Snapshots show Johannesburg as a city with a heritage worth protecting
ORANGE GROVE – Writer and community leader Brett McDougall shares photos of the Orange Grove Waterfall and its surrounds from yesterday, and invites residents who have old photos of the area to share these.
Do you have old photos of the Gazette area?
Why not send them to the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation? Writer and community leader Brett McDougall shares photos, historic facts and chronologies, and insights in The Heritage Impact Study, written at the request of the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation, to document the heritage resources in the area.
The Heritage Impact Study is available at: https://www.lovenorwood.com/discover/the-orange-grove-waterfall/
McDougall said he had also written a book based on the heritage study, which would be published in 2022.
“The Heritage Impact Study was deemed necessary because the Louis Botha Corridor of Freedom strategic area framework, which was compiled by the City, was very vague on heritage resources in the area. As a result, we ran the risk that the City would make poor planning decisions that would harm heritage resources, including the Orange Grove Waterfall,” said McDougall.
He added the Heritage Impact Study had been shared with Development Planning and the Johannesburg Development Agency in the City.
“Our heritage resources are irreplaceable. We cannot restore what is destroyed. We need to research and document our heritage resources in order to understand their value, and so that we can make the right decisions on matters that impact them. In the case of the Orange Grove Waterfall, this is important because Johannesburg is a water-scarce city. We should be protecting our natural watercourses because of this, and because they create opportunities for recreation facilities which will become increasingly important as we densify our city.”
McDougall said he had been amazed at the rich and varied history and heritage of the area. He has called on any residents with old photos of the area which they believe could be of interest, to submit these to mail@joburgheritage.co.za
ALSO READ:
