Stop building on creck

I read with great interest about the predicament in which Barberton finds itsself regarding a central town area of Rimer’s Creek. I am aware that some time ago there was a great danger for the council selling Centenary Park, which is at the rugby and cricket field in the centre of Barberton, to a property developer who wished to establish a great new shopping mall on the property.

Centenary Park has a history of over 100 years.
This along with the current developement on Rimer’s Creek must be condemned in the strongest fashion.
I am surprised that a local company with many years of successful trading in this town and its district should be the instigators of such an atrocity, never mind the blatant disregard of enviromental and SDF requirements.

As far as the cricket field on Centenary Park is concerned, I recall representing Lydenburg in 1962 against Barberton and playing on what was then the only grass pitch in the area, a very new experience for me.
In fact the only other of its kind was at the Penge Asbestos Mine near Burgersfort
and all other cricket clubs in the former eastern Transvaal used matting
pitches.
The day we played there we were chased by a swarm of bees which had nested in the large fig tree on the boundary of the field. After they had settled down we continued our game.
During the match Douw Wolmarans, a Lydenburg fast bowler, was also the first in the history to bowl six byes as the ball slipped out of his hand and he cleared what must have been the highest set of rugby posts in the world. If I am not mistaken Keith Kellar of Kellarprins, Nelspruit was also playing in that game.
I trust that this helps the cause.