Piet Koornhof

Piet Koornhof
As a final move, the Heritage Coalition handed its petitions to the administrator of the Transvaal, who in turn passed the issue to the minister of sports and national education, Piet Koornhof, the responsible minister in this case. Koornhof was unusual in that he was one of the most verligte cabinet ministers, earning the ire of his verkrampte colleagues. There was hope that he might be the right person to save Markham. Prins wrote a letter to Koornhof, updating him on the issue, and appealing to him with the words: "This protest really goes much deeper: it concerns the conservation of buildings throughout the country. Our citizens flock to Europe to look at buildings of bygone eras while the bulldozers are allowed to destroy the remnants of our heritage." A delegation met Koornhof in Pretoria. Ball recounts Prins's recollection of the meeting, saying that Koornhof told Prins that when he was studying at Oxford in England, his room looked out on a 1 000-year-old wall. He wondered how it had survived so long. This clearly made him sensitive to heritage issues. He phoned Foschini in Cape Town and requested a meeting. "The intervention by Minister Koornhof was a crucial moment in The Battle for Markhams. While the building's future was far from secure it had been given an important reprieve," states Ball. In October 1978, a series of "intense meetings" took place, attended by Foschini, the city council and the NMC. The managing director of Foschini, Hugh Mathew, still insisted that it was not financially viable for Foschini to save the building, indicating that recycling the interior would cost R300 000. In other words, although he was aware of the preservation demands, the bottom line was to generate a return for shareholders.

As a final move, the Heritage Coalition handed its petitions to the administrator of the Transvaal, who in turn passed the issue to the minister of sports and national education, Piet Koornhof, the responsible minister in this case.

Koornhof was unusual in that he was one of the most verligte cabinet ministers, earning the ire of his verkrampte colleagues. There was hope that he might be the right person to save Markham.

Prins wrote a letter to Koornhof, updating him on the issue, and appealing to him with the words: "This protest really goes much deeper: it concerns the conservation of buildings throughout the country. Our citizens flock to Europe to look at buildings of bygone eras while the bulldozers are allowed to destroy the remnants of our heritage."

A delegation met Koornhof in Pretoria. Ball recounts Prins's recollection of the meeting, saying that Koornhof told Prins that when he was studying at Oxford in England, his room looked out on a 1 000-year-old wall. He wondered how it had survived so long. This clearly made him sensitive to heritage issues. He phoned Foschini in Cape Town and requested a meeting.

"The intervention by Minister Koornhof was a crucial moment in The Battle for Markhams. While the building's future was far from secure it had been given an important reprieve," states Ball.

In October 1978, a series of "intense meetings" took place, attended by Foschini, the city council and the NMC. The managing director of Foschini, Hugh Mathew, still insisted that it was not financially viable for Foschini to save the building, indicating that recycling the interior would cost R300 000. In other words, although he was aware of the preservation demands, the bottom line was to generate a return for shareholders.