On August 21, media representatives were invited to the Heritage Tour at Gold Reef City Theme Park. The tour focused on the fact that it is Heritage month next month and it is important to know the history of the City of Gold, schools are now invited to go on this heritage tour which consists of the follow: ‘Rich beginnings’ which took us back in history to the 1800’s when gold was first discovered here in Langlaagte and how the mining industry grew.
We then went into a lift which took us underground and inside of Shaft 14 where Regina Mlotha was our tour coordinator. We got to experience what level 2 of Shaft 14 is like, the temperature on that day was about 11 degrees Celsius.
Mlotha explained that as one goes deeper into the shaft, the temperatures can increase to 50 degrees Celsius.
We learnt what kind of equipment the miners used, where they placed the dynamite, the type of pillars that is used in mines, where the miners held their meetings, what certain markings in the shaft meant, we also got to experience come of the sounds of the drills and other equipment that miners used.
During the tour, all the media representatives had to wear their safety helmets. There was some underground water which was explained to be contaminated water.
We also learnt that the black spots in the rocks where a sign that there were gold particles inside of the rocks. After spending a while underground, we were then taken back up to the surface to the Gold Pour where the story of a miner was told, followed by a demonstration of how the gold is melted and then cools off in a mold, and then we have the gold bars.
The tour also has Gold Panning where one gets to experience how miners sift through the dirt to find the gold.
We also visited the Museum Houses which was the Ohlthaver House, Dowse House, and Oosthuizen House, it was a trip which revealed what it was like to be a mine official in the good old days, how children were home schooled without the internet and how families learnt what it meant to ‘waste not, want not’.
It was a lot of fun learning about where the City’s wealth all began, and for us living on top of the mine tunnels, it gave a better perspective as to how it looks under us, and even somehow allows our minds to wonder and see how the Zama Zamas are also mining underground. The day ended off with special traditional dancers by the Gold Reef City dancers.
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