The ongoing desecration of the World Wars Memorial in Du Toitspan Road, Kimberley, has finally resulted in this area being fenced off.
Over the past few years, vandalism of the World Wars Memorial and the Battle of Square Hill Memorial has led to a public outcry over the destruction. Scrap metal thieves have been stripping irreplaceable plaques from the World Wars Memorial, and sandstone blocks have been damaged through carving and fires.
According to Thoko Riet, spokesperson of the Sol Plaatje Municipality, this precinct has also become an area where alcohol is openly consumed. Empty liquor bottles are regularly smashed against the memorial, and it is often used as a public toilet.
Yet, although residents are pleased that something has been done to protect these monuments, new concerns have arisen.
“The palisades now seperate the Battle of Square Hill Memorial from the World Wars Memorial,” a stakeholder says.
The specific layout of the palisades has also led to uncertainty as to how annual parades will take place on the precinct.
“I am not sure if this is being done in cooperation with the South African Heritage Resources Agency,” the stakeholder says.
An informed resident says the idea was to erect a palisade fence around the whole area, but this plan was abandoned due to financial restraints.
According to Riet, the Sol Plaatje Municipality designated R80 000 to the safeguarding of the memorials. The work has not yet been completed.
Once completed, however, it is alleged that visitors will have access to the memorials during office hours. After hours the site will be closed to avoid vandalism.
- The World Wars Memorial was originally erected to commemorate the fallen soldiers of World War I, with plaques later added in memory of fallen Kimberley volunteers in World War II.
Adjacent to this is a memorial dedicated to members of the Kimberley Cape Coloured Corps who died in the Battle of Square Hill during World War I.
This memorial, erected by the Cape Corps Association’s Kimberley branch, consists of a gun captured at the battle. The inscription on the vandalised plaque reads: “In proud remembrance of our comrades who made the supreme sacrifice in the Great War 1914-1918”.
Apart from an annual parade at this gun memorial in September, an annual Remembrance Day Parade is held at the World Wars Memorial on the Sunday nearest to 11 November.
