Johannesburg, City of Gold

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Text and photos by Mary L. Peachin, Melrose Arch Pride of Africa courtesy of Protea Hotels, Saxon Boutique Hotel courtesy of Montgomery Communications

July, 2013, Vol. 17, No.11

Soweto Shanty Town - South Africa
Soweto Shanty Town – South Africa

In South African’s central city of Johannesburg, the discovery of gold, diamonds, and coal led to ruthless killing, war, and racial discrimination known as apartheid. Home to as many as ten gold mines, the city served as a gateway to surrounding areas boasting diamond and coal mines. Great wealth established by mining also brought incredible suffering. Apartheid was defined as African subjugation and segregation of blacks, a discrimination based solely on race…simply stated as the color of one’s skin.

Nie-blanks or non-whites were not permitted to live in the city. Men and women, who worked as household servants, were required to carry identification cards to access their city jobs. They subsisted outside of the city limits in tin roof shanty settlements known as townships.

Soweto Apartheid Museum - South Africa
Soweto Apartheid Museum – South Africa

The best known and largest, but not necessarily the poorest was Soweto, home to a current population of approximately five million, and Alexander. The visibility of these townships was based on being geographically located closest to the city center.

Soweto’s most revered residents were Bishop Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. In 1994, their leadership played a significant role in ending apartheid. Not unlike segregation in the American South, apartheid was considered worse. Blacks were unable to vote and separated from whites in all areas of business. In spite of making up seventy percent of the population, they were forced to live in a small area of the country.

Soweto - South Africa
Soweto – South Africa

South African blacks endured apartheid for almost half a century when Nelson Mandela, as leader of the African National Congress, led the movement to end apartheid. Nelson Mandela appointed Bishop Desmond Tutu to lead the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate allegations of human rights abuses during the apartheid era. For his efforts, in 1984, Tutu received the Nobel Prize for Peace.

Visitors to Johannesburg invariably take a tour of Soweto and the Apartheid Museum. In 1975, our guide Lucky Khumalo was born into a very poor family. His birthplace was the floor of the family’s Soweto shack. His deceased mother had worked as a housekeeper. When Lucky’s father wasn’t gambling or drinking, he peddled cigarettes on street intersections to earn money to feed his family. Lucky’s six siblings included two sisters who died. If it were not for his grandmother, who took him to church daily, he would have followed a typical path of gangs, drugs, crime, and sex.

Soweto Shanty Towers - South Africa
Soweto Shanty Towers – South Africa

During the years before the end of apartheid, everyone carried a gun. Life was dangerous in Soweto. Not having any educational opportunity, Lucky was lucky to have an entry level job as a driver and guide. His knowledge of Soweto is one of personal experience. Now thirty eight years old, he has an unemployed wife, who gets occasional piece work. They have two young children. Lucky feels fortunate that he was born at a time when apartheid was waning.

Mandela House - South Africa
Mandela House – South Africa

The Apartheid Museum, which opened in 2001, focuses on 20th century South Africa and apartheid history. In 1995, the South African government established a Gambling Board to process casino licenses application. Each bid stipulated the inclusion of an ability to attract tourism, one which would help the economy and stimulate job creation. Akani Egoli consortium or Gold Reef City offered eighty million rand with a commitment to build a museum. Their bid was successful.

Symbolically entrance tickets, labeled white or nie-blanks, to the Apartheid Museum randomly discriminate the visitor by separate entrances. Historical exhibits date back to the time when Bushmen discovered gold. During the subsequent gold rush, Dutch Boers killed the Bushmen. The English, who arrived in South Africa to mine diamonds, after discovering gold, killed the Boers.

Melrose Arch Pride Of Africa Swimming Pool
Melrose Arch Pride Of Africa Swimming Pool

Visitors to Johannesburg are isolated from dangers and annoyances that might still be present. The more upscale accommodations are fenced, guarded, and offer seclusion from poorer areas.

Melrose Arch Pride of Africa hotel, part of Protea chain, is a hip property located in a secured area that includes upscale boutique shops and restaurants.

The design of the hotel is exceptional. Its elevators are lit like a disco lounge. Comfortable rooms humorously have a safe covered by a hinged painting of a farcical safe robber. The large glass shower is comparable to the finest luxury hotel. At one of several dining venues, around the pool, large metal buckets serve as containers for trees around pool. With a number of restaurant choices in Melrose Arch, moyo offers African cuisine in a lively setting enhanced by nightly live music.

Saxon Boutique Hotel

Saxon Boutique Hotel Entrance - Courtesy Montgomery Communications
Saxon Boutique Hotel Entrance – Courtesy Montgomery Communications

Almost a quarter of a century ago, Douw Steyn, a prominent Johannesburg businessman built a home with property covering ten acres along a quiet, tree-lined suburb of Sandhurst, minutes from Johannesburg’s shopping and business hub.

This quiet retreat, located in a residential neighborhood, is now The Saxon Boutique Hotel, Villas and Spa, one of South Africa’s, and perhaps the world’s most exclusive retreats.

The majesty of its entrance includes a sweeping circular staircase lit by a spectacular chandelier. Lacking a typical hotel lobby, the Oprah, Piano, and Cigar lounges are adjacent and below a staircase leading to the dining room. The Saxon’s contemporary African stately elegance includes designs with Eastern accents and halls and walls lined with African artifacts. The courtyard has an impressive infinity pool and terrace adjacent to a well stocked koi pond.

Saxon Hotel - Villa Platinum Lounge
Saxon Hotel – Villa Platinum Lounge

Five Hundred, the Saxon’s signature restaurant, derives its name from the original Douw Steyn Suite 500. The menu is one of artistic cuisine, featuring the freshest daily ingredients with superior flavor.

It is challenging to find the words to adequately describe this quiet luxurious retreat, one that offers panoramic views over indigenous gardens towards the Johannesburg skyline below.