The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation led a tour around the recently restored St Joseph’s Children’s Home on the outskirts of Sophiatown on Saturday 21 March.
The purpose of the tour was to offer the public an opportunity to see inside one of Johannesburg’s most historically significant building sites. The tour also coincided with the recent release of a book written by Sarah Welham, detailing the history of the home.
St Joseph’s Children’s Home was built to honour and care for orphaned children of the coloured men of the Transvaal who lost their lives in World War I. The building itself was designed by the Diocesan architect FLH Fleming, the partner of prominent South African architect Sir Herbert Baker.
Chairperson of the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation and campaigner for preserving Johannesburg heritage sites Flo Bird briefly explained some historical details surrounding this recent tour. “St Joseph’s Children’s Home was founded in 1923 by women pioneers, The Sisters of St Margaret of East Grinstead, an Anglican order of nuns, who came to Johannesburg at the behest of Rev John Darragh and laid their efforts to charity work that was needed. They were loving and kind to their charges, who have the happiest memories of the sisters taking them for picnics on the koppies.
Flo Bird continued to point out that the building was not the only place the tour explored. “To top it all off the tour didn’t just stay in the buildings, we walked up to the hills with fine views of the city and water towers and descended through the cosmos to see the original entrance of the building and the very first block that was built in 1932,” she said.
Details: The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation, 011 482 3349.
