Newtown was the birthplace of business in Johannesburg. Nearly a hundred years ago, deals were brokered over the telephone or in the streets, and those who were successful received the fictitious 'University of Newtown' certificate.

Neil Fraser

I WROTE about the building owned by the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) last week and subsequently received a whole lot of additional information about the development and the site, which rounds off last week's comments. There is also some fascinating writing on early Newtown itself from historian Sue Krige.

I had a walk through the site with the architect, Brian Howard, who explained exactly what was being done and what was proposed. The first assembly of sites is the block bounded by Bree Street, through to Gwigwi Mrwebi Street and between Gerard Sekoto and Miriam Makeba streets (ie the whole block, but with the exception of the corner of Bree and Miriam Makeba).

The head office takes up the remaining width of Bree Street, behind which a large, secure parking area has been created. At its northern end this is closed by another structure on the corner of Gwigwi Mrwebi and Gerard Sekoto streets. This appears to be an old building, once a corner shop, with residential over, now being extended and refurbished. The upper level will serve as offices for the ILO, while the previous corner shop will most likely be a coffee shop.

A great deal of care is being taken to refurbish the corner shop, with new components being made where necessary to match the detail of what was there, such as the narrow timber shopfront windows, pressed metal ceilings, the capping to the steel pipe columns on the street and the traditional narrow stoep style frontage. The vacant site making up the balance of the block to the west of the development will ultimately be redeveloped by Numsa, probably retail to match this corner shop at ground level and offices above.

The conference centre building is on the corner of Bree and Gerard Sekoto streets and, apart from meeting rooms and conference facilities, provides about 20 bedrooms for visiting delegates. This is insufficient, however, so the adjacent building on Bree Street has been acquired for redevelopment as a hotel facility.

History
All round, this will be a development cluster that will do justice to its own and to Newtown's past. Krige has kindly supplied some fascinating history.

Stand 157, corner of Bree and Becker (now Gerard Sekoto) streets
"Plans for this stand go back to 1912. In 1912, the Shagam brothers applied for permission from the Johannesburg city council to build a new 'warehouse and stable' on stand number 157, corner of Bree and Becker streets, Newtown. From the plans we also know that they had previously been located at a building at 62 Marshall Street, in the Johannesburg CBD. We do not know what buildings, if any, were located on Stand 157 before 1912.

"However, 1912 is a very important date in the history of Newtown itself. Construction had begun on a fresh produce market, a building now occupied by the Market Theatre and Museum Africa. An area of 27 acres was surveyed and a large market hall, two blocks in length, was built at the western end of Bree Street, opened in 1913.

"A number of people in Newtown set up businesses to serve the market, such as cold storage rooms, farriers and blacksmiths (to look after the horses), machine repair workshops, eating houses and accommodation. Later petrol stations and mechanical repair shops replaced farriers and blacksmiths in serving the needs of motorised transport. The market moved to its present location south of the M2 in 1974.

"Between 1912 and 1916, the Shagam bothers submitted plans for new shops, offices, and outbuildings, and for extensions to these buildings. Business must have been good.

"The next set of plans for stand 157 concerns the building of a hotel, to be called the Prince of Wales Hotel. The date is 1938. We know that this was a new building, so the shops and other buildings belonging to the Shagam brothers must have been demolished. We do not know what happened to the Shagam brothers. The new owner was someone called Mr L Weiler.

Newtown Hotel
"The hotel was named after King Edward VIII, who actually abdicated in 1936. There was no Prince of Wales in 1938.

"The 1938 plans was not the first set drawn up. From documents in the Johannesburg city council we know that the first set accommodated black men in the hotel itself. The plans had to be changed to house black men in 'boys rooms' on the roof'. Below is an extract from the minutes of the city council about separate 'boys' rooms' for the hotel. (Most black workers were housed in compounds at a number of places in Newtown, including the restored compound, the Workers' Library and Museum.)

"Report to town planning committee meeting (28 April 1938)
Item 11: hotel and native quarters on stand number 157 A, Newtown

"This is a 50-foot by 92-foot corner stand on the northeastern corner of Bree and Becker streets, with frontages of 50 feet and 100 feet respectively. The plan, which shows a four-storey hotel and the native quarters consisting of two rooms which are situated on the first and second floors respectively, was approved by the town planning department on 10 March, 1938.

"The matter was reported to the Non-European housing and native administration committee and at their meeting on 31 March 1938, and they resolved as follows:

'That reference be sent to the town planning and works committees objecting to the proposed situation of the native quarters on stand 157, corner Becker and Bree streets, Newtown, and intimating that such objection will be withdrawn if the native quarters are located on the roof of the building.

'The area is provisionally zoned 'general areas' in zone two, permitting a residential building and native quarters by special consent of the council.

'I recommend:

(a) That the resolution passed by the committee on 10 March 1938 be rescinded, namely:

'That no objection be raised to the approval of the plan from a town planning point of view'

(b) 'That no objection be raised to the approval of the plan from a town planning point of view, provided native quarters are placed on the roof of the building, and that the applicant be informed accordingly.'

Diggers' Inn
"By 1941, plans tell us that the hotel had a new name and new owners. It was called the Newtown Hotel and belonged to a company called City Bottle Store, belonging to Messers JC Cook and Cowan, well known architects in Johannesburg. Over time, the name, City Bottle Store, remained the same but the company seemed to have changed owners. During the 1950s and 1960s the owners applied for permission to alter the hotel in various ways. In the middle of the 1980s, it was altered again, and its name changed to the Diggers' Inn.

"Famous Architects and the Newtown Hotel
A number of men who were well-known architects seemed to have had a hand in the design of and alterations to the hotel. They included art Deco specialists Emley and Williamson, JC Cook and Cowen and Stanley Furner, who had been a partner of Kallenbach, the architect of Gandhi's Tolstoy Farm."

Krige has also answered my query regarding the background of the building directly opposite Numsa's offices in Bree Street, which I now hear is being used as a nightclub.

"This stand and buildings have had a very chequered history. In 1917, Schneier of London employed the architects D MacDonald Sinclair to design a premises for its use. It consisted of offices and stables. This construction was short lived, as a new building for Barclay's Bank was erected in 1919. This was even more short lived. In 1920, a new premises for Standard Bank was built jointly with a company called AS Traube, designed by architect Sol Margo.

"During the 1930s, it was used as a commercial building and owned by Bank Buildings. In 1940, Barclay's Bank demolished the building and erected the one we see today. It was designed by architect Hugh Michelson."

Early days in Newtown
"The names of owners of buildings in the early 20th century suggest that the majority of the occupants were of Jewish ancestry, though not all. Names like Shagam, Lipschitz, Shlom, Abrahams, Rosenzweig, Spitz etcetera are some of the names that crop up in the plans and in the business directories of the time.

"According to Jaffee (2001) Jews from all over the world but especially from Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, made Johannesburg and Newtown their home and made their fortune as traders, wholesale merchants, grain brokers, commissioning agents and many other trades. Several of them were the first Randlords - Alfred Beit, Lionel Phillips, Barney Barnato, Solly Joel, George and Leopold Albu, Max Michaelis and Sammy Marks.

"There were not only Jewish immigrants in Newtown but also German-speaking eastern European immigrants, Afrikaners and black immigrants from rural South Africa as well as other southern African countries. Business in Newtown was brisk and deals could be brokered over the telephone or in the streets in those days ... a man's word was his bond.

"Life in Newtown was very busy and competitive. It was very easy to start a business but difficult to stay afloat and make a profit. Newtown became a little sub-culture with its own jokes and special events. Business people who had worked and become successful in Newtown were awarded the fictitious 'University of Newtown' certificate given to all the entrepreneurs and millers who learned the trade on the job.

"Newtown in the early 1920s was a place where there was bustling trade but also a place where wives of the emerging businessmen and affluent were never brought. Streets were dusty and a mixture of horse manure, smoke and effluent made the smell quite unpleasant. According to Jaffee (2001), 'It was not uncommon to see people walking around with handkerchiefs around over their mouths.' Notwithstanding that, Newtown grew to be an area that served not only the city but also the entire Witwatersrand region."

Regards, Neil

Melville Koppies: cross koppies hike
Saturday, 24 May

This circular route winds through Melville Koppies central, east and west, and crosses grasslands, indigenous forests and 2,9 billion-year-old rock formations. The trail covers the most beautiful natural area in Joburg, with stunning views from many vantage points.

Park at Marks Park Sports Club in Judith Road, Emmarentia. The hike starts promptly at 8am, when the gates will be locked and there can be no entry from then on. The hike lasts three hours and is restricted to adults - it is not a suitable walk for children or the unfit or people with hip problems, and so on.

No dogs are allowed. The walking pace will keep the whole group together and Melville Koppies guides leading and bringing up the rear. The central area has water and toilets at one stop. You will need walking shoes with proper tread, hat, sunblock, water and snacks.

The cost is R20, which is a donation to be used for maintenance of the Melville Koppies. If you have any enquiries, phone Wendy on 011 482 4797.

Related stories:

• Talking about the city
• Talking about the city archives
• A meander through Newtown
• Turbine Square is 'phenomenal'
• Liquor - the saga continues