Getting to know Tony da Cruz
I get hundreds of likes and comments on the posts and people seem to be very interested in the history of the town.
Local business owner Tony da Cruz has always had a passion for history, especially a passion for the history of Springs and the East Rand.
This passion inspired him to create the popular Facebook Page, Springs – History of a Gold Town.
When did you decide to start the Facebook page?
In 2014 the Springs Library was heavily damaged and I knew they stored all the Springs Advertiser’s archives. I was scared they were also damaged.
When the roof started leaking I realised they needed to be saved in some way so I decided to make a digital archive that would last forever.
I got two ladies to help me create the archives by taking photos of every single photograph and article in the paper.
They worked for around 16 weeks straight, but we were able to get everything we needed.
After everything got backed up, I decided I needed to share it with people, so I created the Facebook page.
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What has the response been?
It’s been very positive. I get hundreds of likes and comments on the posts and people seem to be very interested in the history of the town.
I also have many expats from places like Russia, New Zealand and Australia who love the page.
When I created the page I was very cognisant of South Africa’s history and how sensitive it is, so I want the page to be about the mining history of the town and not anything political.
The town has changed a lot over the years with the closure of the mines, and some people want to be reminded of how it looked when they were younger.
People have submitted their own stories and photos so I have been very lucky in that regard.
What have some of the challenges been with creating and managing the page?
I had to keep in mind the sensitive history of our country, so I didn’t want it to just pander to one group of people, and I’ve had to tread carefully.
People tend to get political but that is not what the site is about, it’s mainly about World War One and World War Two and the town’s history as a mining town, hence the name of the page.
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Do you have any future plans for the page?
I want to grow the page as much as I can, but I have put together a plan to create an Ekurhuleni Outdoor Heritage Museum.
There are mine carts, cannons and all sorts of pieces of history dotted around the town and they just sit there and no one really knows about or sees them.
So I want to collect all of them and create a place where everyone can go and learn about the town’s history.
I already have many sponsors in place to make it a possibility and the mayor has agreed to get involved as well.
We also had a plan in place to restore and paint one of the town’s old steam tractors, but the plan was unfortunately delayed by Covid.
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