Dundee’s much vaunted historical heritage is under threat from vandals who have systematically stripped Symonsdale House, which was built in 1903, of its glory.
The house was built by Edward Ryley, Minister of Agriculture in the Natal Parliament, in 1903 and is located on the position of the British camp at the time of the battle of Talana in 1899.
Declared a Provincial Heritage Site, the house has been trashed with parts of the roof removed, the doors smashed, parts of the once glorious Oregon wooden floors dug by those possibly hunting for hidden treasure and graffiti daubed on the walls.
Even the wall plugs have been purged in the vandals’ frenzy. There are signs of human excrement in the house which indicates squatters have moved in although no one was in the house when the Courier arrived.
Although Symonsdale House is number 29 on Dundee’s Heritage Route (along with the Cenotaph, Moth Hall and other historical sites) even the access driveway to the house, off Karel Landman Street adjacent to the old Kilty’s sweet factory, is sadly neglected and very overgrown.
“Anyone wanting to visit Symonsdale would be immediately put off. We are trying to market Dundee as a tourism town (as South African journalist, Denis Beckett, famously said ‘Dundee eats on tourism’) and while tourism may have declined over the years, we need everything we can to ensure our town is attractive to tourists. “To see one of our sites in this kind of condition is just tragic,” said local tour guide, Johann Hamman. The Courier received many calls from concerned residents who had seen that some of the corrugated sheeting had been removed from the roof.
Pam McFadden of Talana Museum, who helped establish the Heritage Route, said the house is one of the town’s treasures and is owned by the Department of Public Works. The house was occupied by an employee of Umzinyathi District Municipality up to about 18 months ago but since it was vacated it appears as if Symonsdale has dropped off their radar. The Department of Public Works has been contacted for comment and their response will be published once this is received.
