WHAT WE DO

We Occupy An Established And Respected Place In Cape Town’s Heritage Network.

As such we aim to be the voice of concerned individuals who care about the conservation of our heritage. We therefore promote the cause and participate in the protection of Cape Town’s heritage by means of an outings programme, lectures, commenting on development proposals and creating a broader public awareness.

Article 5(1)(b) of the National Heritage Resources Act states as follows: “every generation has a moral responsibility to act as trustee of the national heritage for succeeding generations…”

Adderley St (Standard Bank front left, Groote Kerk with its turret at the back)

We feel an obligation to play a role in this process in the interests of all South Africans.

We support the notion that heritage resources have lasting value in their own right and provide evidence of the origins of South African society. As they are valuable, finite, non-renewable and irreplaceable they must be carefully managed to ensure their survival.

Old buildings are records of history and human aspirations – we glimpse the world of previous generations through them. Our neighbourhoods have suffered tremendous heritage losses with only a few heritage buildings remaining. These surviving heritage buildings are the only markers still contributing to a sense of place, a sense of historic development thereby preventing sterile and uninspired neighbourhoods.

The Foundation feels that it is this generation’s duty to preserve them and to retain continuity of the physical environment. These tangible signposts play a tremendously important role in giving our urban environments a layered and friendly look. Retaining them promotes the identity of a place and prevents the estrangement of a community from its surroundings.

“Is it not better to add to the sum total of the record of human creativity than to subtract from it? Is it not better to allow people to be enriched by the products of all ages rather than just our own” Randolph Langenbach. A future for the Past, 1978

Engraving of African Theatre c 1806 (now St Stephens)