 years after its inception.
During her visit to New York in the Eighties, Rose Norwich, a member of the Jewish community became interested in synagogues in South Africa that had been closed down. The now 97-year old qualified architect, who was a Wits student, wrote part of her thesis on the Pink Church. Although her memory is slightly slipping, she tries hard to think back to when she visited the building, as she scratches her fluffy grey hair.
“It was a pretty little building. It was attractive and it captured the essence of the 1900s. It wasn’t big and great, but it was attractive,” says the 97-year-old.
Looking at her old plans of the building and comparing them to the ones I have obtained, Norwich thoughtfully says, “It’s amazing that everyone who has owned it has changed it in some way, maybe that’s what makes this building so interesting. I am almost as old as it actually.”
The National Heritage Resources Act, 25 of 1999 states that structures such as the Pink Church, which are older than 60 years may not have any of its part exterior demolished by any person without a permit issued by the Provincial Heritage Resources Authority Gauteng.
“As far as I know this refers to the exterior of the building. That is why a lot of the demolishing that I did was done to the interior,” Rossouw explains.
Across the road from the Lucky Bean Guesthouse on First Avenue, the Pink Church is also surrounded by private residences, one of which is to its right, formerly known as stand 51 and was utilised as a dwelling place for the synagogue’s rabbi in 1934, after the Jewish congregation built a small house comprising of two bedrooms and a kitchen.
Owner of the guesthouse on First Avenue Conway Falconer has been a neighbour of the church for about eight years. The 56-year-old bearded entrepreneur speaks fondly of the heritage site.
“It’s always been a building I have been proud to speak of when talking about my area. It’s not just your typical building. It’s a church that has experienced a lot. I think at some stage someone tried to sell antiques from there and I think Lebrun once lived there. It’s like it’s always changing inside but always stays the same,” he says.
It can always be argued that it is fairly easy to recycle an existing building, particularly a building such as this former Methodist Church. However, the innovation and care with which the interior has been converted shows the importance and grace of the Pink Church. One cannot help but be mesmerised and captured by the finishes, use of colour and visual excitement it currently carries.
FEATURED IMAGE: The north entrance of the Pink Church, on Second Avenue, previously a parking area, the space is now used as an acid room. Photo: Palesa Dlamini
As the artsy Johannesburg suburb of Melville modernises, its rich heritage is slowly beginning to fade. Now, new efforts are being made by those who are fighting to keep Melville’s heritage alive.
It’s a warm Saturday afternoon in Melville, Johannesburg. Spring has come into full effect leaving the streets lined with pink and purple flowers. On 7th Street and 4th Street, women weave through the cars holding hand woven baskets and bags for sale while families, 30-something year old trendsetters, students, and bikers sporting two full sleeves of tattoos people-watch at an outdoor table from one of the restaurants spilling onto the pavements.
A few quaint buildings betray Melville’s age. The suburb is one of the older suburbs in Johannesburg, built in 1905 at the foot of the Melville Koppies by a developer named Edward Harker Vincent Melville, for whom the suburb was named.
Over time, many of the older buildings have been altered beyond recognition or disappeared altogether. However, some have held firm. One of these sits on the jacaranda-lined Second Avenue. A large powder blue late Victorian style home defined by a turret stands draped by pink flowers. This is the Melville Turret guesthouse.
It’s gabled roof, French windows, and original steel pressed ceilings first attracted owner Koos Heymand to the house.
“This house was built in 1906. It’s one of the oldest houses in Melville,” says Heymand. He is a warm, lively man who often stops in his tracks to engage in good-natured conversation with Patricia, one of his six employees working full time at the guesthouse, who has been working at the front desk for the past 10 years.
HERITAGE: The Melville Turret pictured today and as it stood when photographed by The Star in 1980.
For the past 13 years, Heymand has been trying to conserve the character and history of the guesthouse. He has renovated areas of it, particularly the kitchen and bathrooms. He has also remodelled each room; one is a modern black and white private loft, another is jewel-toned with graphic African prints hanging on the walls, while another is modest in understated tones of blue and grey.
At the same time, he has kept details such as the original tiled fireplace, wooden floors and private hidden courtyards and balconies for some of the rooms. He has also vowed not to change the exterior.
“There are very few houses like this left. I wanted to keep the original character of the house,” he says.
DETAILS: The Melville Turret still boasts its original steel pressed ceilings and displays chandeliers typical to those of the Victorian era.
The guesthouse is legally protected under the National Heritage Resources Act of 1999, which is a law aimed at national heritage sites. The Act defines heritage sites as “places with qualities so exceptional that they are of special national significance” and included under this are buildings that are older than 60 years.
Heymand points to 4th Street, a commercial street in Melville not too far from the guesthouse. “On 4th Street there is nothing that has retained its value. Everything is modern. I think it’s sad,” he says.
He is not the only Melville business owner who believes this. Down the road from Heymand’s guesthouse is the trendy 7th Street. A 10-minute walk up the street will take one under canopies and passed iron lattice decorations and thick columns, a mix of modern buildings with Victorian ones, and a mix of people speaking languages ranging from English and isiZulu to French and Arabic.
Most of the buildings on the street were built between 1905-1936 and were originally home to bakeries, butcheries and boutique shops.
Now the buildings house trendy restaurants, clothing stores and bars. A tattoo parlour and a thrift store share the same distressed wooden awnings.
VIDEO: Several Melville residents explain what makes 7th Street special.
However, the subtle Victorian details are fading under the clash of bright colored paint and neon signs. The pressed steel ceilings are beginning to crack and sag in some areas. In others, they have been painted over altogether so that some of the detail is lost.
New businesses close almost as fast as they open and each new business owner alters the building to suit their needs.
“You can see some buildings on this street have changed the shape and have changed their sides from wood to steel. That’s wrong; it shouldn’t be allowed. It ruins the buildings,” says Kader Bouredji a business owner of the IT Corner Cafe on 7th Street.
ORIGINAL: Victorian architectural details are still visible on 7th Street.
By law, business owners are required to obtain a permit and approach heritage consultants before making alterations on heritage buildings. However, some of the business owners had no idea that the buildings were heritage sites. As a result, some business owners have made unapproved alterations with no consequence.
“Melville is famous for its buildings, that’s one of the reasons why tourists come here, and that’s being lost,” says Bouredji.
Bouredji has owned his cafe on 7th Street for the past 10 years. Lining its soft pink walls are oil paintings for sale, distressed wood shelves containing yellowing books and the perfectly preserved original Victorian pressed ceilings.
Patrons sit at the tables working from MacBooks and sipping cups of coffee. Chairs and tables placed outside give patrons a view of the street. A regular smokes a hookah pipe while watching people walk by.
“This place was built in 1923. It used to be a boutique shoe shop,” Bouredji says.
At 95 years old, the building falls under legal protection. This limits business owners like Bouredji in a number of ways.
“When you want to fix or renovate the building you have to use the same materials that were used before. So we have window panes made of wood that we need to replace, and we can’t replace it with steel. We need to replace it with wood. It makes it harder, and takes longer. Even now, we can’t close the windows,” he says. It’s a struggle that Heymand knows only too well.
Maintaining the Melville Turret isn’t cheap; it costs him about R100 000 per year partly due to the old pipework made of galvanized steel. He says it’s worth it to preserve the house. “There are very few houses like this one left because Melville is going the Parkhurst route of converting all the houses into modern abodes,” he says. “But we’ve got to be sensitive to [heritage sites]. This is our history and the history of our city.
Heritage consultants and co-authors of the book The Johannesburg Gas Works Monika Läuferts and Judith Mavunganidze are fighting for 7th Street and other heritage sites in Melville to be further protected. In 2015 they declared 7th Street at critical risk in a heritage impact assessment they did of it.
According to their report, 7th Street was declared a “high priority” area because “most of the buildings on the street are at high risk of being altered until they are unrecognisable”.
Läuferts explained that this was because of the high rotation of owners.
“Facades get changed. They replace the original wood with aluminum or paint over the wood. Once you’ve painted over the wood it isn’t easy to restore,” she said.
Läuferts works from her stark white minimalist office in Westdene containing heavy antique furniture and models for buildings she is working on. Originally from Germany, she is the co-founder of Tsica Heritage Consultants, which has been operating since 2008.
“Heritage protection in South Africa is young,” she explained. “[Before 1999] the lack of legal standing made it difficult to preserve buildings and a lot of old buildings were demolished in the 60s and 70s to make way for modern buildings.”
This was later challenged by activists such as Flo Bird, who began protecting heritage sites in 1972 when the government planned to bulldoze eight Victorian-era buildings in Parktown in order to make room for a new motorway.
Bird has since funnelled her passion for preserving heritage sites into founding the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation which provides heritage tours, campaigns to preserve heritage sites, puts blue plaques on heritage buildings depicting their age and history and archives the history of older sites.
“Melville started as a working-class area and what we’ve found is that very rich and very poor areas tend to change very little while middle class areas tend to change a lot,” she explained.
“Most of the houses in Melville were originally builder designs and today they’re completely different.”
“There is no more picturesque or healthy spot in the vicinity of Johannesburg than Melville. Those who have gone there with a view to purchase pronounce it to be situated in the very finest position for suburban residences.
It is situated on elevated ground, with a magnificent view of the wooded country to the north, the blue Pretoria ranges stretching like lines of steel against the horizon.”
– Extract taken from a notice advertising property in Melville placed in The Critic on 23 October 1896.
This adds to the difficulty of tracing the history of heritage buildings in the area. When Heymand first bought the guesthouse from two architects in 2005, he found that the history of the house was not available. Since then he has been trying to piece it together from snippets of information found around the house and obtained from the previous owners.
“I know it was built by Erik van de Berg and he owned a bicycle shop in Braamfontein. I found the original 1906 plans with the city council. I also found an old plaque on the property showing that it was called Melville Mews and it used to be a lodging house,” he said.
However, when looking through the records at the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation, an Erik van de Berg doesn’t appear. Like many other houses in Melville, the history of the Melville Turret is one that is passed down through the memories of its owners.
According to the National Heritage Resources Act, a person who alters a heritage site without first obtaining a permit may have criminal charges brought against them. While the state has been proactive about conserving notable sites such as Robben Island, the enforcement of the act for less famous buildings has been laid largely at the feet of proactive people and the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation, which has had to step in where the state has fallen short by taking business owners who have demolished heritage buildings without proper approval to court.
“Some business owners are cowboys, they’ll just destroy knowing that the chances of being caught are minimal,” Bird explained.
SIDEWALK: Melville residents gather on the pavement outside stores and sit with friends at the bars and restaurants to people-watch.
Enforcement of the Heritage Resources Act can also bring challenges for developers. Architect and director of Melville-based Two Five Five Architects, André Krige, says there are various unique challenges that come with heritage developments. “The submission [and approval] process can and has often delayed projects for years. We have projects that have been submitted in 2015 and are still in the process of being approved,” he says.
Another issue that they often face is dealing with buildings that are so neglected that it becomes difficult to determine the actual heritage value of them. The documentation of the building that they have on hand can also differ from the documentation available off-site.
“We have had cases where original drawings show mosaic tiles to the entrance foyer and BELCom, a respected heritage committee in Cape Town, requested that we keep these tiles and incorporate them within the design. The reality however is that none of these tiles or any real heritage fabric exists anymore. We change our designs to accommodate things that no longer exist and the process of appealing these decisions is even more cumbersome,” he says.
Läuferts agrees that practical issues often make historical restoration difficult. “There’s always a massive discussion around money. Business owners come to us with elaborate plans and realise they don’t have the funding,” she says.
FIGHTING BACK: Monika Läuferts (above) is one of the people fighting for greater heritage protection in Melville and beyond.
Within Melville, Läuferts says that there needs to be a comprehensive plan to preserve the area. “The whole suburb needs a conservation management plan dictating what can be built, what style it can be built in, and how many levels a building can have,” she says.
Efforts are being made to preserve the area by giving 7th Street Hertitage Area Protection. This would mean protecting the original street facades as well as identifying specific stands that have heritage value for protection. This would make it much harder for shop owners and occupants to alter the building permanently. If approved, it will take 3-4 years to be finalised.
One of the buildings that has been identified is the Melville Mansions building that Two Five Five Architects is working on which has been identified for being one of the few clear examples of an art deco style building.
Monika Läuferts and Judith Mavunganidze are working alongside Two Five Five Architects to develop the building while still keeping the heritage elements intact. The building currently stands as a stark white, empty building on 7th Street with the geometric details characteristic of the art deco style still recognisable. Once opened, it will house a boutique hotel, apartments and offices.
“Melville still has charm. It still has the feel of a neighbourhood. You can walk around and even with students moving in and out there’s still a community and an exchange of interesting people,” Läuferts says.
She adds, “Heritage is a big thing in Europe and people always think a building has to be centuries old. You don’t necessarily have to go centuries back. You have it right here and in the most beautiful ways. Johannesburg has all decades from the 1880s and that needs to be protected.”
Walking through buildings like the Melville Turret gives one a sense of that a part of Melville’s memory lives within it. When sipping tea on one of its cozy couches on the verandah, Heymand speaks of how he once saw a picture of the original owners playing chess on the same verandah in 1906. The picture is now gone, but in the past 100 years the verandah has remained unchanged.
As Heymand describes the house, the sentiments of Bird echo through. “Heritage buildings are the landmarks of history. An area without a past is like a man without a memory. It feels unreal,” she previously said.
RENOVATION: The Melville Mansions is a building recognisable for being a clear example of art deco architecture.
FEATURED IMAGE: Melville residents gather on the pavement outside stores and sit with friends at the bars and restaurants to people-watch. Photo: Naledi Mashishi.
Since her announcement as the Democratic Alliance’s mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, Helen Zille has dominated national headlines. In this bonus episode of We Should Be Writing podcast, hosts Lulah Mapiye and Bonolo Mokonoto dissect a media meet-and-greet with the mayoral hopeful. From her extensive political résumé to her controversial public utterance, we examine why the Democratic Alliance has chosen Hellen Zille as their candidate for the 2027 local mayoral elections. Additionally, […]
