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Niggles78
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Editor Pick

Rhodes Memorial - A Point of View

  • March 25, 2007
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Global Villager from Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Rhodes Memorial - A Point of View

Rhodes thought that “the view surpassed any other in the world” and although that may be stretching things a little, I believe that Rhodes Memorial has the easiest access to get a great overview of the Western Cape and a hint at the hinterland of Africa beyond.

Heading south from downtown, along the M3 freeway, just past unmistakable Mostert’s Mill on the left and the University on the right, the off ramp leading to Rhodes Memorial is clearly marked.

This is the largest and most imposing monument to a single person in South Africa. The statue of the man and horse symbolising energy, the massive granite stairs reaching up to the Doric style temple with its vertical columns, the life-size bronze lions flanking your ascent, are all indeed impressive. The writer Rudyard Kipling wrote the inscription below the bust of Cecil John Rhodes and a foremost architect, Sir Herbert Baker designed this memorial, set high on the slopes of Devil’s Peak.

Rhodes often visited this spot. Urban development below would have been minimal, but he would also have seen two seas - the colder waters of the Atlantic to the north and the warmer waters to the southeast. Tucked between the mountain ranges across the Cape Flats are the popular towns of the Winelands, beyond the mountains to the east, lies the Overberg (over the mountain). The fascinating Karoo areas are inland and north the intriguing West Coast and route towards Namibia.

Below, his large home Groote Schuur has become the Cape Town residence of South African Prime Ministers and State Presidents. This large estate was bequeathed to the nation. Groote Schuur Hospital was the place of the world’s first heart transplant in 1967. Part of his old estate is now the grounds The University of Cape Town.

Looking north he would remember his control of diamonds after he had bought out the other great mining magnate in Kimberley, Barny Barnato. The company he created, De Beers still controls the marketing of much of the world’s diamonds. Another one of his companies Gold Fields of South Africa was a dominant player in the incredible wealth of gold found beneath Johannesburg, whilst his British South Africa Company effectively took over and owned the country of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) until 1922. Behind Devil’s Peak, in the city are the houses of parliament where Rhodes carried out his duties as Prime Minister of the then Cape Colony. Not bad all this, for a sickly 17 year old sent to South Africa from England for health reasons.

Our plans and views may not be as all encompassing and controversial as those of Rhodes, but his memorial is still a great place to drink in the vistas and imagine the life in the valleys and on the plains beyond the mountains. The Western Cape is a place to be explored and savoured at first hand. But for starters, why not pay a visit to Rhodes Memorial? I’m sure you’ll see my point of view.

From journal Western Cape - Head over Heels at the Tip of Africa

Editor Pick

Rhodes Memorial

  • November 9, 2005
  • Rated 3 of 5 by MiriamMannak from Cape Town, South Africa
Rhodes Memorial

On the slopes of Devil's Peak, Table Mountain's left shoulder, lies Rhodes Memorial. It’s a huge temple like construction made out of granite quarried from Table Mountain, carrying the inscription "To the Spirit and Life Work of Cecil John Rhodes, who loved and served South Africa”.

THE MONUMENT
The stairs are lined by statues of bronze lions overlooking the Cape.
Herbert Baker designed the memorial and its construction began in 1906, but was only officially dedicated to Rhodes on 5th July 1912.
One can, besides visiting the monument, go for a hike through the pine forests surrounding the memorial with a breakfast/lunch at Rhodes Memorial Tea Gardens afterwards. Or just sit on the steps and overlook the city, airport, the Cape Flats, Hottentots Holland Mountains and Genadendal, the President's Cape Town residence.


CECIL RHODES
Sir John Cecil Rhodes (1853) came to South Africa in 1870 at the age of 17. In 1871 he moved to Kimberley, due to the diamond rush. Later, he would be the owner De Beers Consolidated Mines and later the Consolidated Gold Fields of South Africa, operating from the Witwatersrand.
He became the Prime Minister of the Cape until he resigned in 1896. He introduced the Glen Grey Act to push Black people from their lands and make way for industrial development.

EXTENTION CAPE COLONY
During his rule, he extended the Cape colony towards the north and the west. It was Rhode’s intention to bring the two Boer Republics, the Orange Free State and the South African Republic in Transvaal (proclaimed between 1854 and 1856) under British control.
To reach his goal, Rhodes in 1885 persuaded Britain to annex Bechuanaland (now Botswana), in an attempt to prevent the Boer Transvaal Republic from extending its territory northwards.

FROM CAPE TO CAIRO
It was Rhodes' dream to build a railway from the Cape to Cairo and to have every Africa country along this route under British control.
Rhodes used his wealth to pursue his dream of expanding Britain's empire in Africa, and in his British South Africa Company, which had a police force, colonised Mashonaland and Matabeleland, the present Zimbabwe and Zambia.

THE TWO RHODESIAS
When the indigenous population rebelled against the coming of the White settlers to their land, the British South Africa Company police crushed them. The conquered lands were named Southern and Northern Rhodesia. Today, the two countries are known as Zimbabwe and Zambia.

From journal What to do in Cape Town?

The Rhodes Memorial

  • March 5, 2003
  • Rated 4 of 5 by meadowlark from Boston, Massachusetts
The Rhodes Memorial

The Rhodes Memorial sits on the side of the mountain with a commanding view over Cape Town. Built by British imperialist Cecil Rhodes' friends to commemorate his 1902 death, the Memorial is a reminder of the large impact he had on the area.

The drive up to the memorial is impressive because most of the land alongside the mountain here is not developed (again, thanks to Rhodes donating it in his will to the people of South Africa). In fact, if it's not too hot out, you might be able to catch a glimpse of a grazing zebra or wildebeast. There is a small parking lot at the Rhodes Memorial but you can also walk from the main University of Cape Town (UCT) campus.

The first part that's striking about the memorial is the great view of the city. There is a short stone wall (to keep you from rolling off the hill) which has a sort of built-in, semi-circular bench. We also saw a group of students picnicking on the grass near by. The monument itself is an imposing granite structure with two rows of green copper lions reminiscent of the temple at Luxor standing by the 49 steps (one for each year of Rhodes life) that lead up to great stone columns and a bust of Rhodes above a short prose passage. The view from up here is grand as well. At the front of the steps is a striking statue of the god Energy on his horse. This is a good Cape Town photo moment.

We stopped at the Kirstenbosch Gardens on the way. Unless you are going to picnic or just hang out here, you won't need more than 20-30 minutes to see the place and you could even do a quick hop-in-hop-out if you came by taxi.

From journal Facing the Past: Historical Sights in Cape Town

Romantic views

  • December 2, 2002
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Niggles78 from England, United Kingdom
On my last day in Cape Town, my boyfriend at the time arranged a champagne breakfast at the Rhodes Memorial. It's free to visit and is set quite high in the mountains amongst trees. It's a phenomenal building in tribute to Cecil John Rhodes, but it also has brilliant views. We went down at 7 am ( it gets light early in South Africa), set up our picnic blanket, and watched the sunrise. Purely breathtaking.

From journal Cape Town Crazy

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