The 'Cape-to-Cairo' flag of Cecil Rhodes CECIL RHODES The 'Cape-to-Cairo' flag of Cecil Rhodes

The statue of Cecil Rhodes was erected at Company’s Garden in Cape Town in 1908. It features a full body replica of Rhodes wearing a three-piece suit, standing with his left hand raised and pointing north. It has been compared to the Jan van Riebeek statue, which faces south and asserts a different sense of occupation. Despite its size, the present location of the monument in the Company’s Garden makes it less significant in comparison to that of Jan Smuts at Adderley Street, Cape Town, a location that had been considered for the placement of the Rhodes statue. [Source: https://www.mycape.co.za/item/cecil-john-rhodes-statue/]

The design of the pedestal was by Herbert Baker. The non orthogonal and rough hewn design and choice of sandstone material symbolic of Rhodes as part of the natural environment and his links with the mining industry which was his most significant power base. Similar stonework was used for Rhodes House at the top of St George’s Mall and his burial place in the Matopos has strong stone imagery. There is a strong directional quality of the statue with the left hand arm raised and the hand pointed north towards Africa. [Source: Audit of Sculptures, Memorials and Monuments, March 2009 by Bridget O'Oonoghue, pp. 28-30

Rhodes Statue in Municipal/Botanical Gardens in Cape Town

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