The magnificent floodlit memorial to Cecil John Rhodes, stands on the slopes of Devil’s Peak, on the Northern flank of Table Mountain. It was built in 1912 on the very place where Rhodes used to sit and contemplate his future. It was a short ride on horseback from his town home – Groote Schuur – (from which the famous hospital takes it’s name) - which is now separated by the M3 Rhodes Drive motorway.
Incorporating Doric columns, the classical architecture so revered by Cecil John Rhodes, the eight lions, were cast “in situ” by J.W Swan, modeled upon those protecting Nelson column in Trafalgar Square, London, and are a Tribute to Rhodes’ wish to have real lions roaming his ‘African Wildlife Garden’ for all the citizens to enjoy. Swan also sculpted the bust of Rhodes, (whom he had never met), from photographs, but sadly nearly finished, his untimely death prevented it’s completion by his own hand.
The Memorial was dedicated at a public ceremony in 1912 by Sir Earl Grey, British Colonial Secretary, who made a special trip to South Africa for the occasion, and the unveiling was performed by the then Mayor of Cape Town, Sir Frank Smith.
Today Rhodes Memorial is a national landmark, providing a magnificent view of industrial Cape Town out over the airport and the Cape Flats to the Helderberg and Hottentots Holland Mountains.
