Museum Africa is abuzz as citizens of Johannesburg and its new mayor celebrated 130 years of Joburg.
Johannesburg was officially founded 130 years ago and Mayor Herman Mashaba, The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation and Museum Africa, among other groups and organisations, paid homage to the city and its founders on 4 October with the cutting of a cake.
The festivities of the day were opened by the sound of scholars singing Shosholoza for the mayor.
“It is indeed my pleasure to be here. This is especially an occasion for the children because we’re seeing a connectivity between the generations. One hundred and thirty years ago there were relatively few children in the city and now we’re handing over our city to them in the hopes they will love it as much as we have,” said The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation’s vice chairperson, Kathy Munro.
Munro was proud to hand over a new book on Johannesburg titled, Hidden Johannesburg, to Mashaba. “It reveals 28 beautiful places in Johannesburg and, included in the book, is the Johannesburg City Hall,” she said.
Mashaba addressed the crowds present at Museum Africa where he explained how he sees the vibrant City of Johannesburg; and talked about the tumultuous past of the now-bustling city and its future. “The city of Johannesburg is characterised by a complex and meaningful past. Our history is painful yet rich in lessons of unity,” he said.
“Johannesburg is our home and our heritage. The spirit of thousands of people to turn a dusty and wasted piece of land into a country’s economic hub is the same spirit that will propel us to fight our current problems.”
The festivities were concluded with the cutting of a cake, but the celebration of this milestone for the city is not yet over as there will be a number of celebratory activities taking place throughout the city during the month of October.
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