About NCHERS

The Newlands/Claremont Heritage, Environmental Justice and Restitution Society (NCHERS) was officially inaugurated on Saturday 24 September 2022 (Heritage Day) at the Claremont Civic Centre. More than 200 former residents of Claremont and Newlands unanimously approved the establishment of the Heritage Society and elected the following ten (10) Steering Committee members: Imam Rashied Omar, Reverend Chesnay Frantz, Cecil Lategan, Cameron Scott, Jaamia Galant, Aeysha Adams, Russell Dudley, Fatima Haron, Abubakr (Boebie) Cassiem and Richard Buttress. 

The public endorsement for the formal establishment of NCHERS and the elections of the Steering Committee were overseen by Ciraj Rasool, Professor of History and director of the African Programme in Museum and Heritage Studies at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). He is also a longstanding trustee and former Chairperson of the District Six Museum Foundation.

The launch of NCHERS was preceded by a lively Walk of Remembrance which began at the St. Saviour’s Anglican Church in Claremont, moved up Main Rd to the Arderne Public Gardens and then through the gardens and ended at the Civic Centre. There was an ecstatic yet nostalgic mood amongst the participants as friends and old neighbours reminisced about their time living in Claremont and Newlands as well as recalling the painful memories of their forced removals.  The keynote address at the Civic Centre was delivered by Mr. Simon Banda, an ex-resident and former principal of Livingstone High School. In his address, Mr. Banda reminded all about the violence of apartheid and the injustice of forced removals and encouraged all to support this project of reclaiming the history and heritage of all those displaced from Claremont and Newlands. 

The main objectives of NCHERS are to build public awareness, collect, publish, and memorialize  the lost heritage and history of the area. The organization will also seek to support efforts for environmental justice and restitution claims in the designated areas. Revered Chesnay Frantz powerfully captured the historic event in his remarks delivered at the opening of an eventful day when he proclaimed; “it carries some nostalgia, but ought to also be a call for action.”

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While we wait for for our homes to be returned, this site will preserve memories of our neighbourhoods, and hopefully keep their magic alive. Made up of former residents, their descendants, and community leaders from all faiths and backgrounds, the site is a place of memory, unity, and celebration. 

We hope that more stories will be sent in, more photographs and artifacts, and that more people will take an interest in the ommunities that were abruptly destroyed by the Group Areas Act. Spend your time in the memories here, we are so glad to spend the time with you. And if you would like to do the same for your community, have a look at this page of resources here for advice and guidance.

We hope this ignites in you a sense of pride when you look back at the roots that have got you here, a sense of power in knowing that these roots are strong and deep, and a desire to find