Sadly the grave site is the latest heritage location to fall victim to vandals in the area.
Miscreants attempted to remove artefacts and have damaged a number of fittings at the site.
Situated in Milner Avenue, Bedfordview, the graves of Sir Farrar and his dog, Togo are testament to the role he played in gold mining in Johannesburg and the establishment of the Bedfordview and Edenvale areas.
Ward 19 councillor, Clr Bill Rundle, recently paid a visit to the grave site while on a routine inspection of his ward.
“The large cross has been broken and vandals have tried to move the sizable grave stone, breaking pieces off it. Not even the grave of the poor dog was spared and they dug it up,” Clr Rundle said.
At the entrance to the grave site a large bronze plaque bears signs of damage from attempts to remove it.
Mr Joni Kowensky from the Linksfield Ridge Heritage Project said increasing vandalism of the graves started roughly three months ago.
While bronze relics have been stolen, Mr Kowensky said the vandalism has no clear cause “because no items have been taken from the graves”.
Clr Rundle and Mr Kowensky recently met with members of the St Andrew’s School for Girls’ Heritage Foundation.
Clr Rundle said that the municipality has agreed to assist the school in fencing off the area which includes a portion of the Linksfield Ridge Nature Reserve.
“The school is looking after the area now and it has been cleaned up as part of a restoration exercise,” he said.
The original house of Sir Farrar, built by Sir Herbert Baker, is situated on the school grounds and has been fully restored by the heritage foundation.
After the house was built, Sir Baker stayed in South Africa and later went on to design the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
Sir Farrar arrived in South Africa in the 1870s and shortly after the discovery of gold in Johannesburg, Sir Farrar and his brothers established themselves in Johannesburg.
It was here that he became one of the leading figures in the mining sector on the East Rand.
Sir Farrar was the first owner of Linksfield Ridge and his land included the area from Edenvale to Benoni.
He was instrumental in opening the first gold mines in Johannesburg.
Once established, Sir Farrar owned the gold monopoly in Johannesburg while his friend, Mr Cecil Rhodes, controlled the diamond industry.
Sir Farrar died in Luderitz while on active duty and his dog, Togo, died on the same day, at the same time as he, in 1915.
The two were buried together on his estate near the top of Linksfield Ridge, where his grave remains.
The NEWS sent a request for comment on the vandalism of the graves to Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) spokesperson, Mr Samuel Modiba, on July 9 and comment was requested by July 12.
No comment was received.
