Double dose of heritage at Modderfontein this month

The walks are so popular that prior booking is essential.

September 2, 2019

Kempton Express 2 minutes read

The original Modderfontein Bakery (1894) later became the butchery and then the nursery school.

Heritage Month is being celebrated in Modderfontein with fact and fable walks round the historic village and a talk by James Ball, founder, editor and grand champion of the online Heritage Portal website.

The walks will take place on Heritage Day, September 24, at 9am and the talk in Modderfontein Town Hall at 1 Casino Road at 7.30pm on September 19.

Walks will begin at The Dynamite Company Museum at 2 Main Street (just two doors from 33 High Street Restaurant) and last about two hours. Walk leaders are Keith Martin and Robbie Vermont, members of the heritage section of Modderfontein Conservation Society.

This will be the 12th consecutive year these walks have taken place on this day.

In addition to the walks, The Dynamite Company museum and historical Franz Höenig Haus will be open to the public during the morning. This will give visitors the opportunity to see why Modderfontein Dynamite Factory was called “A Power for Prosperity” in the area. Also, this is one of just two days in the year that the Randlord’s mansion can be viewed, and there is no charge.

The walks are so popular that prior booking is essential. Walkers are advised to wear comfortable shoes, hats and to bring something to drink if they feel they will need it. The cost is R50 a head. For bookings call Robbie on 011 608 2693 or 082 800 3704 or Keith on 011 608 2864 or 082 450 4003.

The Old Weather Station, preserved in the Moddercrest Office Park, was the official weather station for Transvaal from 1896 to 1948 when a new facility was located at the newly opened Jan Smuts Airport. Both buildings will be viewed during the Heritage Day walks.

Ball’s Heritage Month illustrated talk is entitled Heritage Matters. It will cover the founding of The Heritage Portal and review some highs and lows of building the platform while reaching out to South Africa’s heritage community.

In addition, he will present some ideas on how to get the heritage sector working.

Ball has an obsession with old buildings and their history. After a stint in the corporate world, he took a leap of faith and returned to study history at the University of the Witwatersrand. After graduating with a master;s degree, he founded The Heritage Portal.

He is also the co-founder of The Heritage Register, a database of property-specific heritage information for Johannesburg, and The Heritage Monitoring Project, an organisation which tracks South Africa’s most endangered heritage sites.

During working hours, he is a history lecturer at a leading Cambridge School in Johannesburg.

Visitors are welcome to attend the talk. An entrance fee of R30 is charged to help cover expenses. For information contact Keith Martin on 011 608 2864 or 082 450 4003.

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