The Heritage Portal

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The Heritage Portal

We publish regular articles, book reviews & notices to get South Africans interested & excited about their history.

We also maintain South Africa's blue plaque database and curate a directory of organisations operating in the heritage sector.

26/09/2025

Ancestors On the Wall - Early South African Wall-Mounted Photographic Portraits

https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/ancestors-wall-early-south-african-wall-mounted-photographic-portraits

This article by Carol Hardijzer examines the history of large framed photographic portraits that were common in South African homes from the 1880s to 1920s.

18/09/2025

Victorian-era Banknotes of Towns of the South Western Cape

https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/victorian-era-banknotes-towns-south-western-cape

Did you know that we didn't always have one set of bank notes. This piece captures the fascinating stories of local banks and businesses that issued their own currency in the Western Cape during the 1800s

11/09/2025

Sometimes South African history can get confusing. Meet the 11 men with similar names who shaped 19th-20th century South Africa - all called Bain, Baines, or Baynes! From Thomas Baines the famous explorer-artist to the road-building Bain father-son duo, to bishops, politicians and labour leaders.

This deep-dive by Prof Jane Carruthers untangles decades of mistaken identities in SA history books. A must-read for history buffs.

https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/banes-south-african-historians

04/09/2025

Definitely worth checking out...

14/08/2025

A remarkable 1939 photograph discovered in a South African pawn shop reveals seven Afrikaans-speaking Rhodes Scholars at Oxford University, each destined to make an impact on South African history.

https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/one-photograph-seven-afrikaans-speaking-rhodes-scholars-oxford-university-1939

07/08/2025

The English Cricket Legend who Settled in South Africa

https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/english-cricket-legend-who-settled-south-africa

01/08/2025

In Search of Napoleonic Treasure in the Karoo

https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/search-napoleonic-treasure-karoo

This fascinating investigation follows the trail of Napoleonic artefacts from St. Helena to a small museum in Beaufort West, South Africa.

29/07/2025

The Henry Charles Hull Story: Law, Politics and Mining in Early Johannesburg

https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/henry-charles-hull-story-law-politics-and-mining-early-johannesburg

The story of Henry Charles Hull, the original owner of the mansion Emoyeni, situated at the top of Jubilee Road, Parktown.

19/07/2025

Hohenheim - The Life and Death of one of Johannesburg's Great Historic Homes

https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/hohenheim-life-and-death-one-johannesburgs-great-historic-homes

15/06/2025

The fate of one Dutch noble line in the Cape Colony

https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/fate-one-dutch-noble-line-cape-colony

When political upheaval and economic crisis stripped Dutch nobles of their traditional privileges in the 1840s, Arnold Frans Jacob baron Sloet van Lindenhorst made the decision to emigrate to the Cape Colony at age 32. His descendants would become the last surviving branch of the Sloet van Lindenhorst noble line.

12/06/2025

Early Shipwrecks Off the Eastern Coast

https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/early-shipwrecks-eastern-coast

Between 1552 and 1713, nine Portuguese and Dutch ships were wrecked along South Africa's eastern coast. The survivors of these shipwrecks faced extended overland journeys to reach established ports, with some choosing to remain and integrate with local communities. These maritime incidents occurred during the early period of European navigation around the Cape and resulted in some of the first documented extended contact between Europeans and indigenous South African communities. The survivors' experiences and decisions influenced local populations and contributed to the region's demographic and cultural development, though these events receive limited attention in standard historical accounts. In this detailed examination, Jukie Joubert traces the individual stories of each wreck site.

07/06/2025

Did you know a jewellery heist in Cape Town helped shape South African contract law? 💎

https://www.theheritageportal.co.za/article/how-jewellery-theft-shaped-south-african-contract-law

When thieves broke into City Jewellers over a century ago, it sparked a legal battle that still influences how we understand advertising and contracts today. American Swiss offered a £500 reward for information leading to the arrest - but two people came forward, and neither got paid!

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