#MyBedfordview: Bedfordview was known as a garden town
Raats said Oriel Park was pro claimed by the government to become a park.
Bedfordview resident Valerie Vale (72) and previous resident Ann Raats recall the way Bedfordview was in earlier days.
Valerie has lived in Shirley Avenue since 1958 and was still at school when her father built their home in Bedfordview.
“I remember the mine dumps very well. Bedfordview only had two tarred roads, no street lights and French drains,” said Valerie.
She said there were septic tanks, riders on horseback, dairy farms and acre upon acre of cosmos fields as there were few houses.
“There was one bus which went to Johannesburg city in the morning and back to Bedfordview in the evening,” said Valerie.
She also remembers attending a garden party to raise money for Bedfordview’s first ambulance.
Ann (86) moved to Bedfordview in 1954.
“In those days Bedfordview was made up of smallholdings of one-acre stands. A lot of young people moved to the area, which meant a lot of our children grew up in the area” said Ann.
She said Bedfordview was known to be a garden town in those days, where there were no fences, no walls and children could go anywhere.
Ann said Oriel Park was declared a park by the government.
“It was so beautiful. I remember people taking their dogs for walks in the park and their children to play,” said Ann.
She said her son remembers a time in the early ’90s when she would take seven of her grandchildren to the park.
“The children would swing on the willow trees and also climb trees. We played hide-and-seek. We would also tie strings onto the edge of sticks and put pieces of bacon at the end of it to fish for crabs in the stream. The children loved to see how many crabs they could catch,” said Ann.
Ann said that the park is now terrible she and does not understand why they would channel the river.
“It is backed up so badly that it is now flooding gardens and surrounding areas. They have also cut many of the trees down,” said Ann.
She also said the park is now not very welcoming with the fence around it.
“Putting a fence around the park is not making it any safer. If somebody wanted to get in they would find a way to get in,” said Ann.
