During its relatively short history Bloemfontein hosted a surprising number of royal visitors. In August 1860 the 16-year-old Prince Alfred, second son of Queen Victoria, visited Bloemfontein with the Governor of the Cape Colony, Sir George Grey. In May 1925 the British Crown Prince, also known as the Prince of Wales and later Edward VIII, visited Bloemfontein for two days as part of his South African tour, and in February 1934 his brother Prince George (later the Duke of Kent), fourth eldest son of King George V, also paid a two-day-visit to the capital.

Image 1: An aerial photograph of Oliewenhuis shows the garden’s formal layout with the main garden path as focal point, c. 1990s. (Photo: Oliewenhuis Art Museum)

The style and design of a garden often determine how it is experienced and appreciated by humans. Informal landscape gardens are best enjoyed by wandering around and exploring them serendipitously. In these gardens elements such as colour, texture, scent and sound stimulate the senses.

February 1981: The last known photograph of lawyer Griffiths Mxenge, brutally murdered by a death squad in 1981, and his wife Victoria, an activist assassinated in 1985. (Photograph by Gallo Images/Sunday Times Archive)

The lives of two of South Africa’s bravest civil rights lawyers, Mlungisi Griffiths Mxenge, and his wife, Victoria Nonyamezelo Mxenge were cut short by apartheid agents. Their ultimate sacrifices for the liberation of South Africans should be remembered and honoured. Here are the couple’s inspiring stories.

A triumphant Philip Kgosana being raised shoulder-high by anti-pass protesters on 30 March 1960. (Photo: Wikipedia)

On 30 March 1960 a 23-year-old black man became instantly famous for courageously leading a non-violent protest march of about 30 000 people in Cape Town against the infamous pass laws. His name was Philip Kgosana.