Westcliff Stairs receive a blue plaque
WESTCLIFF – Munro said that the stairs are commonly used by athletes in the area looking to test their strength.
Blue plaques have been installed at the historic Westcliff Stairs recounting the history of the beautiful attraction to athletes far and wide.
The plaques were created as part of a joint effort by the City of Johannesburg, the Westcliff Residents Association and the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation (JHF).
Chair of the blue plaque committee at the JHF and member of the board of management Kathy Munro said that the stairs are a great asset to the suburbs of Westcliff and Parkview.
The stairs function as a link between the two suburbs. Munro explained that the linking of the two areas was part of the general plan for Westcliff, providing the public with rights of way across its ridges.
In an article on the Heritage Portal [https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/westcliff-stairs-honoured-blue-plaques], Munro explains that during the years of the Great Depression (1929–1933), city engineer EJ Waugh created a public works programme for the relief of unemployed whites.
“[They] gave a wage and stonemason training for such men who were desperately [sic] poor and often unskilled at a time when white poverty was seen as a particular social problem,” said Munro.
Community members are encouraged to walk the public roads and walkways of Westcliff and enjoy the outdoors while taking in the beautiful views which can be seen from the top of the stairs.
Munro said that the stairs are commonly used by athletes in the area looking to test their strength.
October and November are a particularly popular time for locals to visit when the jacarandas can be viewed in all their purple beauty from the top, said Munro on the Heritage Portal.
The stairs are created in three sets. The first can be found between Wexford and Pallinghurst roads. The second set is found between Pallinghurst Road and Woolston Road. The third lesser-known set can be found between houses in Woolston Road leading back to Westcliff Drive.
The plaques are set to be unveiled in due course by the respective partners.
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