The NKRA is grateful for the support provided in the 4th Street park by our park sponsors RUSSELL FISHER PROPERTIES and VISION TACTICAL SECURITY and the KILLARNEY MALL, and for the street cleaning services provided by RCS SECURITY SERVICES.

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NEWSLETTER – FEBRUARY 2013

NEWSLETTER – FEBRUARY 2013

2013 has been declared the Centenary Year of Killarney-Riviera. As part of our Centenary Project we will be highlighting various aspects of our heritage in successive newsletters through the course of the year.

Killarney was originally part of the huge farm Braamfontein. The farm was extensively sub-divided over the years, and in 1899 a portion of the land was sold to William Cook, an Irishman. He named the area Killarney, apparently after the area in Ireland where his wife was born.

In 1905 Isadore William Schlesinger, an American entrepreneur who played a big role in the formation of Killarney, bought the land. Among other things Schlesinger founded the African Theatre and Film Trust, which operated a film studio on the site where the Killarney Mall now stands. In 1924 Schlesinger also built Whitehall Court, which served as his offices as well as his private home.

Schlesinger oversaw the relocation of the Transvaal Automobile Club (TAC) to Killarney in 1916. The TAC was founded in 1908 to promote “automobilism”, a role subsequently taken over by the Automobile Association. The Club soon developed a range of sports facilities as well.

The main entrance to the Club was at the top of 2nd Avenue, at the corner of what is now Fifth Street, although nothing now remains thereof. The original Cooke farmhouse became the club-house, which stood roughly in line with 2nd Ave and was subsequently obliterated by the construction of the motorway.

The swimming pool and tennis courts stood on the land currently occupied by the Killarney Village townhouse complex, in 5th Street. The bowling greens were apparently next to them, on the site of the current Bolton Hall complex. The golf course occupied much of the ground where the motorway now runs, with a back entrance off of Houghton Drive. In 1965 the municipality acquired the land of the golf course to build the M1 motorway, and the club relocated to its present site. The back gates were taken along to the new site, and still stand proudly today.

We will shortly be placing a plaque at the corner of 2nd Ave and 5th Street to commemorate the role played by the TAC in the history of Killarney.

As part of our project we are trying to identify all the buildings in Killarney-Riviera that might qualify as Heritage Buildings. We will then assist them to apply for official heritage status, and those buildings that qualify will be assisted to get a plaque recognising their heritage aspects.

We appeal to all of you to assist us in this project by contributing additional facts and information about any historic building or event in Killarney-Riviera. Documents and old photographs would be especially valuable.
Please join in and help to celebrate our heritage.

Traffic Safety:
You would all have hopefully noticed by now that the new speed-hump at the corner of 3rd Street and 2nd Ave is doing a marvellous job of making that long straight road a little bit safer.
People who drive without looking where they are going have had some hair-raising jolts over that speed-hump, but presumably they thereafter look where they are going and drive more carefully.

PikiTup bin audit:
Pikitup will be taking stock of all wheelie-bins to ensure the accuracy of their billing. This process will be undertaken from the 4th of February to the 30th of April 2013.
The audit will be carried out by Pikitup staff, who will be wearing official Pikitup uniforms and who will be carrying identification cards.
For more information on Pikitup’s bin verification process, please e-mail info@pikitup.co.za or call 011 375 5555 or 0860 562 874.

Rapallo wins fame and fortune:
The building Rapallo, in 9th Street, has been awarded First Prize in the 2012 Pam Golding Properties’ Outstanding Verge competition. This is the first time this competition has been won by an apartment building. Congratulations to Rapallo Superintendent Celeste Mulholland, gardener Sphiwe Matsineh and assistant gardener Jacob Lethole. Many thanks also to the generations of trustees and residents of Rapallo for the very substantial investment they have made over the years in creating this splendid little centre of excellence out on a pavement where all of us can also appreciate and enjoy it.

The NKRA also wishes to acknowledge the efforts of Kayte Denham of Pam Golding Properties, who is the current NKRA secretary and who ensured that Killarney-Riviera was also included in this competition.

Road repairs:
Happily the big water-pipe repair in 4th Ave at the corner of 3rd Street has finally been resurfaced. However in the process the “keep-left” sign that warns cars about the island was removed. A motorist has already misjudged that kink in the road, and come to grief. While we wait for the municipality to replace the warning sign, please drive extra carefully at that intersection.

Tree pruning:
The City Parks department finally got around to pruning some of the big jacarandas in 2nd Ave, but were interrupted before finishing the job, and have not yet returned to complete 2nd Ave or to trim the trees in the park. In recent high winds another large branch snapped off – thankfully without hurting anybody or causing any damage – but it’s only a matter of time before a really big branch falls on something expensive, or on a person. We are doing our best to get City Parks back to finish the job.

Our newsletters are kindly sponsored by Nomsa Nene Properties.

(NOMSA NENE ESTATE AGENT (CRS) (PDE) (NQL4)(RPL) SECTIONAL TITLE SPECIALIST)
Email: Nomsa@neneprop.co.za I Website: www.neneprop.co.za | Fax to email: 086 617 4662
Office tell: 011 486 0569 I Office fax: 011 486 4698 I Mobile: 083 964 2665 4662