Cultural and Heritage Parade to Historic Sites in Kimberley
As part of celebrating Heritage month and the build up towards the Golden Shield Heritage Awards which is held annually to recognise and honour those who have contributed to the preservation, protection and the promotion of South African heritage, the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture , Sol Plaatje Municipality and the National Heritage Council will be embarking on a cultural parade to the historic sites in Kimberley which has a strong heritage significance attached to it. The march will start and end at the Harry Oppenheimer Gardens on the 13 September 2017 @ 15h00 and it will be led by the MEC for Sport , Arts and Culture Ms Bongiwe Mbinqo-Gigaba and participants sourced from a diverse background which is brought together to celebrate our diverse Liberation Heritage
Herewith is also a brief description of the heritage sites to be visited.
From the Old Malay Camp (Oppenheimer Gardens) the march will move towards the Old Market Square next to the City Hall. The old Market Square next to the City Hall is a Heritage Site just as South Africa’s first School of Mines, the magnificent Synagogue in 7 Lodge Road and Dunluce, the home of John Orr.
The old Market Square is where fresh produce was sold by Indian merchants and was also known as the Market House.
The parade will move past Eureka Street into Lennox Street into De Beers Street, De Beers Street is a reference to the mining giants that monopolized the diamond mines/ industry in Kimberley and later the gold industry in the country. From De Beers street they will walk towards Phakamile Mabija/Jones Street- Transvaal Road
Phakamile Mabija Street is divided into two separate Apartheid/Colonial Streets, Transvaal Road – that became the N12 which leads us straight to the old Transvaal Republic. Jones Street named after William Thomas Jones who owned a Pub called the “Old Clock” in Market Square Street.
Phakamile Mabija Street - was named to honour the struggle stalwart that was thrown to his death from the sixth floor of the Special Branch police station housed in the same Street. Corner Bultfontein/Lennox Street
The Statue of Frances Baard
She was born in Beaconsfield in 1909. She joined the ANC in 1948 when Apartheid was legalized. She was part of the drafting of the Freedom Charter in 1955 and was also part of the Women’s March in 1956. She was banished/ jailed and was penniless and jobless. She was Buried a pauper.
Sol Plaatje University , William Pescod.
SPU stands on historic grounds that was part of the Malay Camp which includes the William Pescod building, a former “Coloured” only Learning Institution.
The parade will in a sense also foster “social cohesion” within our diverse Heritage.
The main event to celebrate heritage month is the Golden Shield Heritage Awards (GOSHA) (15 September 2017) , which will be preceded by the Heritage Ubuntu Lekgotla/Imbizo (12 September 2017) in Platfontein and the Cultural Parade (13 September 2017). These activities are aimed at nurturing pride and ownership of heritage by communities. These events are also considered as buildup activities to the National Heritage Day celebrations that will be on September 24, 2017 in Mpumalanga, Middleburg.
The annual formal gala for our Champions of Heritage will be hosted on 15 September 2017 at Mittah Seperepere Convention Centre and will be attended by 400 guests from the heritage and culture sector.
For more information with regards to the Golden Heritage Awards you can contact Mr Danny Goulkan , the Senior Manager Marketing and Communication at the National Heritage Council @ 072 952 2260.
Enquiries:
Conrad Fortune
Cell: 079 873 0679
