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Only the fountain has remained on the terrace of what was once the Paragon Hotel in Anderson Street. Today it serves as a retailer specialising in the African market.

Mpumalanga Heritage takes its members on a tour of the city

It was a morning filled with nostalgia for many. For others, it was a journey of discovery when Mpumalanga Heritage recently took its members on a tour of the city.

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MBOMBELA – Over the years, changing demographics and modern outlaying shopping facilities have transformed the old inner town into a somewhat forgotten world for many. The excursion, in the comfort of a modern bus, started at the Orion Promenade Hotel – that used to be the old city hall and civic centre.

Its prominent lookout tower is still intact, much as its original architectural features in the Spanish-hacienda revival style that was very popular here in the Lowveld in the fifties.

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A mural by the well-known Italian South African artists Armando Baldinelli is still to be find in what used to be the foyer of the Mkholo Trust Building in Brown Street

After a slide show of a collection of old town photographs, the first stop was at the railway station. This was the initial centre point from where the old town was developed. The fact that the Nelspruit railway station later became a junction for the branch lines to the agricultural, forestry and gold-mining hinterland along the escarpment contributed much to the initial growth of the town as regional business centre.

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Old Nelspruit, today Mbombela, does not contain buildings of great architectural significance. In this case, it is the assembly of buildings that once formed a functional core for the needs of a specific community that gives it a cultural-historical value, said Duncan Ballantyne, chairperson of Mpumalanga Heritage.

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Mpumalanga Heritage members visiting the entertainment terrace of what was once the Paragon Hotel in down town Nelspruit.

One also does not find many historic squares scattered with statues and memorials. The few that are left are fairly obscured by the current inner-city clutter and decay. However, they still recall historic occasions such as the centenary commemoration of the Great Trek in 1938, the inauguration of the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria in 1849 and the Van Riebeeck Festival of 1952, as well as the reburial of the original brothers Nel in 1975.

They were farmers from Ermelo seeking winter grazing in this area. With the planning of the railroad between Delagoa Bay and Pretoria, their name was used in the mapping of the various refuelling stations along the way. The visitors could yet again visit the half-circled sidewalk terrace of the old Paragon Hotel or walk through Ponting’s Arcade, the first covered shopping mall in all of the Lowveld.

During the early seventies, with the completion of the old Legal & General building – nowadays the Mkholo Trust Building – across the road from the main post office and for years the tallest in town, money was spent on decorating the foyer with a mural by the well-known Italian-South African artist, Armando Baldinelli. It became obscured later when the spacious downstairs area was divided into smaller retail facilities.

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The tour included a visit to the recently revamped Eye of Nelspruit at the Soccer Ball in Steiltes with it magnificent view over the city.

While exploring this part of the old town as well as the building, all were alerted to be on the lookout for the artwork and great was the surprise when this was discovered unlit and covered behind a glass – during one of the currently scheduled blackouts – in the back of an African-style eating house.

This magnificent period of artwork is well worth a visit and the restaurant offers a good meal of Russian and chips or chicken and pap to enjoy while admiring it. Join Mpumalanga Heritage.

More on this excursion, as well as other monthly outings to follow, will be reflected it its regular newsletter. Contact Linda Grimbeek at Kruger Lowveld Chamber of Business and Tourism.

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