Celebrating Roodepoort’s history this Heritage Month

If life is a highway, then September is our gaze through the rear-view mirror at the lives, events and stories that make up the tarmac of our daily existence. The road has been bumpy but our collective spirit as a community and the determined attitude of the county as a whole has taken us on a journey like no other.

This Heritage Month we will be digging into the bedrock of Roodepoort, hoping to uncover the hidden gems that we pass by on a daily basis. Each stone that was laid in our over-a-century-old town was done so with the hope that future generations could enjoy the benefits of that hard work. The power of a monument exists in acknowledging a moment in history that had an indelible effect of the world it occupied.

The Struben brothers’ effect on our lives is quite literally carved into stone, but the mill of time has left behind countless more tales. The reflection in the rear-view mirror can also grow faint, so we are asking our readers to send us their favourite stories from yesteryear or notable individuals who may have had a remarkable influence on shaping what Roodepoort has become today.

Help us to tell any forgotten stories from our rich melting pot by sending us your suggestions, comments and memories of our great corner of Johannesburg to roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za or northside@caxton.co.za