Historical cemetery goes to wreck in ruin
City of Tshwane accused of neglecting the Church Street Cemetery in which several historic icons are buried.
A local doctor has offered to save the cemetery in which the remains of South Africa’s former prime ministers Louis Botha and Hendrik Verwoerd are laid.
This after it fell into a terrible state of disrepair.
The Church Street Cemetery sits in the centre of the city and Ariel Eyal, a medical doctor, says it is in such disarray that tombstones were falling over and rubble lay everywhere.
“It is an eyesore,” he said. “For a place of such historical importance, this is unacceptable.
“I am willing to donate up to R20 000 to have it cleaned up and restored to its glory.
“It is incredibly disrespectful to leave a cemetery in that state.
“Headstones are falling over, the graveyard is dirty and home to vagrants and the fence is broken. This is a historical place.”
He said the cemetery had, for many years, been an important place to the Afrikaner community.
“Heroes’ Acre is in there; the graves of important figures in Afrikaner history.”
Dr Eyal said that Australian Breaker Morant, a historical figure about whom a well-known movie was made in the 1970s, was buried in the century-old cemetery.
“There are many other graves of soldiers, both British and Boer, who fought in the the Anglo-Boer War,” he said.
“People are posting disparaging messages about the graveyard to online tourism resources to show their disgust.”
He said he was willing to put his money where his mouth was.
“As someone who has a deep-seated fascination with the history of our country, I would like to clean up the cemetery and try to promote it as a historical location.
“I think very few South Africans are aware of its location or importance to our history,” said Dr Eyal.
City of Tshwane‘s spokesperson Lindela Mashigo said that the cemeteries in Pretoria were cleaned and maintained on a monthly basis or as and when the need arose.
“The theft of fencing and tombstones is a serious [problem]. Security personnel, the SAPS and the Tshwane police [patrolled the area] to minimise the risk of theft and vandalism,” he said.
“The city will soon appoint a service provider to do maintenance work [at the cemetery].”
Mashigo said August was a windy month so litter had been blown into the cemetery, but the city was doing its best to deal with the situation.
“We are mindful of the urgency and the importance of cleaning the facility.”
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