Medical Maladies and Gruesome Deaths: Brixton Cemetery

Brixton is the second oldest cemetery in Joburg, and the final resting place for many famous and infamous personalities.

Join Nicola Noble for a fascinating walking tour that winds between trees and tombstones as we visit a variety of gravesites. From those unfortunates who died from a variety of medical maladies in an age when medical diagnostics were rudimentary, autopsies were rare and reliable data was scarce. This is, after all, how people typically died in the early 1900s. 

We'll also chat about some of Brixton Cemetery’s most gruesome deaths: from the strikers hanged for their role in the 1922 Rebellion, to Daisy De Melker's 2 husbands and son poisoned by her hand, to tragic Irene Kanthack - a bright 18 year old student whose murder even caught the attention of Sherlock Holmes creator Arthur Conan Doyle! 

Please wear comfortable shoes, a sun hat and bring along lots of drinking water. Please note there are no toilet facilities in the cemetery.