Hot on the heels of history

The foundation will commence its programme on 1 February with a lunch at one of the city’s oldest inner city pubs.

“Meischke’s Building, on the corner of Albertina Sisulu and Rissik streets, is home to The Guildhall, one of Johannesburg’s most attractive pubs, which goes back to 1912,” said the foundation’s Flo Bird.

“After a quick drink downstairs to look around, we will go upstairs for lunch. [There are] Portuguese steaks, trinchado, [and] half chickens to enjoy.”

On 9 February, foundation guides Brett McDougall and Clare van Zwieten will lead a walking tour from once-genteel Belgravia to working-class Fairview.

“Belgravia was the Dainfern of its time; a gated suburb boasting grand homes and the amenities that accompanied them, including a very fine girl’s school, St Mary’s College,” said Bird.

“Our journey [which] starts at Salisbury House, in fine condition and now the School of Practical Philosophy, [will take in] much of what remains of the city’s early residential and commercial architecture, and will climax at the turret and towers of Fairview, a suburb that had an obscure and chequered beginning.”

On 15 February, the foundation will celebrate a belated Valentine’s Day with high tea and a walking tour of Bezuidenhout Valley grand home, Yukon.

Bird said the house has been a landmark on the valley’s northern edge for over 100 years.

“Home to two mayors, and host to the cream of Johannesburg society, the house has been lovingly restored by Sir Henry and Loretta Chamberlain. Celebrate their love affair with Yukon, and learn more about the fascinating history of the house and its occupants,” she said.

On 22 February, foundation guide Denise Alexander will take sightseers on a walk where the wild things are.

A walking tour of the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve will explore the fascinating history of a place indicated by artefacts to have been a Stone Age hunting ground.

“The Sotho-speaking Tswana lived and farmed in the area from 1400, and after they abandoned their villages in about 1750, a Voortrekker farmer named Sarel Marais occupied the land in 1850,” said Bird.

“Ruins of the Vierfontein Dam that are still evident at Silent Pool are testimony to the important role this stream may have played as a source of water for early Johannesburg. The area that is now the reserve also saw its share of warfare, with a major part of the 1900 battle for Johannesburg fought in and around the Kliprivier hills. Further testimony to the cruelty of war is borne by the remains of a concentration camp cemetery,” said Bird.

The reserve also boasts wildlife such as zebra, red hartebeest, black wildebeest, blesbok, springbok and mountain reedbuck. Over 170 bird species and 70 grass species have been identified in the reserve.

Booking is essential for all tours.

Details: 011 482 3349; www.joburgheritage.co.za; mail@joburgheritage.co.za