Arts, Culture & Heritage
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Blue Plaque Sites

Sophiatown Champion Tree

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About Sophiatown Champion Tree

Developed in cooperation with the Johannesburg Heritage Foundation

Address

8 Bertha Street Sophiatown
June 2024

Inscription

SITE OF THE SOPHIATOWN TREE This marks the site where South AfricaÕs first champion tree stood, declared in 2004. The tree was over 100 years old, with a girth of 4m, but a severe pruning in 2005 killed the tree. The giant oak was a meeting place for the community in old Sophiatown before forced removals by the apartheid government between 1955-61. An acorn from the tree was planted at the Christ the King Church and the new tree continues to grow.

Photo courtesy: Kabelo Mokoena (Sunday Times)

Explore Joburg

A culmination of research gathered over many years, the Online Johannesburg Heritage Register is being launched on Nelson Mandela Day 18 July 2025.

Among the many heritage sites featured is Chancellor House, the downtown offices of Mandela and Tambo Attorneys in the 1950s. After having been vacant and shuttered for more than a decade, this iconic building is being revived and brought to life once again as offices for the Community Development Department, which oversees the City’s Arts, Culture & Heritage Services.

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