During 1908 to 1910, discussions took place between representatives of the Transvaal Government and the Transvaal Chamber of Mines, regarding the establishment of an Association called the Transvaal Miners Phthisis (TB) Association – formed to treat miners with respiratory ailments. The Government donated a piece of land -of approximately 20 acres -with buildings, in Springkell near the Modderfontein Dynamite Factory. The Chamber of Mines then erected a sanatorium to deal generally with patients suffering from TB. The Certificate of Incorporation was signed by the Colonial Secretary of the time – J.C Smuts who later became Prime minister of South Africa.
Springkell Sanatorium (Heritage House) was opened in 1911 and patients were encouraged to do gardening, bricklaying, poultry farming, painting and carpentry. A billiard room and bowling green were added and later The Pavilion – a concert hall, in 1925. In July 1980, Springkell was transferred to the Chamber of Mines as a rehabilitation center and then sold to Educor to be developed as an educational facility. Parts of the movie “Hotel Rwanda” were filmed on location in 2004.
The focus of Heritage Estate is Heritage House and The Oval with the Pavilion. The developers are committed to restoring and refurbishing the House and surrounding heritage buildings to their original glory. Guided by the Heritage Association, the architects have aimed to convey the history of the buildings to all new buildings in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
Provincial Heritage Resources Authority or ‘PHRA’ is the term used by the National Heritage Resources Act to describe an authority responsible for the management of the ‘national estate’ in a province. The Act establishes 3 grades of heritage resource which broadly indicate significance at a national, provincial and local level.
The national heritage resources authority, SAHRA is responsible for Grade I heritage resources whilst PHRAs are responsible for Grade II heritage resources and in most instances also those at Grade III level. There are established PHRAs in each of the 9 provinces, most of them electing to do so under provisions of the National Heritage Resources Act. Only the KwaZulu-Natal and Northern Cape PHRA’s are set up in terms of legislation at provincial level.
KwaZulu-Natal has the oldest PHRA, predating the passing of the National Heritage Resources Act. All PHRAs are public entities in terms of South Africa’s Public Finance Management Act.
The Provincial Heritage Resources Authority Gauteng (PHRAG) is responsible for the identification, conservation and management of heritage resources throughout the province. If an owner or developer plans to alter or demolish an identified heritage resource or structure older than sixty years, they will need to apply to the PHRAG for a permit. The Agency was established in terms of the National Heritage Resources Act, Act 25 of 1999 and PHRAs are able to protect heritage resources set out in Chapter II of the National Heritage Resources Act.
These are divided into 2 types;
- ‘Formal Protections’ which require a specific action by a heritage resources authority to designate, usually by notice in a government gazette, and
- ‘General Protections’ which apply without the need for specific action and which usually apply by virtue of the age of the heritage resources concerned.
PHRAs are generally responsible for the following types of heritage resources:
- Buildings and structures of architectural, historical, technical and aesthetic value
- Places to which oral traditions intangible values are attached
- Historical settlements and towns
- Landscapes and natural features
- Geological sites
- Archaeological sites
- Paleontological sites
- Rock art sites
- Battlefields
- Graves and burial grounds
