The Victory Building Elevator

Last week the Heritage Portal reported that there was a large property auction run by Aucor at the Hyatt in Rosebank. The event was particularly special because of the large number of culturally significant buildings up for grabs. One of them was the historic Victory House.

Victory House, originally known as Permanent Buildings, is located on the corner of Harrison and Fox Streets in downtown Johannesburg. The building is of great historical and architectural significance and is famous for having Johannesburg's first ever lift.

statue of Gandhi in Joburg's Gandhi Square

But that is not the elevator's only claim to fame. Being the first puts it in the history books of South Africa to be sure, but it also has a place in the history books of India. It was this lift that served as one of the catalysts which set in motion Mahatma Gandhi's revolutionary movement against the forces of colonialism and racism there.

Mahatma Gandhi lived and practiced law in South Africa from 1893 until 1914, both in Durban and in Johannesburg. While visiting a client at Victory House, he was refused access to the lift and was forced to use the stairs. The lift was reserved for European whites.

This demeaning event, along with many other acts of prejudice, had world-wide consequences. By the time he left South Africa for his native India at the age of 46, Gandhi's philosophy of Satyagraha was fully realised. Satyagraha is the philosophy of non-violent resistance famously employed by Gandhi to force the end of the British Raj - but first wielded against racial injustice in South Africa.

I keep meaning to download and watch the movie Gandhi again and revisit the scenes set in South Africa. They will have so much more significance to me now. I hope the Victory Building has as much significance to the new owners as well.