Sisulus united at Newclare

The Newclare Cemetery is the final resting place of leaders and ordinary people alike. It is also where the Walter Sisulu Memorial Garden is found.
SOMETIMES called Croesus Cemetery by locals, Newclare Cemetery is the final resting place of Walter and Albertina Sisulu, the struggle stalwarts often called the father and mother of the nation.

The Chinese sectionSecond burials are open at Newclare CemeteryLocated to the west of Johannesburg, in the suburb of Bosmont, the cemetery is ringed by dumps of old gold mines. It was opened in 1934. The cemetery lies between Maraisburg and Boekenhout roads, and Croesus and Commando roads.

It is split in two by Maraisburg Road; on one side there are older graves and on the other there is the Walter Sisulu Memorial Garden and the Chinese and Muslim sections. It provides gravesites for the nearby suburbs of Westbury, Newlands and Riverlea.

Newclare Cemetery is full for first burials, but it can still accommodate second burials and non-burial options.

Of Joburg’s 35 cemeteries, 27 are full; however, they are referred to as “passive cemeteries”, which means they can still accommodate second and third burials, explains Allan Buff, the technical support manager and horticulturalist at City Parks.

City Parks, the City-owned utility responsible for cemeteries and crematoria, offers standard first burials; second burials, available to family members; reduction burials; mausoleums; and cremations, with various options for placing the ashes, such as memorial walls and gardens, and ash graves.

Sisulus
The most famous graves at Croesus are those of Walter and Albertina Sisulu. Walter Sisulu was buried in 2003 and, eight years later, his wife, Albertina, was laid next to her husband.

According to South African History Online, Walter Sisulu was one of the godfathers of the fight for equality South Africa. He fought long and hard against racism and prejudice, and spent much time in apartheid prisons.

In 1992 he was granted the Isitwalandwe award by the ANC for his contribution to the struggle.

Muslims have their own section where they bury their loved ones Muslims have their own section where they bury their loved onesShortly after he joined the ANC in 1940, he was elected secretary of the Orlando branch. Over the years, he continued up the leadership ladder. He was also a great friend of and inspiration to Nelson Mandela.

“Mandela acknowledged that it was Walter who influenced him to join the ANC: ‘Walter was strong, reasonable, practical and dedicated. He never lost his head in a crisis; he was often silent when others were shouting. He believed that the African National Congress was the means to effect change in South Africa, the repository of black hopes and aspirations. Sometimes one can judge an organisation by the people who belong to it, and I knew that I would be proud to belong to any organisation of which Walter was a member.’” (Long Walk to Freedom: 110)

In 1941, he met Albertina Thethiwe, a young nursing student from Transkei. The couple wed on 15 July 1944 in a civil ceremony in Cofimvaba, in Transkei.

Sisulu encouraged Mandela to become a lawyer in the 1950s, and their friendship of 62 years was an inspiration to the former president.

Through Walter, Albertina was introduced to the ANC. South Africa History Online records: “Much of their courting revolved around attending ANC meetings and Albertina was one of the Sisulus who later developed into a leader in her own right with a commitment to national liberation as unshakeable as that of her husband.”

She became one of the leading figures in the Federation of South African Women and was active in the pass law protests of the 1950s. Albertina Sisulu was also one of the organisers of and participants in the August 1956 anti-pass law march of 20 000 women to the Union Buildings in Pretoria. The march is remembered today on National Women’s Day, a public holiday.

Although he only had six years of formal education, Walter Sisulu distinguished himself in the ANC as its first secretary-general. He served 26 years on Robben Island, finally being freed in 1989, together with many ANC leaders.

In addition to the memorial garden, the Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication in Kliptown was also named in his honour.

Newclare Cemetery remains a place where prejudice plays little role in the lay-out of the cemetery and people of all colours, nationalities and beliefs are buried together, according to City Parks.