The City of Cape Town has used the 44th anniversary of the world’s first-ever successful heart transplant to rename Oswald Pirow Street to Christiaan Barnard Street in honour of the world-famous cardiac surgeon.
Barnard, who became a Freeman of the City of Cape Town in 1968, died 10 years ago. Executive Mayor Alderman Patricia de Lille, described him as “one of Cape Town’s greatest sons”.
“We honour what is best about our city by acknowledging the pioneer of one of the twentieth century’s greatest triumphs.”
Barnard performed the world’s first human-to-human heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital on 3 December 1967, ensuring Cape Town a place in the world’s history books. The actual operating theatre has been turned into a museum. For more details on the museum, click here.
Last month, Western Boulevard was renamed Helen Suzman Boulevard on what would have been her birthday, and in July Eastern Boulevard was renamed Nelson Mandela Boulevard ahead of the former president’s 93rd birthday.
The Executive Mayor said the street renaming process is a “delicate process” but is being done in order to effect change in the right way. It has been going on for approximately ten years and there has always been resistance to it, she said, with people either against the chosen names, the streets being renamed, the options, the people managing the process, or against change itself.
“We cannot become prisoners of the divisions some of us have made in our minds. If we do, then we shall forever be stuck in debate, unable to see past the veils we have drawn over our own eyes.”
She said her administration has committed to a renaming process, in consultation with residents. A multi-party street renaming committee has been established, and will ensure that the process remains transparent, democratic and accountable.
“We know from our experiences we have built in those occasions that the process of change has been accepted by the city and those names have become permanent features on our landscape, names which have made us proud as Capetonians.
“There is perhaps no greater strength than knowing you have accomplished something successfully before. To break down the mental walls between us, we embrace change in the future knowing that we have already begun to achieve it.
“This city belongs to all of us and we must all own this process,” she said.
