The short Gerhard Moerdyk Street, on the fringes of Sunnyside, is one of Tshwane/Pretoria’s oldest, liveliest thoroughfares. In little more than a block of historic buildings and houses are ethnic restaurants, beat bars, jazz haunts and a small theatre renowned for its sad ghost.
The Prettiest of Towns
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| |  An Ethiopian eatery | |
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The region in which Tshwane/Pretoria is located has a history and culture thousands of years old. It is the lie of the land that draws people to it. Set in the temperate, scenic valleys of the eastern spur of the Magaliesburg, the land is rich, the water plentiful and the security good.
The city was officially founded in 1855 by Voortrekker leader Marthinus Pretorius who named it after his father. He had purchased land at Elandspoort for a capital to serve the central Boer Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, commonly known as the Transvaal. ‘The prettiest of the South African towns, with it’s red and white houses, it’s tall clumps of trees and pink lines of blooming rose hedges,’ enthused author Ridder Haggard in Jess.
Since South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, Tshwane/Pretoria has cast off its staid veneer and repositioned itself as a vibrant African metropolis. Nothing epitomises this more than Gerhard Moerdyk Street.
Gerhard Moerdyk Street
Gerhard Moerdyk Street, named in honour of the architect who designed the Voortrekker Monument, connects Rissik and Kotze streets where the central business district meets Sunnyside. Dating to the beginning of the 20th century, it contains a bevy of renovated historic buildings housing creative shops, restaurants and a variety of clubs and pubs frequented by students, businesspeople and the staff of nearby embassies.
The Best Food
The best food is to be found in the ethnic restaurants. The Ethio Restaurant and the Habari Horn of Africa Lounge both feature Ethiopian cuisine served on pancake like injere, a regional bread. There are Eritrean and Congolese eateries; and a number offering a style best described as Afro-European fusion.
Then there are the bars. Tom’s Tavern is a traditional British pub cum sports saloon with pool tables and walls bedecked with motor racing, cricket and rugby memorabilia. Of particular interest is the series of caricatures of all the ’95 Rugby World Cup participants especially created for owner Tom van der Merwe. For those who prefer a more regional feel there is the African Beat Restaurant and Bar.
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| |  Go to Zwakala for the best jazz | |
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Fabulous Music
But most come here for the tolerant vibe and fabulous music. The clubs are all connected to the secure enclave that was once the Oeverzicht Art Village; and is now the pumping heart of the street. Emanating from these establishments is everything from house to reggae and alternative rock. And local jazz aficionados will fall head-over-heels in love with the smoky Zwakala ko Tshwane, which means ‘welcome to Tshwane’.
Brilliant! Brilliant!! Brilliant!!!
The Breytenbach Theatre
The Breytenbach Theatre in Gerhard Moerdyk Street, which is associated with the Tshwane University of Technology, has had many parts. Originally a German club, it was taken over in 1907 by Boer War heroine Emily Hobhouse as a weaving school and craft centre to assist destitute Boer women.
Then, after World War 1, it temporarily became a hospital to cater for the thousands afflicted by the 1918 flu. ‘The earliest cases were mild, but the transition to cases of the utmost gravity was extraordinarily sudden, and the increase in those affected by the disease baffled all experience,’ reported the Pretoria News at the height of the epidemic.
Heather the Ghost
After that the Breytenbach Theatre was used as a film and artists’ studio before being acquired in 1955 by the National Theatre Organisation, which staged its first production on 17 November 1958. And in 1976 it was renamed in honour of Dr PPB Breytenbach, a patron of the arts.
Today the theatre is primarily used for productions by drama students of Tshwane University, who share the footlights with a famous ghost. Legend has it that the cellar below the stage, which was used as a morgue during the 1918 flu, is haunted by a nurse named Heather. It is said that she was in charge of ill children, but also succumbed to the disease. But she has never abandoned her post; forever caring for sick children.
Getting There
From the Fountains Interchange take the M3 Nelson Mandela Drive towards the centre of Tshwane. After Berea Park turn right into Rissik Street and first left into Gerard Moerdyk Street.
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