Navorsinge VAN DIE NASIONALE MUSEUM BLOEMFONTEIN VOLUME 27, PART 3 DECEMBER 2011 'Township Topiary': The history of the English-style gardens of Batho, Mangaung (1846-1948) by Derek du Bruyn NAVORSINGE VAN DIE NASIONALE MUSEUM, BLOEMFONTEIN is an accredited journal which publishes original research results. Manuscripts on topics related to the approved research disciplines of the Museum, and/or those based on study collections of the Museum, and/or studies undertaken in the Free State, will be considered. Submission of a manuscript will be taken to imply that the material is original and that no similar paper is being or will be submitted for publication elsewhere. Authors will bear full responsibility for the factual content of their publications and opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Museum. All contributions will be critically reviewed by at least two appropriate external referees. 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Bydraes sal vir kritiese oorweging na ten minste twee geskikte buite- beoordelaars verwys word. Manuskripte vir publikasie moet voorgelê word aan: Die Redakteur, Navorsinge, Nasionale Museum, Posbus 266, Bloemfontein, 9300, Suid-Afrika. Voorskrifte aan outeurs verskyn afsonderlik aan die einde van 'n volume of kan van die redakteur verkry word. ISSN 0067-9208 HUMAN SCIENCES VOLUME 27, PART 3 DECEMBER 2011 ‘Township Topiary’: The history of the English-style gardens of Batho, Mangaung (1846–1948) by Derek du Bruyn Department of History, National Museum, Bloemfontein and Research Fellow, Department of History, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT Du Bruyn, D. 2011. ‘Township Topiary’: The history of the English-style gardens of Batho, Mangaung (1846–1948). Navors. nas. Mus., Bloemfontein 27(3): 37-82. Batho, established in 1918, is Bloemfontein’s oldest existing township. One of Batho’s characteristics is its unusual English-style topiary gardens. Batho came into being when the Union of South Africa was part of the British Empire and anything English was often admired and copied, even by Bloemfontein’s black residents. Topiary involves the clipping and trimming of plants into all kinds of fanciful shapes, and its history dates back to Roman times. This classical garden style made its way to Bloemfontein during the 19th century and then to Batho during the early 20th century. Amongst the key role players in the history of Batho’s topiary gardens are the black labourers who worked in white residents’ gardens and took the topiary fashion to Batho. This happened during the 1920s and 1930s when Batho was being laid out as a ‘model location’. Bloemfontein’s municipality also played an important role in the development of a gardening culture in Batho by encouraging its residents to lay out gardens. During the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s Batho became known for its topiary gardens, many of which have survived to this day. Batho’s topiary, also known as ‘township topiary’, is varied and may be classified according to different styles. These topiary gardens deserve to be preserved as an important aspect of the cultural heritage of Batho. (English-style garden, topiary, gardening culture, Bloemfontein, Batho, black gardener, township topiary) ISBN 978 1 86847 1409 38 Navors. nas. Mus., Bloemfontein, Volume 27, Part 3 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................ 38 GARDENING AS AN EXPRESSION OF CULTURE ....................................................... 39 A TASTE FOR TOPIARY ................................................................................................... 41 TOPIARY IN BLOEMFONTEIN’S GARDENS ................................................................ 43 Topiary in Bloemfontein’s 19th century gardens (1846–1899)..................................... 43 Topiary in Bloemfontein’s 20th century gardens (1902–1948)..................................... 49 The role of the black gardener ....................................................................................... 56 TOPIARY IN BATHO’S GARDENS (1918–1948) ............................................................ 63 ‘Garden facilities’ for a ‘model location’: Batho’s early topiary gardens ..................... 63 Hedges, edges and spheres: The making of Batho’s topiary gardens ............................ 68 Hedges and ‘fedges’ ...................................................................................................... 70 Edges ............................................................................................................................. 70 Spheres .......................................................................................................................... 70 Combination of hedges and spheres .............................................................................. 72 Other shapes .................................................................................................................. 72 CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................... 75 OPSOMMING...................................................................................................................... 76 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................. 76 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 76 INTRODUCTION Batho,1 also known as Batho Location,2 is Mangaung’s3 oldest existing historically black township.4 It was founded in 1918 after a decision taken by the municipality of Bloemfontein to demolish the old Waaihoek location. Batho’s residents could build their own houses, provided they were built according to standardised building plans drawn up by the municipality. Built mostly of red clay bricks, these houses displayed a characteristically English cottage style. The fact that these English-style houses were built in a predominantly black area is unusual, but even more unusual is the style of the gardens laid out by the residents. While the architecture was mostly enforced on the residents, they were allowed to lay out gardens according to their own tastes. Completely unexpected are the mostly formal 1 Batho is a Sesotho word meaning ‘people’. 2 In this article the word ‘location’ is used to refer to Batho and other historically black residential areas. During the colonial and apartheid eras the word ‘location’ was commonly used to describe the segregated residential areas allocated to blacks. Some of the elderly Batho residents still refer to Batho as ‘Batho Location’. 3 The greater-Bloemfontein area (Bloemfontein, Botshabelo and Thaba Nchu) is officially known as Mangaung, which is a Sesotho word meaning ‘place of the cheetah’. Batho forms part of the Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality. 4 In the South African context, the word ‘township’ means a designated living area or suburb for people of African origin. Today Batho is considered a township. 2011 D. du Bruyn – ‘Township Topiary’ in Batho, Mangaung 39 front gardens consisting of trimmed hedges, edges and individual plants clipped according to all kinds of shapes. These so-called topiary gardens, which have become synonymous with Batho’s old-world character, are remnants of Bloemfontein’s early years when anything English was admired and copied, even by Bloemfontein’s black residents.5 The purpose of this article is to investigate the origin, history and significance of Batho’s topiary gardens6 – which may be called ‘township topiary’ – from a cultural-historical perspective. In this article gardens and gardening are considered as expressions of culture. The article focuses on the period 1846-1948, starting with the year Bloemfontein was founded and ending with the year the National Party came to power. The year 1948 is considered a watershed not only in political terms, but also in social and cultural terms, because of apartheid legislation’s far-reaching consequences for blacks. The following issues are addressed: Why is gardening an expression of culture? What is an English topiary garden and why did this style become popular among Bloemfontein’s gardeners? What role did the black labourer7 play in popularising topiary in Batho? Why and how did a gardening culture develop in Batho? How can a typical topiary garden in Batho be described? And finally, why did Batho’s residents create the topiary gardens? These and other questions will be addressed in order