Heritage Cases

Robben Island World Heritage Site, located off the coast of the Western Cape region of South Africa, has been on the World Heritage List since 1999, and is recognised as a place of outstanding universal value. The Blue Stone Quarry (BSQ) forms part of the Robben Island World Heritage Site because it is situated on the North West side of Robben Island. However, the Quarry is also considered to have significant heritage value in its own context because it was where political and law prisoners were forced to work while servicing their sentence at the Robben Island Prison. Quarry activities began in 1963 and ceased in 1978 as a result of pressure from International Committee of the Red Cross who advocated for the rights of prisoners. The Blue Stone Quarry subsequently closed, but the Department of Correctional Services maintained the quarry until 1997 when Robben Island Museum took over the responsibility of the maintenance activities. Before the prisoners started working in the quarry, they built the Stone Wall or dyke to separate the sea from the quarry. The wall was built mainly to prevent sea water from entering the quarry and resultantly disturbing the operations on the site. The Wall was made from the locally available materials on the site; for example, sand, sea shells and beach pebbles. In September 2001, a maritime storm destroyed a middle section of the Quarry’s main Stone Wall resulting in the tide breaking into the quarry and creating a wide gap fifteen metres (15m) wide. It was later severely damaged by the actions of sea waves. Since then, the Stone Wall has shown signs of general collapse because of environmental disturbances. The fragility of the Stone Wall rendered it ‘sensitive heritage’ from a conservation perspective. As part of preserving the historical significance of the BSQ, the Applicant/Developer (Robben Island) proposes the restoration and maintenance of the Robben Island BSQ Wall and limestone pathway that runs along the top of the wall. The restoration and/or maintenance of the Blue Stone Quarry Wall includes conserving the dry-stone walls by: • Reinstating the breached section of the BSQ wall (approximately 82 m long). • Repairing damaged sections of the walls that are currently standing. • Repairing the Quarry Revetment ring walls. • Repairing any future damages within the next five years to walls and associated infrastructure. Robben Island Museum aim to maintain the historical integrity of the BSQ wall and thus, will be reinstating the breached section and other damaged areas using restoration methodologies recommended in international conservation charters such as the Burra Charter (1999) for places of Cultural significance. Suitable debris from the collapsed wall will be recycled while new material will be added to strengthen the wall. No concrete or heavy machinery will be used as part of the reinstatement. The reinstatement of the wall is a restoration of the quarry environment to its original state and will ensure the quarry retains its heritage value. The proposed activity thus entails a ‘like for like’ reinstatement of the breached section of the wall