“Having an expo to celebrate the heritage of Bellville South has been calling for the longest time and we are excited that our thoughts and ideas have now finally come to fruition.” These are the words of Bellville South Library’s Senior Librarian, Suraya Hassiem.What makes this expo doubly special is that the Bellville South Library celebrates its 55th birthday since its establishment in 1969.
Reasons to remember
Also honouring Heritage Month, there is no more suitable time than to exhibit the local community’s rich history than in September, added Hassiem.“There were many reasons why it was necessary to host such an expo,” she continued.
Some of which pay tribute to:
- The local youth and residents, who now call Bellville South home, have no knowledge of the history of the area.
- The rich history associated with Bellville South during the Apartheid struggle years has to be acknowledged and celebrated.
- A trip down memory lane for the elders in the community.
Challenging past
Whilst searching for information, Hassiem en her team – Kholeka Tshabalala, Junita Pritchard, Shelly-Ann van Ster, Letine May, Amos Mouries, Abegail Marthinus and Chantal Rhodes – encountered many challenges since documented history relating to non-white communities were sparse. “Hence, we relied heavily on social media platforms such as the Bellville Historical Society and the Cape Historical Society Facebook pages, among others, where many families post information of their forefathers.
“We are immensely grateful to Patrick Hanslo for permitting us to use the information on these platforms. His passion and dedication to uncover the true stories of Bellville South is admirable and contagious!”Great appreciation was also expressed toward their colleagues at the National Library of South Africa, the Western Cape Government Archives and the City of Cape Town’s Records Management department. “They have all been most helpful in sharing their information resources with us for the expo.”
A call to the community
This team of librarians’ efforts are akin to moving mountains, sifting through pages upon pages, sourcing names, places, dates and photos to orchestrate various pop-up exhibitions braided throughout the bookshelves of Bellville South Library.Whilst researching, they realised that they merely scratched the surface, “so we could not do proper justice to every organisation and / or prominent figures from Bellville South”.
“We are appealing to the community to come visit us in Kasselsvlei Road and share your memories and resources of yesteryear with us so that it can be showcased to the rest of the community for future generations.“We hope you come and enjoy the labour of love – from us to you!”
The history of the library
In 1966 the council had to decide between three projects in Bellville South. The community was growing with 500 council housing units in the Winsley- and Dammert street areas and informal housing in the Stilwaney Street area.
“The council of the day had to decide between a swimming pool, sportsground and a library,” Hassiem shared. Motivations for the library included the growing numbers of school going children, the colleges nearby and the University of the Western Cape – all within a perimeter of less than five kilometres.
“When the Bellville South Community Centre was built, they found that there was enough ground for a library, and with funding from the Provincial Government, the library building was planned.”
On 19 September 1969, Bellville South Library opened to the community with well-stocked bookshelves and fully qualified staff with Donovan Fortuin as librarian and Pearle Mitchell as library assistant.
