A Jewish Tour at Westpark Cemetery

The Johannesburg Heritage Society held a tour that educated guests on some people within the Jewish community who achieved great things in history.

July 6, 2023

Neo Phashe 2 minutes read

The burial site of Fred Cohen, the Jewish man said to have established the suburb of Northcliff Ridge in 1934. Photo: Neo Phashe

Though the cemetery is a place we lay those departed to rest, it is also a space rich with history because of this fact.

As a way to unearth all this rich history, recently, the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation held The Great Achievers – Westpark Jewish Cemetery. This was a tour that saw Flo Bird lead 25 attendees through the final resting places of some notable and fascinating Jewish personalities.

The gravestone Wolf Hillman is one of, if not the tallest in the cemetery. Photo: Neo Phashe — The gravestone of Wolf Hillman is one of, if not the tallest in the cemetery. Photo: Neo Phashe

“There are 1 000s of achievers and about 50 000 graves here, but I chose specific ones for this particular tour this time round,” explained Bird. For her, it is important to have such tours because, without them, people are just unaware, more so those who are not Jewish.

The tour started with a brief overview of some Jewish customs and beliefs by David Fleminger, who, among the many interesting facts he shared about his religion, also added that there were about 50 000 graves at this specific cemetery, which equated to roughly the same number as Jews currently living in Johannesburg.

Flo bird talks on the history of Phillip Tobias. Photo: Neo Phashe — Flo Bird talks about the history of Phillip Tobias. Photo: Neo Phashe

It is because of this reason Bird also thought it important for such events as the number of Jews in our city reducing, “It is quite special that we should know more about them as they did play a huge role and some made big contributions.”

Who are these people who played a huge role? Well, it was an illustrious list of people, that included Fred Cohen, a man described as having established the suburb of Northcliff in 1934. He built himself a palatial Old Hollywood-style mansion on Hearn Drive. Another notable person was Professor Phillip Valentine Tobias who was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize and was a fierce opponent of apartheid.

Flo Bird shares on the meaning of some of the symbols found on a Jewish gravestone. Photo: Neo Phashe — Flo Bird shares the meaning of some of the symbols found on a Jewish gravestone. Photo: Neo Phashe

The tour also visited the gravesite of Wolf Hillman, who has one of, if not the only, tallest gravestones at the cemetery. He and his brother made a lot of money through timber. But, as much money as they made, they also gave back to the community, even donating a building to Wits University known as the Hillman Building which houses the Department of Civil Engineering.

They also visited Isador Arthur Ginsberg, who would eventually create Chappie’s bubble gum, which was widely enjoyed by many who appreciated the ‘Did You Know’ facts found on the wrapper. Other stops on the tour included mayors as well as life-long apartheid fighter, Helen Suzman, musician, Johnny Clegg and many more.

Sarah Welham and Flo Bird walk through the Westpark Jewish Cemetery.

Bird said some people enjoy looking at history in this way, which has them come to a cemetery, while others might find it to be a little gloomy, “But it is all up to what you might enjoy.”

There hasn’t been a tour like this for quite some time, at Westpark Cemetery with the last being a tour held years ago for Women’s Day, “I think the women have always been quite active mainly in the philanthropic side but they’re also very distinguished women on the professional side too and it’s rather nice to be proud of them,” said Bird.