Springbok SA Rugby Museum
Today we headed to the SARU to meet up with Henrique Snyders, the Heritage Manager, who led us through the museum and through the history of Rugby in South Africa. It is a complex history, including the blending of White, Colored, and Bantu leagues. The history also included times when international pressure, unwillingness to play again South Africa in tournament, loss of sponsorship, and anti-apartheid sentiment affect Rugby in South Africa.
Myself, I was impressed by the jersey that was made by prisoners of war during WWII who created shirts, dyed with Springbok color, including green from the Russian Army uniforms and orange from the malaria pills. I was also shocked to see the tennis balls filled with broken glass, used to pelt the Springbok athletes. And I was inspired by the statues of Mandela and Francois, as they represent the victory in the world cup. What did you learn or what did you take away from this visit?
Robben Island
Our Robben Island tour began with Nandi, who described the history of the island, including the time it was a leper colony, a prison, and a landmark. The visit included a view of the location Robert Sobukwe’s house arrest, the lime quarry where political prisoners worked, the shore where political prisoners were assigned to pull kelp out of the water, and the village as it is today. We then met Vusumzi Mcongo who was an inmate at Robben Island, having been arrested in 1977 for his involvement with the Black Conscience Movement. Although his was not the most entertaining or articulate guide, I was impressed with his passion for the Black Conscience Movement, still today, with the same vision and fire that he had back in the 1970’s. His tour included visits to the general intake areas, recreation halls, work plazas, cells, study halls and showers & bathrooms. Most impactful for me personally was to see the garden area where Nelson Mandela hid his original manuscript of what later became his book, Long Road to Freedom. And my mind also recalled a scene from Invictus when François was in Mandela’s cell, spreading his arms to reach from one end to another, knowing that this was the prisoner’s space for nearly 20 years. What did you appreciate most from the visit to Robben Island?