Sophiatown Oak

Species: Quercus robur

Common name: English Oak

Location: 8 Bertha Street; Sophiatown - City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality

Size: Overall Size Index = 128 (estimated size before destruction)(Height 18m; trunk circumference 4.46m; crown diameter 36m)

In 2003 the Sophiatown Oak became the first tree to be declared protected under the National Forests Act (NFA). The land owner was in the process of removing the tree, when Mr. Steve Kotze, ward councillor for the area, contacted the Department (then Water Affairs & Forestry) with a request to prevent destruction of the tree. The Department intervened and stopped further cutting of the tree by protecting it through the emergency clause in Section 14 of the NFA. By the time the tree was protected, it had already been pruned badly to the extent that only some top branches remained. Because of the damage already done, the tree eventually didn’t survive. By 2008 the tree was completely dead and only a portion of the trunk remained. It was estimated to be almost a century old. Following the event of the initial cutting of this tree, an evaluation panel was established to assist the Department with the Champion Tree project, of which Councillor Kotze became a founding member.

This Oak tree is believed to have been planted during the early years after the establishment of Sophiatown by Herman Tobiansky, who named the town after his wife, Sophie. Sophiatown developed into a freehold township in which people of all races were allowed to live, with a closely-knit community and vibrant cosmopolitan character. The site of the Sophiatown Oak is now considered to be of historic significance.

The Sophiatown Oak had historic significance related to forceful removals of the 1950’s. Between 1955 and 1963 local residents used to hold political meetings under this tree. It was also a meeting place for activists and religious leaders campaigning against the forced removals. Among the prominent people associated with these meetings was the reverend Trevor Huddleston, a humane champion for the rights of the Sophiatown community. Two people reportedly hanged themselves from the tree’s branches during the 1950s in despair over the removals. Hence the tree gained the nickname “the hanging tree”. At one stage the tree was said also to be the meeting place of the infamous Kofifi gang. The Sophiatown Oak, with its massive crown that spanned a diameter of over 30 meters, was a prominent landmark in Sophiatown, visible from several street blocks away. Eventually old Sophiatown was demolished and a new settlement was built in its place called “Triomf”. The Oak tree was one remnant of the previous era that survived the demolishing of Sophiatown.

The memory of the Sophiatown Oak lives on. The tree has been immortalized in literature and art and its progeny have been cultivated. Among other Dr Don Mattera, repentant former leader of the Vultures Gang in Sophiatown and later a famous poet of international standing, mentions the role of the tree in his book “Gone with the Twilight”. The tree also features in the much acclaimed novel “Triomf” by Marlene van Niekerk, which has won several national and international awards. There was an intention for a sculpture to be made from part of the trunk, however, this did not materialised because funding could not be found. The remains of the trunk were taken to the Sophiatown Heritage Centre, corner Toby and Edward Streets. The legend of this tree will live on in seedlings propagated from its surviving acorns planted around the new Sophiatown. Two of these seedlings were planted during a commemorative Arbor event in 2008.

Image 1: Councillor Kotse at the Sophiatown tree - what remained of the tree after heavy pruning before the owner was stopped.

Image 2: The remains of the tree have been stored at the Sophiatown museum