Athlone – Resilience, Heritage & Art

Anthony Hartman takes us on a journey of Athlone. He grew up here during Apartheid. Monuments, memories and community – this neighbourhood is only 15 minutes from the centre of Cape Town. But most of us have never visited it.

Once know as West London, Athlone is named after Alexander Cambridge, the Earl of Athlone. He was Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Union of South Africa 1924 – 1931. He was a great-grandson of King George III and brother of Queen Mary.

Stops include:

The birthplace of the Gatsby sandwich/roll; Athlone’s Gatsbys featured in Netflix’s popular travel series, Somebody Feed Phil

Soni Art – a small gallery of contemporary and traditional Islamic art, run by Shaheen and Achmat Soni

The house where Anthony grew up – he remembers vividly coming home from school to army tanks and burning tyres on this road

Trojan Horse Memorial where three anti-apartheid protesters were killed and 15 wounded by a police ambush in 1985

Clergy memorial in Kromboom Park, March 1985

Anthony shows through his own experience and research, how history shaped Cape Town and shaped Africa’s first democratic Constitution, hailed by some as one of the best in the world.

A qualified tourist guide, Anthony has led private tours in Athlone for both Capetonians and international visitors.

Athlone, the centre the Cape Flats, was one of the areas where Black people were relocated after being forcibly removed from ‘White Only’ areas, following the Group Areas Act, 1950. Migrant labourers were housed here. Some called it ”The Dumping Ground” (source SA History). Now it is a thriving community, mainly residential but also full of thriving businesses.

For the tour, some of it will be by car; we will car pool at the start.

Afterwards do join us for lunch.  It will be home made curry and rice, plus some locally made traditional sweet treats (details to be announced).

To book on this tour, or have your own private one:

kate@cultureconnectsa.com || +27 (0)72 377 8014 (WhatsApp or phone)

Cost: R400 or R300 paying way in advance (email for the cost of a private tour)

Suggested reading: Voices from the Underground: 18 life stories from Umkhonto we Sizwe’s Ashley Kriel Detachment, edited by Shirley Gunn and Shanil Haricharan, published by Penguin Random House, 2019

Images thanks to: Hasan and Husain Essops’ Athlone Superette, 2014. The rest are by Erin Goodman, the photographer for Anthony’s tour for Jive soft drinks, October 2024.