Modderfontein Conservation Society to host February meeting

The Modderfontein Conservation Society (MCS) February meeting will take place at the Modderfontein Town Hall at 1 Casino Road on Thursday, February 18 at 7pm.

The talk, which will be presented by historian Ms Naomi Dinur, will focus on the proposed development of the old Rietfontein Tropical Disease Hospital, now known as the Sizwe Hospital, and the graves of those who died there from infectious diseases. Photographs by MCS member Mr John Cruickshank will complete the presentation.

The hospital was built on the farm Rietfontein in 1895 to care for patients with serious infectious diseases, notably bubonic plague, smallpox and anthrax. Many died there from these diseases and were buried on the site. Ms Dinur estimates that there are about 6 000 graves there.

Originally, Rietfontein Hospital stood alone in a remote location, a full day’s cart ride from the centre of Johannesburg, established that far away as a safety measure against the smallpox epidemic sweeping the town. Now, the area is scheduled for development, and MCS member Ms Janet Brodrick speculates on the possibility of a horror scenario with construction releasing millions of anthrax spores. “An epidemic?” she asked. “We are told this is a possibility,” she said.