Greyville’s past glories revisited

Memories flood back as ‘kids’ walk their old ‘hood’ on a return to their roots

ABOUT 120 folks who grew up in Greyville returned to their roots for a walk down memory lane.

Last Saturday’s expedition took them to Akal’s building, site of a garage where they recalled filling up 49cc motorbikes for 10 cents, playing on a Scalextric track, wearing stovepipes and having haircuts.

One of the family, retired St Henry’s Marist College principal Tony Akal, took the loud hailer to tell the gathering how his family made their mark in what was Stamford Hill Road, now Matthews Meyiwa Road.

He said his grandmother had modified a property for a client who wanted a butchery but left her high and dry, unable to pay for it. Another blow followed with the death of her husband.

“She said to my father, George, you’ll have to come out of school. He was only 12 years old. At that age he learned to become a blockman.”

He ran the butchery until 1966 when he sold the business.

First port of call were the buildings of the school many attended – then called St Agnes Convent, now St James – with memories of playing sport on the paving, with nuns conducting assemblies from which pupils would march once dismissed.

“Then there was Mrs Williams’ tuck shop and the priest’s house right there,” recalled Doug Coetzee, standing in the school quadrangle.

Barbara McPherson, who now lives in uMhlanga, said visiting the girls’ toilet, she noticed the old lattice work on the door, complete with a familiar badge that had been painted over.

“I remembered the fig tree in the yard. I didn’t like it when they were in fruit. They would get stuck in my shoes.”

Football was the focus of young Greyville boys’ lives, so all eyes turned to the local green lung, Sutton Park, where the present swimming pool occupies much of the ground where they kicked balls around.

“It was those with their shirts on against those with their shirts off,” recalled one walker.

“Blacks, white, Indians all played together. It wasn’t about colour at all, just shirts on or shirts off.”

While Greyville insiders associate their old area with “the beautiful game”, “the sport of kings” that is iconic to the suburb also brought back memories.

Standing in Lillian Ngoyi (formerly Windermere) Road, Akal and walk organiser Louis Arde reminisced about racehorses walking to their stables past today’s Windermere Centre after taking gallops on the beach.

“They were with their handlers and jockeys sitting on them. My dad used to watch them and see if he could pick up any tips,” said Akal. “I was suddenly reminded that it was the Number 98 bus we took to school,” said Max Magnussen, who was commander of the Fire Department.

Henry Robbertse was amazed at how many people showed up and had not emigrated.

“You really realise how South African you are when you go away and come back,” he said, referring to a stint he had in the UK.

Arde said that after reflecting on the success of the walk, the organising committee had decided to establish the tradition of an annual get-together, the first of which will be held in December.

“Then, in four or five years’ time, we’ll do another walk but on different roads.”