Unveiling a blue plaque on Panners Lane
RIVERCLUB – An unveiling ceremony of a heritage Blue Plaque recently took place on Panners Lane in Riverclub.
Guests and residents were invited to attend the special ceremony to commemorate the history of the area, which included the discovery of alluvial gold on the Witwatersrand in the Braamfontein Spruit in 1853 .
The plaque was unveiled by Ward 103 councillor Vincent Earp and Malcolm Wilson, who researched the history of the area. The research conducted made it possible for the plaque to be awarded.
Wilson partnered with James Ball, founder of The Heritage Portal, an online platform serving the South African Heritage Sector. It aims to assist in negotiating the tension between preservation and development in a bid to integrate heritage into the planning process.
The heritage Blue Plaque then came to be, with the full history of Panners Lane becoming available on The Heritage Portal.
“This plaque might spark a whole research journey for someone else,” said Wilson.
“I hope it gets communities involved in discovering the history of their [area].”
Wilson added that Sandton has a reputation of not having a history. “Meanwhile, there’s a rich history in Sandton. I hope people will be inspired by things like this to find stories about the community,” he said.
Wilson added that Sandton only has four plaques and said he hopes there will be more in the future.
Eric Itzkin, deputy director for Immovable Heritage at the City of Johannesburg, said Panners Lane is part of a special collection of street names in Johannesburg that are connected to the gold rush responsible for the development of the city.
Details: admin@heritageportal.co.za
Watch this video of Ward 103 councillor Vincent Earp speak at the unveiling of the heritage blue plaque on Panners Lane in Riverclub:
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