One of Kensington’s most historical sites is up for sale.
The Kensington property up for sale was once the scene of intense police activity as they hunted down the notorious Foster gang, 99 years ago.
The Foster Gang consisted of three individuals, the strongest character being William Foster, the leader. Also known as Ward R. Jackson and W. E Smith, he had numerous convictions including three in Durban and three in De Aar, culminating in a sentence of 12 years hard labour for robbery in Cape Town in 1913.
He did not serve much of his sentence and escaped from the Pretoria Central Prison on February 27, 1914. Foster’s right-hand man was John M. Maxim. His alias was Maxwell, and he was an American, ex-cowboy, ex-mechanic and was described as a deadly shot. The third member of the gang was Charles Nezar, alias George Smit. Nezar was described as “Dutch”, whether this meant Dutch as in Holland or Dutch as in Afrikaans is unclear.
After Foster’s escape from prison, the gang carried out numerous thefts and robberies, including robbing the Roodepoort and Bellevue Post Offices, and shooting and killing a civilian during a robbery in Boksburg. During the night of September 12, 1914, a patrolling policemen, P.C Langsberg, disturbed the Foster Gang who were busy robbing a bottle store at the corner of Viljoen and Kimberley roads in Bertrams.
Langsberg escaped lightly; he was knocked unconscious and the gang fled. When the alarm was raised later, two police sergeants, McLeod and Mansfield, surmised that the gang might cross the valley and strike again. In the early hours of Sunday morning they found a man sitting outside a bottle store on the corner of Op De Bergen and Eleanor streets in Fairview. His explanation that he was on his way to work did not satisfy the two policemen, They searched him and found a revolver in his pocket.
Sgt McLeod, with the help of a man called Swanepoel, started taking the prisoner to the police station, while Sgt Mansfield appears to have gone back to check the store. At this stage the prisoner started shouting for help. Two men with guns ran out of the bottle store. Sgt McLeod was shot and killed. Swanepoel tried to defend himself with the captured firearm and was wounded for his efforts. Swanepoel made off rapidly to save himself and to call for re-enforcements. The body of Sgt Mansfield was later found in the bottle store. He had been shot several times, once in the back, apparently while lying on the floor. Both Sgt McLeod and Mansfield were unarmed, as in those days policemen did not carry firearms. These events caused a great deal of excitement, confusion, publicity and fear. Photographs of the gang were circulated, everyone, and especially the police, was now on the lookout for Foster, Maxi and Nezar.
On Tuesday, September 15, a woman reported to the police that a man similar in description to Foster lived in a house in Regents Park. Detectives Mynott, Murphy and Layde went to investigate. While circling the house, Detective Mynott came upon the Foster Gang, and Mrs Foster with her child, climbing into a black car.
Det Mynott drew his gun and called on Foster to put his hands up. Foster drew his gun and shot Mynott dead on the spot. While Maxim started the car manually, Foster exchanged shots with Murphy and Layde. Although wounded several times, Foster held them off until the car started and the gang made their escape. When the house, situated at the corner of South Road and Bob Streets was searched, boxes of stamps were found. Proof of the gang’s involvement in the Post Office robberies. The killing of yet another policeman was the last straw as far as the authorities were concerned. Road blocks were soon set up on all roads leading out of Johannesburg and every car was to be stopped and searched.
As usual, the Foster gang was one step ahead of the authorities. They drove to Germiston to leave Mrs Foster with friends. Foster then decided the gang should return to Johannesburg.
Early on Tuesday evening, a black car did not respond to police officers’ attempts to stop it in the vicinity of Simmer and Jack Mine. Police opened fire and killed the driver, a Dr Grace, and a wounded his wife. Dr Grace was an ex-Mayor of Springs. This fatality caused a huge upset; stories circulated that the Foster Gang had killed Dr Grace. All police in the area congregated in the Simmer and Jack Mine area.
On the other side of Johannesburg, a tragedy with far-reaching consequences happened. At 9pm, a car containing Commandant-General Beyers and General Koos De La Rey was passing through Langlaagte. Again the police challenged, were ignored and opened fire. One bullet ricocheted off the road, penetrated the rear of the car and struck Gen De La Rey in the back. Gen De La Rey was taken to the nearby Fountain Hotel for attention but died before he reached the hospital.
While all this was happening, the Foster Gang was headed back towards Johannesburg. They were not stopped because all the police in the East had congregated in Simmer and Jack Mine.
At Geldenhuys Crossing, the boom was down. The Foster Gang confronted the man in charge and were hastily given right-of-way. The gang appears to have decided to enter Johannesburg via Bezuidenhout Valley. The Star later reported their car “collapsed as a result of being driven into a deep rut” near Kensington. With no vehicle and Foster himself wounded, the gang appears to have spent Tuesday night roaming the Kensington Koppies. Photographs published show that Kensington was sparsely inhabited, with only a few houses here and there.
During the night the damaged car, which was later found to be stolen, was found and armed search parties spread out into the neighbouring area. On Wednesday morning, one search party came upon an abandoned mine adit. Sgt Grainer, Lance Corporal Sergeant and Constable Pretorius entered the horizontal shaft to investigate. Sgt Grainer had the only lamp and lead the way. Burnt pieces of paper were found and suddenly they were confronted by the Foster Gang who immediately opened fire. In the confusion of returning fire, the lamp was dropped and went out. This probably saved the policemen’s lives, as they managed to escape, while wounding Foster again. With the gang trapped in the mine, re-enforcements were rushed to the scene. The Star reported “every second rifle and policeman in Johannesburg was brought in to guard the trapped rats”. From this stage on, all reports talk about “the cave”. Why this should be, when the same reports mention it being a mine, is a mystery.
Photographs show a trench, about 50 metre long, slowly deepening to about three metres, when the mine tunnel proper continues into the hill. Large rocks were rolled into the entrance from above, thus sealing the gang in. On Wednesday afternoon, an attempt to smoke the gang out with chemicals failed. On the morning of Thursday, September 17, some rocks were cleared away to enable Inspector Leitch to talk to the trapped gang. He tried to persuade them to surrender. Finally, Foster said they would surrender if he could speak to his wife, child and parents. He told Insp Leitch where to find his wife, which the police duly did. A photograph in The Star shows Mrs Foster climbing out of a car clutching her baby. Whether she willingly went to her husband was questioned. More stones were removed from the entrance to allow Mrs Foster and her baby to enter, followed by Foster’s parents. After some time, Foster’s parents emerged, Foster’s father said that Nezar had shot himself at noon. After a while the baby was passed to the police outside and Foster said his wife was not going to come out. Some time later, the police heard several shots. When they finally entered the “cave”, they found Foster, his wife, Nezar and Maxim all dead from gunshot wounds.
The current owner of the house, on Juno Street today, Mr Denis Cacho, has lived on the property since 1993. He said the house is an important part of the heritage of Johannesburg.
“There is a lot of history in Kensington. It is special; it is nice to know that one has a part of history in their garden,” said Mr Cacho. The site is named in the Johannesburg 100 places to visit, which focuses on cultural, historical and architectural value. “We have a number of interested parties that visit the site from time to time. Television crews from as far as France have been here. It is purely a site of historical interest,” said Mr Cacho.
He said he was moving to the coast. “It has been a happy place to live in. It is quiet, private and has lovely views. It also gives one a sense of space,” said Mr Cacho.
Ms Elaine Thorne, one of the Founders of the Kensington Heritage Trust, described the cave as a monumental site.
“The owners will be sad to release it to someone else. They have looked after the site very well and were able to find more relics, which they kept on the site. I hope the new owners will revere the site and be open and understand its importance. Our aim is to make people aware of the suburb whose history dates back to 1902. It is vital to hold onto,” said Ms Thorne. She named a few historical sites in the area such as Lion House, Sable House and some churches.
