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Visit Mogale's marvels this Heritage Month
28 August 2009 By Ntsiki Mgxabayi CELEBRATIONS of language, art, food, music, dance and culture usually mark Heritage Month, a time when people are encouraged to visit heritage sites to learn more about culture and country. The first Heritage Day was celebrated on 24 September 1995. Since then, the day has been marked every year; however, it has been stretched to Heritage Month throughout September. And this year is no different. With the theme, "Celebrating South African craft, our heritage" events have been planned across the country and interesting and historically significant places to visit are being flagged. Mogale City has several of these places. Monuments in Mogale include the Old Station Building in Kruger Street. This was part of the first railway line between Springs and Krugersdorp, built in 1887. In 1896, it was extended to Randfontein. The station was proclaimed a national monument in 1984.Voortrekkerpad Monument
On 2 December 1938, the Voortrekker leaders Andries Pretorius and Hendrik Potgieter left Krugersdorp on an ox wagon, using the Voortrekkerpad route. A blue granite stone was placed near this road to serve as a beacon. Today, the street on which this monument is found, is called Voortrekker Avenue.
Old Magistrate's Court Building
Now used as a museum, the Old Magistrate's Court Building in Commissioner Street was designed by the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek state architect, Sytze Wierda. Wierda worked under President Paul Kruger.
Paardekraal Monument
Boer leader Marthinus Wessel Pretorius, who was part of the triarchy with Paul Kruger and Piet Joubert, donated the Paardekraal land to the government.
In 1880, a cairn was built on this land by 6 000 Boers, to show their unity as they rejected British rule. British soldiers removed the cairn in 1900 on the instruction of the British authorities, however, and threw the stones into the Vaal River. The site was declared a national monument in 1936.
Paardekraal Monument is in Paardekraal Drive.
Paul Kruger Statue
President Paul Kruger ruled the Zuid-Afrikansche Republic, the Boer republic, fighting a takeover by the British that ended in the Anglo-Boer War of 1899 to 1902.
A revered leader, a statue of Oom Paul, as he was fondly called, was unveiled by the then state president of the Republic of South Africa, CR Swart, on Kruger Day on 10 October 1962. The statue shows Kruger holding a Bible in one hand and his hat in the other.
It is also in Paardekraal Drive.
The Blockhouse
The Blockhouse in Hekpoort Road, declared a national monument in 1984, is one of 8 000 such structures built during the Anglo-Boer War when General Hunter occupied Krugersdorp. It overlooked the concentration camp, set up and run by the British, below.
The Concentration Camp
The camp, located on Monument Street, held 5 488 prisoners in 1901, of whom 178 died. This was one of the biggest concentration camps in the Transvaal.
The camps were set up by the British during the Anglo-Boer War. The British also burned Boer farms, under the scorched earth policy that decreed the destruction of Boer property to insure there was no food or resources for Boer soldiers. Boer women and children and sympathisers were placed in the camps.
There is also a lot to be seen at Mogale City Museum. Established in 1995 to help preserve the history of the area, the museum is famous for collections of human fossils. It is located on the corner of Commissioner and Monument streets in Krugersdorp.
For bookings and more information, contact 011 951 2336.
But Mogale City's history extends much further back than this: it is also home to the Cradle of Humankind, the world renowned archaeological treasure house that charts the evolution of humans; and the Sterkfontein Cave, the burial place of our ancient ancestors rich in fossils.
Geographically, there is the Wonder Cave and the Magaliesberg, which are among the oldest mountains in the world, and are almost 100 times older than Mount Everest in the Himalayas.
Aptly named, the Wonder Cave is a wonderland of twirled and ice-cream cone rocks, subtly lit to transform them into a magical underground world.
The original Wonder Cave is between five and 10 million years old, but the shape one can see now is 1,5 million years old, formed when an earthquake triggered a huge collapse of the roof along a fault line, creating a cave 125 metres long and 154 metres wide. It is filled with up to 14 different stalactite and stalagmite formations, 85 percent of which are still growing.
Heritage Month
"Heritage [is] defined as that which we inherit: the sum total of wild life and scenic parks, sites of scientific or historical importance, national monuments, historic buildings, works of art, literature and music, oral traditions and museum collections together with their documentation," according to the South African government website.
During the month, tangible and intangible aspects of South African culture are recognised. It is meant to highlight and improve awareness of South Africa's diverse cultural heritage, and it seeks to preserve, exhibit and promote the many cultures in the country.
Celebrations focus on food, dress and creative expression, and identity, while the message is promoted that difference is a national asset.
According to the website, in an address marking Heritage Day in 1996, former president Nelson Mandela said:
"When our first democratically elected government decided to make Heritage Day one of our national days, we did so because we knew that our rich and varied cultural heritage has a profound power to help build our new nation.
"We did so knowing that the struggles against the injustice and inequities of the past are part of our national identity; they are part of our culture. We knew that, if indeed our nation has to rise like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes of division and conflict, we had to acknowledge those whose selfless efforts and talents were dedicated to this goal of non-racial democracy."
Every year the national Department of Arts and Culture, which has been tasked with organising events for the day, comes up with a theme for the month of September. The theme this year is "Celebrating South African craft, our heritage".
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 The Sterkfontein Caves at the Craddle of Mankind
Related stories Welcome to the treasure chest of the west Mogale places An area steeped in history Unlocking the treasure chest Wonder Cave is a subterranean marvel
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