A renovation project at Resistance Park in Umbilo Road is ensuring this Durban landmark becomes a top quality stop for international tourists.
According to the city’s Park’s Department, Jennifer Rampersad, she and her team started renovating the park in June, cleaning up the grounds and the monuments, tiling the floors, repairing and painting the fence and landscaping and planting the beds.
The state of the park and monuments was highlighted in Berea Mail in August 2014, when residents, shocked by the state of the site, called on the municipality to clean up and restore the site to its proud and rightful state. The park, which was opened by Nelson Mandela in 2002, had fallen into a state of disrepair and was covered in filth and human excrement.
“We have been working on maintaining the park since June. Since the introduction of two officers from Safer Cities there has been more control and there has been no vandalism on the site,” said Rampersad.
She said there were future plans for the park, and although a budget had been allocated, the money would not be released until the plans were approved.
Eric Apelgren, head of international and governance relations at eThekwini Municipality, said the department was working on partnerships with businesses in the area to uplift the park.
“We are looking at businesses in the area and the community collaborating to uplift the park. We are hoping to start a tourism kiosk at The Anchorage in Umbilo Road so we can bring tour groups to the park. We are also working with the Parks Department and Sastri College Alumni tobring in a storyteller to inform tourists of the significance of the park. We aim to host events at the park and are in consultation to see what different departments can bring to this space,” he said.
He said the Indian Government wanted to upgrade the brickwork and the artefacts which had strong historical value.
“Every year Sastri College is involved in a commemoration at Resistance Park which is looking great thanks to the hard work of Jennifer and her team from the Parks Department,” he said.
The 1946 Passive Resistance site is a national monument which was renamed the Garden of Remembrance for all those who were banished, exiled and imprisoned during the campaign of resistance between 1946 and 1948. Based on non-violence, it was a militant opposition to apartheid and racism.
The resisters met at Nicol Square (known popularly as Red Square) in central Durban. From there they proceeded to the passive resistance site, at the intersection of Gale Street and Umbilo Road, where police arrested more than 2 000 people. They were kept in police cells at Umbilo police station for the night and then placed in Durban Central prison.
The Resistance Park memorial is dedicated to the 1710 passive resisters in 1946 and the 8557 who defied the unjust laws in 1952.
