When paying the old cemetery in Roodepoort a visit, you are greeted by an eerie silence – enhancing the sense of abandonment and neglect.
The fact that the property has only one entrance/ exit does nothing to instil a sense of safety in visitors – and the picture of a rat in a trap clearly comes to mind.
The outer walls have crumbled, and the gates are missing, leaving openings through which the long grass, overgrown paths between graves, and headstones that have fallen over can be seen. There is also movement between the graves, which on closer inspection is revealed to be people – not ghosts.
Squatters have moved onto the cemetery grounds, where they live and sleep – some permanently, others only temporarily.
Duncan Leach, who has lived at the cemetery for most of his life, said there is a group of people who always stay there.
“Sometimes the guys with the trolleys (recyclers) sleep here on their way to the recycling company and leave the next day,” he said.
This is the main reason why people do not visit their loved one’s graves anymore – they fear for their safety.
The tragic part of this decay is the lost history, because people are not aware of the important graves in this cemetery.
According to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC), seven fallen South African war heroes who fought in World Wars I and II, are buried there.
Carolina Geldenhuys from the Roodepoort Museum confirmed that two former Roodepoort mayors also have their final resting places there. One of them, councillor PC du Plessis, was a resident of Roodpoort from 1951–1994 and was active on the Roodepoort Council from 1988 until his death in 1994. He founded the ‘Ons Huis’ old age home situated in Florida, in 1967. The other, councillor HPP (Manie) Mulder, was active on the council in various positions from 1979 until his death in 1985. He received honorary citizenship of Roodepoort in 1975 and the Manie Mulder Adventure Centre was named after him.
The Record contacted Jenny Moodley, the spokesperson for Johannesburg City Parks, about the state of the cemetery, and asked whether there is a plan in motion to restore it to a safe place where residents can visit their loved one’s graves again. However, at the time this article was published, no comment had been received.
