Robben Island - South Africa's Best-Known Heritage Site
Robben Island is probably South Africa’s most famous heritage site. A place of incarceration for almost 400 years, the island was once the prison of the now famous political figure Nelson Mandela – South Africa’s first black president. Today Robben Island is no longer a place of banishment. It serves instead as a reminder of the atrocities that one occurred here in the name of ‘the law’. After a long political struggle, the island has come to represent freedom. It is a symbol of triumph which has become an indelible mark on the human conscience.
This medium sized island is situated roughly 12 kilometers from Cape Town off the coast. The island is actually the peak of a mostly submerged mountain which is linked to the Blouberg by means of an undersea saddle. Its highest point is 24 meters above sea level and the soil is relatively rocky with shale, limestone, cal Crete and sand forming the primary constituents. The island has a similar climate to Cape Town but with more extreme variances in wind strength and temperature.
Of the years the island has served as a prison to more than just political activists. To start with, it was used as a hospital for people with leprosy and as an institution for the mentally and chronically ill. At the time (between 1846 and 1931) there was little medical help for people with such conditions and the island not only meant that severe cases could be isolated, but the climate was deemed healthy enough to aid healing. Often people in this condition were held here against their will and in this way the island served as a prison for them too. It was also used as a training and defense station during the Second World War (1939 – 1945). During both instances, prisoners were still kept on the island though there was little interaction between the prisoners, patients and soldiers.
During the course of its history as a prison island, Robben Island has had male and female prisoners. These people could be African, Muslim, Dutch, or British. They may have been activists, soldiers or civilians. It did not matter who you were or where you were from – especially in earlier years. Often all you needed to do was err against someone with enough power to deem you a suitable candidate for the island. In later years, during the Apartheid Regime, it became especially favored as a holding place for anti-apartheid activists. During this time, life in the prison became especially brutal and most prisoners never thought they’d see the mainland again. Indeed, more than one spent over a quarter of a century living behind these prison walls.
With the fall of Apartheid the prison was abandoned. After much debate, it was decided that Robben Island would stand as a symbol of what was and what had become – a symbol of freedom despite oppression. In 1997 it was converted into a museum. The museum runs education programs for schools, youths and adults and facilitates tourism. It has also since become recognized as a sanctuary for birdlife, marine life, wildlife and natural vegetation. Tours can be arranged through the tourism department and are often conducted by ex-prisoners who give a real life edge to the tour. Book now to make sure you don’t miss out on South Africa’s most famous heritage site.
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