Hillbrow SA

Old Dec 8th 2019, 11:32 am
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Default Hillbrow SA

Hi Looking to talk with anyone that lived in Hillbrow during the 70”s.
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Old Dec 9th 2019, 5:55 am
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Default Re: Hillbrow SA

Originally Posted by Newstead
Hi Looking to talk with anyone that lived in Hillbrow during the 70”s.
I did. Last home was Mariston, bottom of Claim Street. Would love to make contact.
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Old Dec 9th 2019, 7:48 am
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Default Re: Hillbrow SA

We lived there for a while c1980. I can't remember which street but it was roughly in the middle, and a short walk from Highpoint.
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Old Dec 9th 2019, 8:46 am
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Default Re: Hillbrow SA

How long was you on Hillbrow ?
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Old Dec 9th 2019, 8:55 am
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Default Re: Hillbrow SA

Originally Posted by Newstead
How long was you on Hillbrow ?
About 7 years. But also lived in Yeoville for a short while.
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Old Dec 9th 2019, 4:56 pm
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Default Re: Hillbrow SA

A year or so, then we moved to Jhb North.
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Old Dec 9th 2019, 7:21 pm
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Default Re: Hillbrow SA

Would you like to chat at some point, do you use Zoom or Skype or anything else like them that we could talk on
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Old Dec 11th 2019, 10:44 am
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Default Re: Hillbrow SA

Originally Posted by Newstead
Would you like to chat at some point, do you use Zoom or Skype or anything else like them that we could talk on
I remember this hellhole well:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news...ticle24992755/

And why do you want to talk about Hillbrow I wonder?
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Old Dec 11th 2019, 10:51 am
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Default Re: Hillbrow SA

I the 70s it was one of the fun places in the world
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Old Dec 11th 2019, 11:07 am
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Default Re: Hillbrow SA

Originally Posted by Newstead
I the 70s it was one of the fun places in the world
Fun is long gone:
The Death of Johannesburg: A Tour Through Hillbrow Part 5

Has Hillbrow changed since the above link?
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Old Dec 11th 2019, 12:11 pm
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Default Re: Hillbrow SA

That’s for sure, but I am still having fun as I visit NYC about eight times a year, and at times it somewhat reminds me of times gone bye
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Old Dec 15th 2019, 5:48 pm
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Default Re: Hillbrow SA

Originally Posted by Thairetired2016
Fun is long gone:
The Death of Johannesburg: A Tour Through Hillbrow Part 5

Has Hillbrow changed since the above link?
I remember carrying out crime loss assessments for a major retailer with stores in Hillbrow back in the era when those articles were written. They were pretty accurate and it was more like a war zone than an inner city area. Most of the claims were for armed robberies, and a few burglaries, but I remember one for 'broken glass in display windows'. They were broken, yes, by automatic gunfire during a drive by shooting...

There's some evidence of urban regeneration now, with major property investment companies refurbishing older apartment blocks and constructing new ones, for city workers and students (Hillbrow is quite close to the CBD and the main campus of Wits University); but it's still a mess and crime is a major problem. Slumlords also take advantage of the poor, people who earn very little but have jobs of a sort. My daughter's domestic worker/nanny was paying about R1,000/month rent so that she and her little girl could share a bedroom with another woman and her kids. No electricity, running water or sanitation because the accounts hadn't been paid for years. Fortunately my daughter was able to help her move to a better place. It's still a flat share but she has her own room and the utilities work.

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Old Dec 16th 2019, 12:22 am
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Default Re: Hillbrow SA

Originally Posted by MartynK
I remember carrying out crime loss assessments for a major retailer with stores in Hillbrow back in the era when those articles were written. They were pretty accurate and it was more like a war zone than an inner city area. Most of the claims were for armed robberies, and a few burglaries, but I remember one for 'broken glass in display windows'. They were broken, yes, by automatic gunfire during a drive by shooting...

There's some evidence of urban regeneration now, with major property investment companies refurbishing older apartment blocks and constructing new ones, for city workers and students (Hillbrow is quite close to the CBD and the main campus of Wits University); but it's still a mess and crime is a major problem. Slumlords also take advantage of the poor, people who earn very little but have jobs of a sort. My daughter's domestic worker/nanny was paying about R1,000/month rent so that she and her little girl could share a bedroom with another woman and her kids. No electricity, running water or sanitation because the accounts hadn't been paid for years. Fortunately my daughter was able to help her move to a better place. It's still a flat share but she has her own room and the utilities work.
A friend of mine owned 12 apts. in Hillbrow which he had hoped to eventually sell when the "transition" happened. Squatters where a lot quicker. He couldn't sell a single one one.
In 2010 I visited Jo'burg. The driver I had used a very different route from Rosebank to the airport to the route I knew. Reason was: too dangerous to go via Berea/Dornfontein.
Will Jo'burg ever go back to what it once was?
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Old Dec 19th 2019, 11:58 am
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Default Re: Hillbrow SA

Originally Posted by Thairetired2016
A friend of mine owned 12 apts. in Hillbrow which he had hoped to eventually sell when the "transition" happened. Squatters where a lot quicker. He couldn't sell a single one one.
In 2010 I visited Jo'burg. The driver I had used a very different route from Rosebank to the airport to the route I knew. Reason was: too dangerous to go via Berea/Dornfontein.
Will Jo'burg ever go back to what it once was?
No. Joburg of the 60, 70s and early 80s was shaped by its history of racism and apartheid. The city centre and inner suburbs more or less fell apart in the 90s and early 2000s (collapse of municipal authority and services, widespread corruption, slumlords, crime, grime, uncontrolled street trading, illegal immigration etc) but it has resurrected itself as an African city. The current problems are not specific to Joburg, they're much the same as those facing SA as a whole.

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Old Dec 20th 2019, 12:27 am
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Default Re: Hillbrow SA

I lived in Orchards in 1968/69 and spent many evenings in Hillbrow as that’s where it all happened. I dont recall ever having any security problems and my car was never broken into. There was a place called the Summit club, which was great, as it had lots of facilities including a very reasonable restaurant. We used to see the weekly recorded uk football matches . We left for Rhodesia in late 1969 as we couldnt live with apartheid any more.
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