‘The power of power’: Power stations as industrial heritage and their place in history and heritage education

Abstract

This article focuses on the Electrical Precinct in Newtown as an example of industrial heritage in the centre of Johannesburg. The author makes the case that industrial heritage has been neglected in terms of what is deemed to be culturally significant. Yet industrial landscapes provide a direct connection with a ‘cultural ‘experience common to all city dwellers. The author demonstrates how the heritage tourism company, Cultural Encounters, used field trips/visits to Newtown with learners from Grades 8-12, over the period 2003- 2009, to grapple with the requirements of the Social Sciences and History curricula. She argues that this approach to industrial heritage could provide a radical new approach to the 2010 Curriculum Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS), including the Grade 10 heritage assignment.