Heritage is a hugely complex and nebulous concept, with its meaning and relevance varying from person to person. Knowing our own history, or the history of our culture, is vital as it helps us to know who we are while we are molding our future.
Woodstock is one of the oldest suburbs in The Mother City that has adopted so many identities over the centuries and which is so rich in culture that plays a big part of our South African History. During the mid-1800s Woodstock became a small fishing hamlet. During the British occupation of the Cape, the English left their influence in road names like Victoria and Albert and rows of brick terraced houses reminiscent of those in an English town. Despite various iterations of inhabitants Woodstock has always been a racially and religiously mixed community, a place where white, black and mixed race people, Jews, Christians and Muslims lived side by side. While bulldozers destroyed its similarly diverse neighbor, District Six, during Apartheid, somehow Woodstock remained untouched and avoided forced removal of ethnic inhabitants.
As we embrace an incredible mix of diversity and cultures combined to make this neighbourhood so vibrant – a bustling blend of food, fashion, arts, and design we also take a moment to celebrate it’s heritage in light of Heritage Day on 24 September 2019.
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