What’s in a name?
JOBURG - As most of you already know, the busy Bree Street has been renamed – but do you know why?
Bree Street, a Dutch phrase which means ‘Broad Street’, was named by the founders of Johannesburg and is well known for the odd kink midway down the busy road. It was named as such due to the fact that it was, and still is, one of the major streets in the city.
The reason for the odd kink appearing in the road has been attributed to the fact that one team started paving the road at the south end using the measurement of a Cape foot, while the other team began on the north end using English feet – needless to say, the error caused the teams to connect the road by whatever means possible as it was too late to redo.
This year, the iconic road was renamed to Lilian Ngoyi Street to make the city more reminiscent of South Africa’s turbulent past.
“The renaming will enable all Johannesburgers to increase their identification with the names and historical significance of public spaces and contribute to our broader objectives to build an inclusive society with a shared future,” said Johannesburg Mayor Parks Tau.
Ngoyi was an anti-apartheid activist, politician and President of the African National Congress Women’s League.
On 9 August 1956, she led a multi-racial women’s anti-pass march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, one of the largest demonstrations staged in South African history.
Holding thousands of petitions in her hand, Ngoyi was the one who knocked on Prime Minister Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom’s door to hand over the documents.
This was the day that would forever be known as Women’s Day in South Africa.
