MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

Ramaphosa: from activist to business, and then to power

Johannesburg in the news:

  1. Ramaphosa: from activist to business, and then to power: JOHANNESBURG – In the course of his 66 years, Cyril Ramaphosa has experienced the poverty of Soweto, jail for fighting apartheid, trade union … – Google Alert – Johannesburg
  2. #OneShow2019: Final night's results!: TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg brought home a Silver Pencil for “Breaking Ballet” on behalf of Joburg Ballet in Social Media: Social Post … – Google Alert – Johannesburg
  3. IEC: 4 provinces conclude counting, Gauteng still trailing behind: JOHANNESBURG – Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) CEO Sy Mamabolo said vote counting was nearing conclusion with 96.6% of voting … – Google Alert – Johannesburg
  4. South Africa's Elections: A Weakened ANC Clings to Victory: JOHANNESBURG — Facing widespread voter disillusionment and anger, the African National Congress early Saturday kept control of South Africa's … – Google Alert – Johannesburg
  5. Twenty-seven parties serve IEC with lawyer's letter: JOHANNESBURG – Twenty-seven parties have served the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) with lawyer's letter. The parties demand the IEC … – Google Alert – Johannesburg

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Have you tried: Whale and Dolphin Watching in Algoa Bay?

Did you know this about Johannesburg? Sophiatown was originally part of the farm Waterval. In 1897 the speculator Hermann Tobiansky acquired a 237-acre portion of the farm, which was situated about four miles or so west of the centre of Johannesburg. In 1903 he had some of the land surveyed as leasehold township, divided into almost 1700 small stands. The township was named after Tobiansky’s wife, Sophia, and some of the streets were named after his children Toby, Gerty, Bertha and Victoria. Blacks started acquiring land in Sophiatown.

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From Sophiatown to Triomf

By 1963, Sophiatown had been physically razed to the ground. In a final act of psychological warfare, the government built a white working-class suburb over the rubble and named it Triumph (Triomf). They wanted to erase the very memory of Sophiatown from the landscape. For decades, the name Sophiatown disappeared from maps, replaced by the neat, sterile streets of the victors.

The “resurrection” of Sophiatown began officially in 2006, when the City of Johannesburg formally restored the original name to the suburb. Today, the neighborhood is a quiet, leafy residential area, but the ghosts of the “Paris of the Transvaal” are everywhere. The Sophiatown Heritage Centre, housed in the former home of Dr. A.B. Xuma (a former ANC president), is one of the few original buildings that escaped the bulldozers. Walking through the streets today, you can still find small markers of the past: a lone Victorian pillar, a specific tree mentioned in a poem, or the rebuilt St. Joseph’s Church.

The legacy of Sophiatown is not just one of tragedy, but of an indestructible cultural spirit. The music, the slang (Tsotsitaal), and the “Drum” era aesthetic continue to influence South African fashion and film today. It serves as a reminder that while you can bulldoze a house and rename a street, you cannot kill the soul of a place that once danced to the sound of a thousand saxophones.