The legacy of Liliesleaf Farm

On a breezy afternoon I explored South African heritage through a guided tour of Liliesleaf Farm. Nestled in the heart of Rivonia, the farm nurtures the memory and legacy of South Africa’s struggle heroes.

The tour began with a 12-minute, black and white video depicting the historical events that shaped the country’s future. The guide, Zain Khumalo then led us through corridors, were the walls seemed to teem with nostalgia, across green lawns and to the Manor house.

Khumalo explained the significance of the house. “Arthur Goldreich, a member of the Communist Party, and his family, fronted as the white owners of the farm, to keep up the façade of that time.”

Nelson Mandela moved in under the guise of a caretaker and took the alias David Motsamayi, the name of one of his former clients. “He wore a simple blue overall that was considered the uniform of the black male servant.”

But the farm was actually the meeting place for prominent leaders who fought against apartheid, until that fateful cold day in July 1963 when it was raided and ANC leaders were arrested. However it was through that injustice that the world’s attention focused on the tyrannical government in South Africa.

While 60 percent of the original brickwork was kept during renovation and maintain a semblance to the decades gone by, the technology that unfolds that past is a true testament to the innovation of our present technological era.

At the Manor House history is retold via a 3D interactive table of video, images, audio, and text.

Emerging at the back entrance of the house we were shown the coal shed where Madiba’s documents were discovered which ultimately led to his 27-year imprisonment. As we passed the outbuildings I was in awe of the rich history that just this one place held, we have certainly come a long way since the days of the ‘dom pas’ but there’s still a long journey ahead on our democratic path.