Visit long-gone pioneers and parishioners
BRAAMFONTEIN - Cemeteries evoke mixed reactions in many people, from grief to fear; but they can be places rich in history.
The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation will explore Braamfontein Cemetery, the city’s oldest public burial ground, and its “delightful characters” on a walking tour.
“We will start with the pioneers including Sir Thomas Cullinan and Captain Von Brandis,” said the foundation’s Eira Bond.
“[We will then] make our way along the circular path of headstones of priests and nuns that surround the grave of a Catholic bishop.”
The cemetery also contains an 1896 granite memorial to those killed in a dynamite explosion at Braamfontein on 19 February that year, as well as a memorial to Enoch Manyaki Sontonga, composer of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrica.
Valliamma Munusamy Moodaliar and Swami Nagappen, early martyrs of Mahatma Gandhi’s passive resistance movement, are also buried in the cemetery.
Braamfontein Cemetery: Pioneers and parishioners will take place on 8 March at 1pm.
Parking will be available inside the cemetery, at the Graf Street entrance.
Booking is essential.
Details: 011 482 3349; www.joburgheritage.co.za; www.computicket.com
