Today in history: Wanderers Cricket Club destroyed by a fire
The fire started in the kitchen but soon spread.
On 30 September 2004, a fire destroyed the historic Wanderers Cricket Club in Johannesburg, reducing to ash irreplaceable items like historic documents, photos, trophies and records.
The fire started in the kitchen but soon spread, resulting in severe damage. The Clubhouse’s insurer approached the Johannesburg City Council after it paid out R30 million to rebuild the club, claiming that the emergency staff had been negligent, because a fire engine was only sent out forty minutes after the fire started.
A report released a month after the fire by emergency management services chief, Audrey Gule, to the council’s public safety committee, admitted Johannesburg’s response times lagged behind those of the rest of the province.
The Club was originally established on the site of the current railway station in 1888 during the gold rush, and was named for the migratory workers – the ‘wanderers’ – in search of their fortunes.
In 1947, the expansion of the railway station led to the relocation of the Wanderers Club and clubhouse to Kent Park (now Illovo), the same site where it stands to this day.
Information sourced from: South African History Online.
