A group of local tourists who recently visited the Kenilworth and Gladstone cemeteries in Kimberley with an author and historian have expressed their utter shock and disgust at the vandalism, theft, and neglect evident here.
Steve Lunderstedt, author and historian, was most horrified.
“Of the many historic cemeteries in Kimberley, the most priceless is that of the Gladstone Cemetery. It hosts the last remains of so many prominent Kimberley and South African personalities, as well as those who died in the great De Beers underground fire of 1888 and in the Siege of Kimberley of 1899 to 1900.
“It was with absolute horror and shock that I now rate the cemetery the most vandalised cemetery in South Africa, not just in Kimberley.
“The theft of more than 100 granite and marble headstones for recycling, the theft of virtually all metal railings and crosses, and worst of all, the indiscriminate destruction of most of the headstones have destroyed the cemetery virtually completely.”
He says some of the prominent persons within include Victoria Cross recipient Thomas Lane; Fergus Carstairs-Rogers, architect of the City Hall; Elizabeth Radford, first principal of the Kimberley Girls’ High School; Barney Barnato’s father-in-law; George Labram, inventor of the grease table and the Long Cecil gun; Henry Scott-Turner; Flora Brown; writer RW Murray; and many more of all race groups are buried in the Catholic section.
“The Sol Plaatje Municipality, together with the ward councillor, the scrap metal merchants, and sadly, the Commonwealth War Graves who supposedly maintain British graves, must take blame.
“There has been no municipal maintenance of this cemetery, nor any other cemetery save West End, since before the pandemic of 2020.
“It is no surprise with all the destruction in Kimberley that tourists no longer come here save the Big Hole.
“Cry the Beloved City,” he says.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) says in a statement they had last visited the Gladstone cemetery in 2017. The CWGC is responsible for the routine maintenance of Anglo-Boer War (ABW) graves in South Africa.
“We carried out extensive maintenance and repair work on the graves and headstones, including some of those highlighted in the media inquiry. Our team was due to visit the site in 2022 for technical checks on all graves and routine repairs. However, Covid-19 and the knock-on effects of the pandemic delayed this. We were planning to make a visit within the next three to five months, but in light of the information and pictures we have received, we are looking at bringing this forward.”
The maintenance is managed by the Africa and Asia Operations team. Day-to-day maintenance is carried out by the regional team in Centurion who covers the country.
“We maintain some 300 locations in South Africa, containing individual ABW graves and collective memorials (within the ABW date range of 1899 to 1902).
“We are tasked with providing maintenance of ABW grave plots and memorials, and all ABW plots are inspected once every five years.
“Gladstone Cemetery is a large municipal site which contains a number of ABW plots, but the responsibility for the whole site sits with the municipal authorities. The Sol Plaatje Municipality appear to have had significant difficulties in maintaining the site, and indeed it would seem that their routine inspections or clearances have not been conducted for some time.
“Due to the deteriorating condition of the cemetery we also have significant concerns from a safety perspective on working there for extended periods.”
Thoko Riet, municipal spokesperson, says the cleaning of the Pioneer Cemetery has started.
“The dumping of rubbish around and inside the cemetery is a major problem which hampers other services. The Gladstone cemetery was created in the 1800’s. Most of the graves and headstone are not intact due to soil erosion. The other challenges are vandalism, and the metal which is sold to scrap yards. In the next financial year we will attend to other cemeteries, like Ramatshela that also needs attention due to vandalism that has occurred.”
