'-..J
I1WOR,lf:lT:rON 1ITJNICIPALITY STELLENBOSCH.
JAN U 11 R Y,
1957.
1. DAY AIID HIGHT SERVICE : ELECTRICITY DEPARTI\'IENT.
It has been the Council's policy aE far as possible not to interfere ~~th private enterprise and it is for this reason that it has refrained from establishing a ser- vice of its own to carry out repairs to e lectricity instal- la tions on the consumer1s side, as this is catered for by local electrical contractors.
It has xecently been brought to its notice - and the Council always appr ecd.a't es the co-operation of the ratepay- ers in bringing to its notice any difficulties whdch they experience - that there are cases of hardship on individual consumers. It realises that it m~ay be very awluvard indeed Lf' the electricity supply suddenly fails at inopportune times, for instance during the night.
TI~ereas there is always somebody on duty at the Power Station, who naturally vdll invariably do his best to com- municate rzi. th a member of the staff 'who is capable of atten-
ding to such complaints. it is a different and s omewhat difficult'matter to mak~ sure that somebody is available at 'all times.
The Council has decided in principle to institute a
2/...
thing 'beyond that, "would etill have to be deal t with by private enterprise. The conditions under which this ser- vice ~~ll be inaugurated, will be Bade IDrro~~ in a later issue.
It is no doubt appreciated that preparations to make a service effective, must be rather extensive, because they involve the possibility of tel ephonic oommurri.oatLon and the prov·~~.1ion of transport.
2. ·WKLCOJ:~E TO THE TOWrr CLERK"
I.E. So extends a hearty "welcome to Mrr, E. J. Smith, who has assumed the duties of TOV111 Clerk on the 1st January ,
1957. I t sincerely hopes that 111'. and l,'b....s , Smit and their little daughter 'Hill soon f'ce L fully at home at Stellenl~osch
and have no difficulty in settlinG down under circumstances which are completely to their Lf.ki.ng,
lire S.mitIl was b02;Y; .:..t Kroons tad in the Orange Free state, \.,,}~ere he 17ent to school and passed hiS matri.c, His university cducctdon he obtained at Pretoria wher e he stu- died L2.Vl.
In the year 1950 he entered the Pub Li, c Service in the Department of Sc1ucat:i.on, Arts and Sc:i..ence. In 1951 he de- cided to leave the"civil service and to enter the municipal field of activity. He obtained a post in the Department of' the Town Clerk, Kroonstad. His promotion was rapid and in the year 1954, he was appointed as the Town Clerk.
:Mr. Smith has always had a liking for the Boland, so that his appointment"as the 'I'own Clerk of Stellenbosch is the reali- sati on of a wish tha t haS been with him f'or a"lo~g time$ Hi s
3/...
- 3 -
interests are manifold and they include all social work and s)ort. }~s experience has been varied and valuable and I.E. S. has no doubt that Stellcnbosch i7ill fully reap the benofit .
3.
rn:fEN ?rLJHICIPAL RATES MID SERVICE CFJiRGES ARE DUE.Tho be ginning if tho yeo.r brings YIi th i t many 'finClncio.l
cor.u~itmcnts and the Council has ,felt that the position should, and could, be eas cd by malting it possible for the r-a tepayer-s to spread their p~yments over a reasonable period.
As there may be uncertainty in the ~inQs of ratepayers as to vrhcn they must s ettLo their accounts, the f'o.lLcwi.ng information is advanced whi.ch S]}0'.7S how the dates have been
llstaggerod" •
The Service Charecs (for Water, Sm/age Disposal and Rub- bish' Removal), must be paid ~ot later tho.n the 28th February, 1957, if the ratepayers concerned, vzish to avoid the sur-
~gc of 10>' wh.ich , according to regulation, must be levied as fro~ the 1st l~rch, 1957.
The O~ners Ratos beccme due and payable on the 15th Enrcll) 195(. .After that date, there is sttll a pcri'(;'d'"(;f grace of
3
months, whd.oh ceases on the IL~th Juno,1957,
af- ter vrhi.ch date the liunicipal Ordinance requires the Council to co'ltect interest at the rate of7:.
It must be em.phasised that the cJJOVC; rel'3tGs to 1957, and that as a result of amenoments of rcgulDtions~ or a re- solution of the Council in connection with the rates for the year 1958, the dates may be changed.:
4.
THE .llPFLICATIOE OF j1AFURE rn GlillDENS At,ill TI-1E FLY NUISAECE.Complaints are received from time to time regarding the
fly nuisance and it is frequently, suggested that, thi s nui- sance must be caused by manure which is brought to proper- ties for use in gardens.
As manure which is not properly rotten provides sui- table conditions for the breeding of flies, the municipal regulations regard the keeping of manure which is not pro- perly rotted as an offence. The maggets are easily
discernible to the eye, and action can b0 taken against any- body that causes a nuisance of this Idnd. In cases of
doubt, inspections could be carried out if the Chief Health Inspector is duly notified.
It must be pointed out, however, that not only manure, but accUTilulations of other decaying matter uhich produce warmth as a result of the f'c~1entationthat goes on, may
p~ovide ideal conditions for the breeding of flies.
Action is t~cen in all cases where such cases comes to the notice of' the }[iU11icipality and the 'co-operation of the public in reporting undesirable conditions would oe greatly appreciated.
5.
CONCRETE HISTORY IS A BUS~ ASSET.- I.H"S. wishes to draw attention to 'what it regards as a very interesting and valuable assay by Mr. Raymond Hcnniker- Heaton, Director of the Phillimore Ives liemorial Gallery, which appears in the issues of the Eikcstadnuus of the 9th
and 16th November,
1956,
and which 1'1lth the ld.nd permission of the Eikestadnuus, we are including in this issue •. ,_t~'yfuat we constantly sec, we are apt to like. And what we Li.ke , tends fo fashion our' "v'lay of thinking and our lives.
This is true of all things in our immediate surr cundd.ngs , Particularly architecture, sculpture and pictures - good, bad
5/•••.•
6/ ••.••
- 5 -
and indifferent. Our visual sight and all that it implies is a target for what man makes a nd maltreats.
Against noise, food adulteration, air pollution, vio- lence to body, mind and character' - if the calumniator is knoTrn -,the law protects us.' But against tho.pollution ofr our art sense, or even ordinary good taste, there is no pro- tection. That we must grapple TIith ourselves.
In all countries, in recent yoars, atrociously designed and meaningless buildings have been e r cct ed "\;';ithout hindrance, creating environments especially bad fa' children who live . 'pi th them - the effect being incalculablo and beyond repair.
Bu-t, characterless or blatant objects of all dimensions are b'1d for eVEry age ..
On the lrnvest denominator a sense of values in art is tantamount to having ordinary good sense. -;;niich - in any case - TIC all ,flatter ourselves we possess.
'Jhat we rarely understand - and rarely pretend to - is that art values'- even if unrelated to our vocation - have a business import, This idea is neither irrelevant, nor based
on s orrt amerrtaLf.t.y , Althoush i t may wander in that direction.
tI love ruins, especially TIhen covered with iVy', a re- mark attributed to a sentimental elderly woman - on being in- troduced to a famous. archaeologist - and perpetuated on the stage by the f'amous - almost LmmorbaL - lVIarie Lloyd.
Yet sentimentality may, indirectly, be a better agent in preserving a procious tr~dition than the instinct of the business man - pre-occupied wi,th daily takings - or tho en- cyclopaedic mind withf acts detached from practical needs.
Anti qui ty and learning are good companions - if not too intiE~te, spiritually and romantically.
Stellenbosch is favoured - we
hope - in both r ospccts, .As thcunivcrsi ty wi dcns its scope, marc ycung men and rromon annually enrcLe , ~he
or df.nar y popu.Icti on of Stellonbosch is rapidly >incI'cnsiTJ g•
.An interest in the historic background must Dot lag.
It is not tho educrrt i.ona L nor sentimental a spc ct of Stellcnbosch which I vri.sh to stress, but the business va- lue of its historic background. I llri to, of course, without knowl.cdge of '.7h8.t has been planned, or intended, although I ':1101'.1 that the layo r and Council have 2. lively arid constructive interest in preserving as much as possi- ble of nhC'..t l"cr.nins in a concrete sense: of early Stcllen- bosch,
J'J.y interest in this subjcct stems chiefly from many year's on the Committee - in London - of tho Society for
the Preservation of Ancient Builc1in,~s, rri.cknamod "Anti Scrapeil• An organisation vrit.h tradi tioD and considerable noh.l cvcmorrt in saving the historical chnr-ao't cr of Encland.
It rescued many bui.Ldings of art and historic value from destruction, imrbdLafzi on and ghastly restorations, involving churchcs , A~Jbcys, hous03, tQvcrns, for~CS, watcr nri.Ll,s and numerous '..'~_ndInilis.
~7hatcvcr t]1C future of St o Ll.cnboach , its historical signiricD.nco as the socond earliest settlanent, will be an ass at. Indeed its antiquity v/ill grov in .irapor-tnnoc ··,:ith the totm, . And vhat '\70 destroy or nc g.l.cc't todoy ,.;ill be s or oLy regretted in tho years to como.
It may be asked h017, and 'why, the past is a poberrti a.L businoss asset. I shall refor to one asp oct : After Cupe 'I'own, .i t has no rival in the mo.ttcr of history, and ~.7C ImOYl
that tho number of tourists who visit the Union each yca r is infinitesimal compa r'cd to what it Trill be fifty, indeed tV7onty-five yoa rs honeo,
7/ ...
7 -
"l7ho. does the intelligent, and perhaps not so intelli- gont , tourist enquire about on his tr::lvels? Not much about tho present' or tho future; specula tion about cruising in outor space, docs Dot occupy his mind. He bccoill8s some-
t~liIJ.g of. a his torian. He r.ant s tho past, by preference trw.t linked :'7itll the ocuntry he is in. He cnqu.i.ros about shops whd.ch sell "arrti ques ",
In Cape Torm he finds much evidence of the past ..
Leaving there he makes fOl' Stellenbosch, chiefly for its history - Y!hich he has heard or read about ,
In ~:'oth Cape 'I'own and Stellenbosch he has a different atti tude .of mi.n d tha~1 when 'visi ting any other city or torm in the union. He expects to see concrete evidence .of its h.iatoz-y, In thc..t sense he is very much of a mate rd.a Li a'b , Pro..1;1 over'seas visitors to the Phillimore Ives Arts Gallery,
Vfe have learnt th~1t mor-e than a printed or verbal account 'will be necessary to keep busy any corrt emp.La't ed hoteJs to meet the tourist situation.
The concrete evidence of the past in Stellenbosch 1Ye know , resides chiefly On Die Brank (at least it is the most conspicuous eVidence) vdth an iupressive approach from the main streets unO. business area.
One dQy, in the winter,
I
looked across Die Brank from the Post Office at the group of buildings. It was after a severe storm. The buildings looked unusua lLy clean and naked, but tmpressively classical. At the s ame time the Burger Hous e among them stood out clearly as the "pi.ece de resistance".It.WQS inspiring. Without 3.pp~opriate arrangement a fine Rembrnndt in a bar.nl.Lke room wi,11 not 1001: much of a Rembrandt, and this also applies to the Burger House. It
was an/8••••
was an accidental effect, but i t eloquently told me what could be done uith cliscreet arrangement.
There ar e .s tructures whi ch shou'l d be preserved as part of a 1IDit as a setting far the Burger House, even though bhey oonta-Lbute more in the. vray of harmony than age.
But what is the magic of the past? ~7ere not bad things pz-oduccd then? A good question.
Yes, bad things, in terms of art, wer e made in the past, perhaps not quite so bad as today. PossibJy more restful. Modern facili tics for sLic': performances were not available. Also the bad past has mel.l.owed by time.
The present badness will not have time to mel Low, Such buildings vlill COIIle dorm. New ones wiLl, take their place. (Perhaps the sc Iva td on of the future.) :A bad modern monstrosity mellowed is too horrible to cant em- plate.11
--000---