Calm retreat for mourners

Spread across a koppie, with beautiful views of the highveld, the Diepsloot Memorial Park marries landscaping with indigenous flora to create a tranquil and beautiful burial spot.
BEDS of indigenous flowers, natural rocky outcrops, ponds and large-scale landscaping stand atop a hillside overlooking the highveld. No, this is not a private retreat, but rather the final resting place for the community of Diepsloot.

ResemblesCircular heritage elements resemble the ruins of MolokwaneAt the Diepsloot Memorial Park cemetery, the poor and slightly better-off lie side-by-side, made equal in burial. No tombstones are permitted, so the memorial park is a place where mourners can reflect, without being able to go to a specific grave site.

It was constructed in 2007 by Johannesburg City Parks (JCP), on a natural koppie, with much done to preserve the landscape. Views from the memorial park stretch out as far as one can see.

The JCP is a City-owned entity, responsible for over 35 of Joburg’s cemeteries, which are filled with a fraction of the two million trees planted in parks, cemeteries, nature reserves and conservation areas.

Diepsloot is a poverty-stricken township on the northwestern periphery of Joburg. It lies near the affluent suburb of Dainfern. Filled with corrugated iron shacks, RDP and bonded houses, this township is already home to more than 200 000 residents – and is growing rapidly each year.

In line with the JCP’s philosophy to create “cemeteries for the living”, the memorial park is located on a hillside and looks out over the highveld. The landscaping is Afrocentric, using all natural elements of earth, air, metal, wood, water and fire.

Heritage site
Describing the park, the JCP’s Cemeteries and Crematoria handbook reads: “Using design principles based on the world heritage site, the Cradle of Humankind, Diepsloot features circular heritage elements similar to the ruins of Molokwane. A gabion tower provides a distinctive landmark and sense of orientation.”

Trees such as white stinkwood, red currant, wild peach, wild olive, river bushwillow and karree dot the landscape. City Parks says these trees are planted to help people negotiate their way through the cemetery, as they form circular networks leading to the graves.

The roads inside the cemetery are lined with concrete circles with alternating patterns of lawn and concrete. Leading up to the circular gabion wall is a series of concrete pillars, creating a soothing pathway. There are contemplation corners for mourners.

A stunning view of the highveld from the Diepsloot Memorial Park A stunning view of the highveld“The effect of this landscaping is to create a park-like feeling, allowing those who visit a sense of nature in the city,” notes City Parks.

Materials that were found on-site were used in the landscaping and the area’s fauna, such as the bullfrogs, were preserved in a pleasant environment.

Fauna and flora
A small pond at the base of the cemetery was kept, and attracts birds and other wildlife to the area. Bird clubs were consulted during construction and natural flora was selected to attract butterflies and birds, which add to the reserve-like feeling of the cemetery.

Elements such as large African urns and drinking fountains, with benches made of recycled plastic are part of the design.

“The use of circles and simple indigenous plant lines are both aesthetically pleasing and soothing,” says City Parks. “This design brings human scale to the cemetery, and circles can be used by families and church groups.”

It adds that, “while the rockiness of the soil was challenging, the natural slope of the land is maintained and all necessary precautions [were] taken with environmental requirements”.

Over time as the trees in the cemetery grow, Diepsloot Memorial Park “will become part of Joburg’s biodiversity and landscape. Plans are [also] in place to develop an additional 200 hectares.”