Page 15 - Landscape SA 103

PROJECT

Refurbished playground equipment
with rubber safety matting

Outdoor gym equipment was added for the upgrade of the park

planting of indigenous trees to improve
the ecology of the green lung, as the park
is a valuable conservation area comprising
a koppie, wetland and dam.

Brief history of Golden Harvest
Park
The information below was supplied by Ilse
Morgan, who is writing a book on the park
and who bought Plot 10, Golden Harvest,
in 1971. Her book comprises the following
four sections: earliest beginnings, the
years on Plot 10, the start of ‘Friends of
Golden Harvest’ and the construction of
the dam.
In the late 1960’s, the Randburg
Municipality realised that it would be
expanding and therefore planned for a
‘green lung’ to serve its residents. The only
obvious area suitable for the purpose
included three agricultural holdings,
namely Golden Harvest (comprising
18 plots), Hunter’s Hill (18 plots), and
Brushwood Hough (8 plots). A total Above and below: Refurbished playground equipment with rubber safety matting
number of 40 plots would therefore have
to be expropriated.
The 96 acre area was populated by natural
bush, blue gum and wattle trees, and the
Pampoen Spruit running through it was
lined with willow trees. The koppie area
was a treasure chest of indigenous flora,
small animals such as hedgehogs and
a few snake species. It is believed that a
Wits University professor used to bring his
students to the koppie area as it contained
natural vegetation not found anywhere
else in the Witwatersrand. In addition,
there were ancient iron works on the Plot
7 side of the koppie, but not much of this
remains as this area was used by the owner
as a type of studio. It has been suggested
that the ancient peoples there connected
with the Melville Koppies area, which lies
in a straight line from Golden Harvest. LSA

Landscape SA • Issue 103 2021 13