Musgrave’s Holy Acre explored

BESETdurban, an affiliation of curious Durbanites who lead regular walking groups through interesting places in the city every four to eight weeks, explored Musgrave’s Holy Acre… and a Half on Saturday morning.

“Our walks will take you through some of Durban’s forgotten spaces and best kept secrets. We strongly believe that it’s only by walking that you really experience the fabric of your city. In a world full of conflict where we focus so much on differences, this tour today is a sign of how institutions can work together. By hosting these walks we want to create positive stories about the city, to create ambassadors through the walks who can share stories and promote the city,” said Jonas Barausse on behalf of the BESETdurban team.

The walk on Saturday took residents to various places of worship in the vicinity, who were treated to talks on the history of Musgrave Methodist Church, Holy Trinity Catholic Church, St Thomas Anglican Church, the existing musallah in Musgrave Road and the site of the new mosque currently under construction in St Thomas’ Road.

Musgrave Methodist Church

The walk coincided with Musgrave Methodist Church’s 125th birthday celebrations at the weekend.

The first Musgrave Road Methodist Church, an iron building, was opened on Easter Sunday in 1877 but was later demolished to make way for the existing church in April 1893, when the church proved too small for a rapidly-growing congregation. The building cost £3 200 and most of the money was collected ahead of time.

A manse, a late-Victorian villa, was built in 1895 and added to in the 1920s. A hall, for Sunday School was added in 1899. The new organ, which is still in working order, was installed in 1929. A memorial chapel was built in 1955 and in the 90s, a cry room was added to accommodate children in the church services.

The land the church is on was donated by the Greenacre family. Originally the church land adjoined the Greenacre estate and was little more than sand-hill and bush. The family home, The Caister, stands nearby, and is now a retirement complex. The church was the spiritual home of several prominent Durban families, including Walter Greenacre and his business rival, Harold Payne. They were the proprietors of rival retail departmental stores in the city. They also alternated as treasurers of the church trust.

The biggest project of the church is the Kathleen Voysey clinic which was opened in 1938 and is now based at Umbilo Methodist Church.

Musgrave Musallah

The Musallah in Musgrave Road has been open for seven years. There is a receiver at the musallah which pipes the call to prayer to the homes of Muslims in the area. Muslims wash before prayer and remove their shoes before entering the musallah.

Mosques serve as multipurpose buildings and are tastefully and practically decorated. All mosques are built in the direction of Mecca, a desert valley in western Saudi Arabia which is Islam’s holiest city and the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and the faith itself. The new mosque in St Thomas’ Road will be built at an angle.

Holy Trinity Catholic Church

The church’s original parisioners attended holy mass at the chapel at Maris Stella until the congregation grew too big to be accommodated at the building.

The land where the church now stands in Musgrave Road was bought in 1953 for £9000.

The building took five years to complete at a cost of £52 000. Denis Hurley chose the name of the church and placed the foundation stone when the church was opened in 1958. Architects were Woodrow and Collingwood Architects. Mr Collingwood later joined the church as a priest.

This modern basilican church with a corner tower has angled fins running the length of the nave directing light towards the altar. The walls are stone-clad externally and internally and the interiors are notable for the mosaic finishes and the altar and gable panels by Armondo Baldinelli.

There are two chapels on either side of the alter, the St Mary’s Chapel and the St Joseph’s Chapel. The organ pipes are built into the wall on the inside. There are two confessionals at the back of the church.

St Thomas’ Road Mosque

The site where the new Mosque is to be built in St Thomas’ Road is 2 400 meters squared. Six residential properties in the road were purchased and after a year of reports through Amafa, the mosque development was given the green light. Imran Bobat, who runs the musallah in Musgrave Road said the community, Save Our Berea and local councillors were consulted on the development at the time.

It will take two years to construct the new Mosque which will consist of two buildings, including a parking lot for 101 cars.

The Mosque will have two levels, with a ground floor and mezzanine for women, as well as a conference centre.
The call to prayer will be done audibly inside the Mosque, but will be piped through receivers to homes.
Bobat said anyone living in the area can attend the Mosque.

St Thomas’ Anglican Church

In 1835, Captain Allan Gardiner retired from the navy and went to Natal to begin missionary work among the Zulus. Although the Zulus as a whole were singularly disinterested in both his and most other missionary efforts, when he returned to Durban he received a cordial welcome by its white residents, and decided to build a church and a school on the wooded hill west of the bay.

He named his mission Berea, in honour of St Paul. The land upon which the mission station stood subsequently became a part of Christopher Cato’s estate. In the 1860s, Cato gave this land to the Anglican Church as his contribution towards the construction of a church on the Berea. As a result the first St Thomas’s Church, a corrugated iron structure, was completed in 1864. The prefabricated building had previously been made in England and was sent to South Africa. A missionary, Rev E Rivett had the church built in Ridge Road on the Berea. This structure was in use until 1899 when a new church, also called St Thomas, was built on Musgrave Road.

By 1928 the old church had become so dilapidated that its steeple collapsed and as a result, the remainder had to be demolished. A new church was built in its place as a memorial to Captain Gardiner.

A Te Deum window was dedicated to the Butcher family after Mr Samuel Butcher left a bequest of £2000 to St Thomas to be used for the completion of the church. When the church in Musgrave Road was built in 1899 the organ, which had been installed in Old St Thomas in 1893, was brought across to the new church. In 1904 Mr and Mrs Harold Miller donated the money for the present organ. The organ was built in 1905 and was upgraded and modernised in 1957 at a cost of £3000. A new stop was added in 1990. Further repairs were undertaken in 2006-7 when the leaking roof caused damage and the opportunity was used to upgrade the mechanism affected by wear and tear. This was made possible by generous donations by the St Thomas parishioners to the Organ Fund.

Edwin Swales was a member of the Scouts group which is still run at the parish. There is also a tea garden run at the premises.

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