Donald Mackay Park in Berea brings a little ‘joy’ to Joburg’s inner city

Once neglected and dangerous, Donald Mackay Park in inner-city Berea, Johannesburg, is now safe, secure and beautified.

The park had fallen into dreadful disrepair in recent years, but it has become a welcoming green space and sports hub for people living in this high-density, poor area next to Hillbrow and Yeoville, with Ponte its signature high-rise. The park’s rejuvenation is also testament to the combined power of community, civil society, business and local government.

Local mural artist Persy Mamba was putting the finishing touches on his colourful artworks as Jozi My Jozi (an inner-city revitalisation project) and its partners met to celebrate the completion of phase two of fixing Donald Mackay.

We gathered in the beautiful new playground area, alongside the basketball and soccer fields, and from this angle it looked like Ponte was wearing a skirt of mural art. Even though the trees were bare, it was easy to imagine the park in summer. What a joy to see Ponte and Berea’s high-rises softened by foliage.

Donald Mackay is one of Jozi’s oldest parks, established in 1896 with huge stone walls and many levels. Now it has been reimagined as an appropriate green space in the inner city. The park has been fenced and security guards employed. There are solar lights.

The playground and sports fields have been revamped, the basketball fields are a huge hub for the area’s young people, and at the heart of it all is an urban food garden. The garden was completed in the first phase in February and has been flourishing all year, providing people with fresh produce and communal activity. 

The process of fixing Donald Mackay has been both as simple and as difficult as getting all the right people around the table. In this case, Jozi My Jozi acted as a super-connector. As CEO Bea Swanepoel says: “When we all work together, magic happens.”

Fortress Real Estate Investments is a key partner, as well as Food & Trees for Africa, Joburg City Parks, Giants of Africa, Branch Environmental Design and, of course, local residents.

We all took a walk up to the food garden and admired the city views. As we left the playground, local kids hopped on to the jungle gyms and see-saws. 

“Donald Mackay has become a joy for the people here,” said Bafakile Mkhize, community coordinator of eKhaya Neighbourhood, an urban improvement project that aims to make a neighbourhood in Hillbrow and Berea. “To be able to enjoy outdoor activity is so beneficial for kids who live in these high-rises, and a safe park is where people can get together and relax, talk, build community.”

The food garden has been equipped with irrigation, fencing, tools and a shed. “A park, like a garden, can bring together the best a community has to offer in terms of healing, building and creating,” said Robyn Hills, head of programmes at Food & Trees for Africa, which implemented the building of the garden and training of gardeners.

“Green spaces enhance community solutions and provide a safe space for those conversations to flourish.”

The double basketball courts, also completed in February, were sponsored by Giants of Africa, a nonprofit organisation whose goal is to complete 100 basketball courts across Africa, promoting physical activity and fostering community engagement.

“It has been phenomenal to see the gradual transformation of the park through this project,” said Jodie Elinor-Dreyer, head of corporate social investment and transformation at Fortress. “People from work teams and the community have gone above and beyond to rejuvenate a landmark.” DM

Bridget Hilton-Barber is a freelance writer who writes for Jozi My Jozi.

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.