The legacy of Lentegeur library in shaping community history

The story of Lentegeur cannot be told without including the significance of the Lentegeur library and the contributions of the staff who worked there, especially during the 1980s.

In 2006, Professor Archie Dick from the Department of Information Science at Pretoria University wrote in a paper, Struggle Libraries Under Cover, that the Lentegeur library served both political and non-political purposes during that time.

“The Lentegeur public library staff, according to former librarian Reverend Clarence Cheemee, used the resources to reach out to the community despite difficult circumstances.

“Its space was both offered to and claimed by community groups to serve a range of purposes - both political and non-political.

“The UDF-aligned Mitchell’s Plain Youth Movement, for example, used the library hall,” he wrote.

According to Professor Dick, the library successfully recovered memories and memorabilia from former District Six residents who had been displaced to Lentegeur by the Group Areas Act in the 1980s.

“Library staff members appealed to the community for photographs and other District Six remnants, and constructed an impressive exhibition.

“Videos and artwork added variety to the exhibition that was displayed at the Lentegeur library before it was transferred to other libraries in Mitchell’s Plain and several Cape Town township libraries.

“Happy reunions of former District Six residents at these exhibitions fostered a new sense of space and community,” he wrote.

Professor Dick said the Lentegeur library staff provided young anti-apartheid activists safe refuge from apartheid security police.

“The situation was highly volatile in Mitchell’s Plain, where residents either supported the tricameral parliament political parties or the ANC/UDF liberation movement.

“UDF political activists often hid themselves in libraries in Mitchell’s Plain, which were usually surrounded by security police in armoured vehicles for several weeks at a time during the states of emergency,” he wrote.

In his paper, Professor Dick said many prominent UDF members, including the late Theresa Solomon, were also members of the Lentegeur library, and were voracious readers.

“Theresa Solomon, who became mayor of Cape Town after South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, and her then husband Marcus often used the library resources for their political education and for meetings.

“And senior UDF leader and former ANC minister of transport, Dullah Omar (who passed away in March 2004) in the mid-1980s addressed the community in the Lentegeur library hall,” Professor Dick wrote.

Back to school

As more and more families settled in Lentegeur from various areas, parents enrolled their children in nearby schools.

• Springdale Primary in Merrydale Road opened its doors in 1980, while West End Primary was established in 1981.
• Meadowridge Primary School, originally known as Mitchell’s Plain Primary School Number 28, first opened its doors in February 1982.
• Aloe Primary and Aloe High were also established in 1982.
• Also founded in 1982, Hyacinth Primary School’s history is rooted in District Six. Many of the school’s early teachers and pupils were transferred there from George Golding Primary after they were forcibly removed from District Six under the Group Areas Act.
• Lantana Primary School was established in 1984.
• When Merrydale Primary first opened its doors in 1985, it was housed at Portland High School before moving further down the road. Cornflower Primary was also established that same year.
• In 2006, Aloe Primary was renamed Aloe Junior High School, as it transitioned to a middle school for Grades 7 to 9 pupils. In 2022, the school’s name changed to Summerdale High School to accommodate pupils in Grades 8 to 10.

 Did you know?

• Lentegeur Psychiatric Hospital was established in Mitchells Plain in 1975 as there was a lack of psychiatric care for Cape Flats residents. According to Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) SA, a team of architects and psychiatrists studied new design trends overseas in 1972. 
• By 1979, train tracks were already being laid at Lentegeur railway station.
• Construction of Mitchell’s Plain District Hospital started in 2010. The hospital opened its doors to the community in November 2013.
• A fire destroyed the theatre section at Mitchell's Plain District Hospital in February 2018. No injuries were reported, and all patients were evacuated safely.
• Several much-loved Cape Town entertainers have their roots in Lentegeur, Mitchell’s Plain, including internationally acclaimed Ready-D and musicians and Salome Damons-Johansen.