14 OCT 2021 —
Yesterday, the South African Heritage Resources Authority (SAHRA) visited the Two Rivers Urban Park (TRUP) as part of their process of grading the site as a National Heritage Resource. SAHRA’s grading follows the February 2020 nomination by the the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoi Indigenous Traditional Council (GKKITC), Observatory Civic (OCA) and the Two Rivers Urban Park Association (TRUPA) to Heritage Western Cape (HWC) to grade the TRUP as a Provincial Heritage Resource. It is distressing that more than a year and a half has elapsed since the nomination was made to recognise the critical heritage importance of the entire area. During this time, the City and Provincial authorities approved the redevelopment of the River Club. As a 14.7 ha triangle of land at the junction of the Liesbeek and Black Rivers, the River Club site is a particularly significant part of the TRUP.
A 2015 report by heritage consultant ACO Associates] noted that “The valley of the Liesbeek, Black rivers, the confluence and remnants of the Salt River estuary, exist today. In the context of the history of South Africa this is an historical place and falls clearly within the ambit of the National Estate as ‘landscapes and natural features of cultural significance.’ … The confluence of the Black and Liesbeek Rivers has special significance as this is possibly the last untransformed wetland in the study area … The present day wetland at the confluence of the Liesbeek and Black Rivers, with the small area of high ground occupied by the Royal Observatory and the River Club, amount to the last surviving elements of this historical landscape.”…
READ FULL ARTICLE HERE