On Saturday 27 January,the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation conducted a tour of St Mary’s, as well as two of the historic houses

and buildings in the area. The tour was attended by 39 people and led by our head of History, Old Girl and Johannesburg Heritage

Foundation member and tour guide, Alison Andrew.

We started the day in our beautiful school hall to hear about St Mary’s grand beginnings during the dawn of South Africa’s mineral

revolution. It was interesting to hear how we had weathered economic and social challenges, made bold moves to our current

location and survived a turbulent century. Three constants throughout the school’s history were that of our Anglican faith, being a

school for girls and also being an independent school.

We then walked across the Waverley Field to Sue Heydenrych’s charming home, which was designed by sir Herbert Baker and

Francis Masey in 1903, just two months after the proclamation of the suburb of Waverley. As a long-standing member of St Mary’s

staff, Sue’s presence in the tour was extremely special and profound.

From there we walked across the road to Flower Foundation Waverley Gardens Memory Care Facility to observe one of the houses on

the property, which was designed by the architect J A Cope Christie in 1904. It was fascinating to see the historical plaques

displayed, the columns that are typical of Cope Christie’s style and the pressed ceilings. It was lovely to see a beautiful and historic

building being used so well.

We returned to school, walking through the lychgate to discuss the transformation of the buildings and their uses, from the offices

that were once dormitories, to the staff room that used to be a library. The tour then moved to The Close where we could admire the

Koi pond and The Edge boasting two stunning mosaics. Alison then read an extract from the Countess of Clarendon’s speech on

25 September 1934, the official opening of the school campus in Waverley.

“It would be difficult to deny that a Nation's most important buildings are not Palaces or even Parliaments, but Houses and Schools,

for therein are formed for good or ill, the characters of her citizens, and character as we all know, is the key to the future as it is

to the present.

Today the new St Mary's is raising its stone head above the ground! Brick by brick it will grow materially; day by day, when the time

comes, you girls, will create its traditions, set its lodestar of ideals on high ... give it its soul!

In the years to be, what will you have made of it, I wonder - what will St. Mary's stand for in the life of the Community? The answer

to this question can only be: just exactly what you - each one of you - make of it .....

Here on the threshold of this new era in the life of your School before you, I believe you would find something of inspiration in the

gold of your Reef!

Gold in itself is a wonderful and beautiful thing; it has the colour of the life-giving sun; there is no dross in it. It is fine, it is

precious, and as the symbol of wealth, it implies responsibility. So should be your traditions: life-giving, life-directing, permeated

with a sense of responsibility, with no alloy of base metals – such as selfishness, narrowness of outlook, hardness of heart,

insincerity ... but rather pure gold, through and through.”

After time spent in our school chapel learning about our stained-glass windows, dedicated memorials and the unique Stations of the

Cross that line the walls of the chapel, we ended the tour with a brief walk along the pathway of our fabulous new building,

Khanyisa, to look to the future.

Alison was an ideal guide, given her history and experience at St Mary’s. She served as a true ambassador for her alma mater,

conducting this tour with pride and knowledge while shining light on our amazing 'Old Girl', St Mary’s herself.

DANI COOPER
HISTORY TEACHER