Vandals are Ruining the Traditional Cottages

VANDALS are destroying what is left of the three historical cottages that form part of the Red Location Museum in New Brighton.

The cottages, opposite the museum, are slowly disappearing, sparking concern from members of the public, who fear that they will lose their significance.

Debbie Pretorius, who drives past the dilapidated structures from time to time, said she was concerned about the heritage of those cottages: “It‘s terrible. There is less and less of those buildings left.”

She said the structures had huge historical significance, but no one seemed to be taking care of them. “The museum owes its existence to those buildings. It‘s worrying to notice that they are disappearing.”

New Brighton resident Keke Pemba said vandals were stealing material from the cottages and selling it to scrapyards.

“People are destroying and vandalising those houses, including my family home, which is being stripped.”

Pemba said the cottages used to be single men‘s quarters and housed migrant workers who came from as far as Lesotho. Most of them worked in Deal Party. “Each house had four rooms and in each of those, 10 people slept.”

Nelson Mandela Bay recreation and cultural services committee chairman Mike Kwenaite said the municipality was aware of the vandalism. “The safety and security department promised to beef up security there.”

Kwenaite said the municipality wanted to preserve the cottages as they were.

“We don‘t want to renovate them and we don‘t want to rebuild them. We want to build around them,” he said.

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