The Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Anroux Marais, is encouraging members of the public to nominate heritage resources in the Western Cape as Provincial Heritage Sites.
The process of nominations is facilitated through Heritage Western Cape, which is the public entity tasked with preserving and promoting heritage in the province.
Members of the public are encouraged to nominate resources that have a particular meaning to their culture, memory and lived experiences. These sites should, amongst other values, either have aesthetic, architectural, historical, scientific, social, spiritual, linguistic or technological heritage significance. For the full set of criteria and the process for application, members of the public may consult the National Heritage Resources Act, 1999.
Over the past years Heritage Western Cape has, through this public participation process, declared various Provincial Heritage sites across the province, including the Rex Trueform building in Salt River, the site of the Trojan Horse massacre in Athlone, the Kaaimans River Bridge in Wilderness and Blaauwberg Nature Reserve.
Marais said: “Our province is privileged with the diverse and important tangible and intangible heritage we have. Our heritage is unique and precious, and cannot be renewed. Therefore it is very important that we preserve and protect it to ensure that it is still here to serve future generations by facilitating healing, spiritual well-being and economic growth. I call on all people of our province to help us identify these assets to that we can ensure they are protected.”
