Dias Cross Memorial

Last updated July 25, 2019

The Dias Cross Memorial is a provincial heritage site at Kwaaihoek, Alexandria in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.^[1]

Provincial heritage sites in South Africa are places that are of historic or cultural importance within the context of the province concerned and which are for this reason declared in terms of Section 28 of the National Heritage Resources Act (NHRA) or legislation of the applicable province. The designation was a new one that came into effect with the introduction of the Act on 1 April 2000 when all former national monuments declared by the former National Monuments Council and its predecessors became provincial heritage sites as provided for in Section 58 of the Act.

Kwaaihoek is a rocky headland on the coast of Algoa Bay, near Bushman's River Mouth in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is here that the Portuguese navigator Bartolomeu Dias erected the Padrão de São Gregório, his first padrão, or stone cross on 12 March 1488. First visited by Robert Jacob Gordon on 13 February 1786, remnants of the cross were rediscovered in 1938 by Prof. E. Axelson and transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

Alexandria is a small farming town in the Eastern Cape of South Africa and is situated 100 km North East of Port Elizabeth on the way to Bushman's River Mouth, Kenton-on-Sea and Port Alfred. Alexandria is part of the Ndlambe Local Municipality in the Sarah Baartman District Municipality of the Eastern Cape.

In 1945 it was described in the Government Gazette as:

The Government Gazette is the gazette of record of South Africa. It is the "official organ of Government". The Government Gazette is used by the government as an official way of communicating to the general public.

A minor road turns sharply off to the right from the main road that leads from Alexandria to Bushman’s River Mouth; it passes Boknes and comes to an end near the coast. About a kilometre further east from the end of the road, beyond the sand dunes, lies Kwaaihoek, also known as False Island, a high promontory that juts out towards the sea. On top of the headland that extends the furthest Bartholomew Diaz, the famous Portuguese navigator and discoverer of the Cape, erected a cross or padrao on 12th March, 1488. A replica of the cross has been erected on the same bleak, exposed spot.
— Government Gazette of South Africa, ^[1]

The remains of the original cross erected by Bartolomeu Dias are located at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.^[2]

The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits. The university has its roots in the mining industry, as do Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand in general. Founded in 1896 as the South African School of Mines in Kimberley, it is the third oldest South African university in continuous operation.

Johannesburg is the largest city in South Africa and one of the 50 largest urban areas in the world. It is the provincial capital and largest city of Gauteng, which is the wealthiest province in South Africa. While Johannesburg is not one of South Africa's three capital cities, it is the seat of the Constitutional Court. The city is located in the mineral-rich Witwatersrand range of hills and is the centre of large-scale gold and diamond trade.

Related Research Articles

Bartolomeu Dias, a nobleman of the Portuguese royal household, was a Portuguese explorer. He sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, the first European to do so, setting up the route from Europe to Asia later on. Dias is the first European during the Age of Discovery to anchor at what is present-day South Africa.

Cape Town International Airport is the primary airport serving the city of Cape Town, and is the second-busiest airport in South Africa and fifth-busiest in Africa. Located approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) from the city centre, the airport was opened in 1954 to replace Cape Town's previous airport, Wingfield Aerodrome. Cape Town International Airport is the only airport in the Cape Town metropolitan area that offers scheduled passenger services. The airport has domestic and international terminals, linked by a common central terminal.

The Witwatersrand is a 56-kilometre-long (35 mi), north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which account for the name Witwatersrand, meaning "ridge of white waters" in Afrikaans. This east-west-running scarp can be traced with only one short gap, from Bedfordview in the east, through Johannesburg and Roodepoort, to Krugersdorp in the west.

Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "place of gold."

The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. It was a key part of the Mineral Revolution.

Sir Herbert Baker was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He was born and died at Owletts in Cobham, Kent.

A padrão was a large stone cross inscribed with the coat of arms of Portugal that was placed as part of a land claim by numerous Portuguese explorers during the Portuguese Age of Discovery.

Section 27 of the National Heritage Resources Act (NHRA) of South Africa provides for places of historic or cultural importance to be designated national heritage sites. This came into effect with the introduction of the Act on 1 April 2000, when all former national monuments declared by the former National Monuments Council and its predecessors became provincial heritage sites as provided for in Section 58 of the Act.

The Cape Police Memorial is a South African national heritage site located in Kimberley in the Northern Cape province. It commemorates the losses of the unit during the Anglo-Boer War.

The Huguenot Memorial Building, located at 48 Queen Victoria Street, Cape Town, is a provincial heritage site in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa.

The Honoured Dead Memorial is a provincial heritage site in Kimberley in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated at the meeting point of five roads, and commemorates those who died defending the city during the Siege of Kimberley in the Anglo-Boer War.

Johannesburg Park Station central railway station in Johannesburg, South Africa

Johannesburg Park Station is the central railway station in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa, and the largest railway station in Africa. It is located between the Central Business District and Braamfontein, in the block bordered by Rissik, Wolmarans, Wanderers and Noord Streets. Park Station lies on the main Witwatersrand railway line that runs East-West from Krugersdorp to Germiston. The first four stations to the east are Doornfontein, Ellis Park, Jeppe and George Goch Stations.

Bushman's River Mouth is a town in Ndlambe Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Heerengracht Street in Cape Town. The city's annual Remembrance Day ceremonies are held there. It is classified as a public memorial and as such is subject to protection in terms of heritage legislation administered by Heritage Western Cape, the provincial heritage resources authority of the Western Cape province of South Africa.

Ellerslie Girls' High School was a girls' public high school at 355 Main Road, Sea Point, Cape Town, South Africa. The school was established in 1898. In 1989 the school merged with Sea Point High School, formerly Sea Point Boys' High School, which had become co-educational.

Noordgesig is a township in Soweto, situated at the edge of area's northern most boundary, but within its territory. It is the first township seen on entering Soweto from the frequently used New Canada Road. Noordgesig is a Coloured township. It is colloquially called "Bulte"(meaning Hills) by its residence and neighbors, as depicted by the Mine Dumps surrounding the Township. The name "Bulte" was coined as a form of endearment by the residence for the longest time.

References

1 2 "Dias Cross Memorial Kwaaihoek Alexandria District, Item: 21242". South African Heritage Resource Agency. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
↑ "Dias Cross University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, Item: 30092". South African Heritage Resource Agency. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.

Coordinates: 33°43′07″S26°37′26″E / 33.718499°S 26.624014°E / -33.718499; 26.624014 .

Geographic coordinate system Coordinate system

A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.

This article about a South African building or structure is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[SAHRA21242-1] 1 2 "Dias Cross Memorial Kwaaihoek Alexandria District, Item: 21242". South African Heritage Resource Agency. Archived from the original on 19 February 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.

[SAHRA30092-2] "Dias Cross University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg, Item: 30092". South African Heritage Resource Agency. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.