Liliesleaf: SA's Camp David?
Lucille Davie
6 December 2004The historic farm Liliesleaf, in the heart of residential Rivonia, is set to become a retreat and major tourist attraction.
In 1963 it was a quiet 28-acre farm on the outskirts of Johannesburg, the secret headquarters of the African National Congress (ANC).
On the morning of 11 July of that year, the farm was brought to the world's attention when police swooped on the top leadership of the ANC, silencing black resistance to apartheid for many years to come.
Following the dramatic swoop, eight men were sentenced to life imprisonment, to be released between 22 and 27 years' later. Nelson Mandela, although not at the farm at the time of the arrests but one of ANC leaders, was the last one set free, in February 1990.
In December 2001 the Liliesleaf Trust was formed, with the aim of restoring the house and the outbuildings where the Rivonia trialists lived to their original state, together with a hotel and conference centre.
Says Nicholas Wolpe, chairman of the trust: "A retreat is most appropriate - it will be the essence of what Liliesleaf stood for."
The retreat will consist of a six-star hotel of 70 rooms, the restored farmhouse and outbuildings, and a struggle library and archive centre.
"America has Camp David. England has Chequers. Now South Africa will have a similar retreat, where government, institutions and the private sector can gather in historic surroundings", says Wolpe.
Since 1963, Johannesburg's residential march northwards has seen the farmhouse become a luxury guesthouse, with its surrounding farmland being cut up and developed into luxury homes to form the suburb of Rivonia. Liliesleaf's outbuildings were incorporated into the new homes.
Restoration work
To date, the trust has bought seven properties, for some R21-million. British-American Tobacco donated R11.5-million, in celebration of their centenary this year, and a
private British donor contributed R9.5-million.
Five of those properties will be demolished, while the two historic properties - the farmhouse and the outbuildings - will be restored. The retreat will cover eight acres in all.
Wolpe says the Bloemfontein National Museum will be conducting an archeological study to unearth original foundations and walls, and establish the whereabouts of a gun Mandela buried when he lived in the outbuildings, masquerading as a gardener and cook, to avoid arousing suspicions about blacks living in a "white" house.
Mandela was on Robben Island at the time of the swoop, serving a five-year sentence for inciting workers to strike and leaving the country without a passport.
Wolpe, whose father Harold bought the farm and was arrested shortly after the February arrests but escaped from jail and settled in England, says the development has a dual purpose: to preserve the historical site, a necessary process "in defining our character"; and to promote tourism and generate income.
Besides, Wolpe sees the development as "my way of contributing to the overall process of preserving history; it's an important part of developing forward".
Once Wolpe had organised the finance, he bought the first three properties between July and October 2002. Another property was bought in June 2003, and in January 2004 the trust took ownership of a further two properties. In March 2004 he bought the final property.
The Liliesleaf guesthouse, opened in February 2001, will close its doors at the end of November this year. Renovations and demolitions will only start once the application for rezoning - now lodged with the City's planning department - has been approved.
Wolpe walks through the outbuildings - a thatched cottage and its adjoining rooms - pointing out places where a bed, a stove and chairs were positioned, and a window out of which Walter Sisulu and Govan Mbeki jumped when the police arrived in 1963.
A neighbouring coal bunker where Mandela's papers were buried will be excavated and restored. The additions to the cottage will be demolished and the cottage preserved in its original state.
The trust has received R13-million in government funding for restoration.
Community response
Apart from the guesthouse, the houses are vacant and the gardens neglected, a bone of contention with the neighbours. In the greater Rivonia Woods Neighbourhood Community of some 100 houses, residents say they haven't been included sufficiently in the plans.
Says Mark Kenwright, chairman of the residents' committee: "We were told it would be a 50-room, 120-bed, two-storey hotel, and were alarmed to discover in August this year that it is to be a three-storey, 70-room, 150-bed hotel, with a spa and a gym. We feel a little bit let down."
Wolpe says: "There is a mixture of concern, fear, nervousness and insecurity, where some people acknowledge the importance of the development but have a mixed reaction to the commercial development."
Wolpe says that the trust has been "extremely sensitive" in its dealings with residents, and that since March 2002 there have been between 10 and 14 public meetings.
He notes that "there has been a lack of willingness to attend meetings". He says he went into the meetings with a "spirit of openness to meet the needs of the residents", but admits that "we lost our temper at times; we're not perfect".
Residents feel that the trust is neglecting the properties they've purchased, thereby lowering the value of their own properties. The pavement verges are brown and unkempt, and one resident objected to the way the entrances to the houses in Winston Avenue have been carelessly bricked up.
Residents are concerned about security during building operations, as well as the fact that the Liliesleaf Trust does not contribute towards the cost of boom gates in the suburb.
Kenwright says it's a matter of trust: "I want it to go ahead, but it must be a binding agreement. I see a lot of benefits to the area, but the scale, size and nature of development is different to two years ago."
He says the development could benefit the property prices in the area, and have positive spin-off effects for the broader Gauteng economy. An economic impact assessment study confirms that the property prices in the area are likely to increase.
Source: City of Johannesburg
