place

Avalon Cemetery

Buildings and structures in SowetoCemeteries in South Africa
Helen Joseph Avalon
Helen Joseph Avalon

Avalon Cemetery is one of the largest graveyards in South Africa. It was opened in 1972, during the height of apartheid, as a graveyard exclusively for black people. The huge extension was officially opened on 9 February by Matshidiso Mfikoe, at the time a mayoral committee member for environment and corporate services. Before Avalon opened, Sowetans were buried in Nancefield (Klipspruit) Cemetery. That burial ground opened in 1912 but is now full except for second or third burials. Just beyond the entrance, to the left, there are Memorials dedicated to struggle activists Lilian Ngoyi and Helen Joseph. During Women’s Month in August 2010, the graves of Ngoyi, Joseph and Maxeke were declared National Heritage Sites. (The cemetery has memorials to other heroes as well.) To the North, near the Train Station, lies the Mendi Memorial. In the cemetery are the graves of Joe Slovo and Hector Pieterson.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Avalon Cemetery (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Avalon Cemetery
Shikundu Street, Soweto Mapetla

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Avalon CemeteryContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N -26.276388888889 ° E 27.851111111111 °
placeShow on map

Address

Shikundu Street (Shikundi Street)

Shikundu Street
1818 Soweto, Mapetla
Gauteng, South Africa
mapOpen on Google Maps

Helen Joseph Avalon
Helen Joseph Avalon
Share experience

Nearby Places

Regina Mundi Catholic Church (Soweto)
Regina Mundi Catholic Church (Soweto)

Regina Mundi (Latin for "Queen of the World"), designed by architect Anthony Noel Errol Slaven, is the largest Roman Catholic church in South Africa. It is located in Rockville, Soweto, a populous black urban residential area within the city of Johannesburg. Due to the role it played as a place of gathering for the people of Soweto in the years before, during, and after the anti-apartheid struggle, it is often referred to as "the people's church" or "the people's cathedral". The church is located in the middle of Soweto, in Rockville, in the neighbourhood of Moroka; it was built in 1964, replacing Moroka's former parish church. While the A-shaped exterior of the building is quite ordinary in design, its main feature is the vast interior, that can accommodate as many as 5000-7000 people. The stained-glass windows are decorated with scenes of Mary's life and were donated by Poland in 1998. One of the most prominent artifacts in the church is the painting entitled "The Madonna and Child of Soweto", mostly referred to as "The Black Madonna", depicting a black Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus (also black). The painting was created by artist Larry Scully in 1973, as a part of a campaign to raise funds for the education of black South Africans. The painting was then bought by a benefactor and donated to the church. A highly symbolic element of the painting is a large eye right under the Black Madonna. According to journalist Mpho Lukoto of newspaper The Star, the pupil of the eye represents the township of Soweto; two forks directed towards the pupil from the sides represent the violence that was used against the people of Soweto during the apartheid era, and the cross in the center of the pupil represents the Church that illuminates the people with hope. After the end of apartheid, a large park was built before the church, with a fountain and memorials, including a "peace pole" donated to the church by Japanese Christians. The church is still a popular place for the people of Soweto and it has also become a prominent tourist attraction in the area.