My first Soweto Cemetery was Avalon Cemetery. I first photographed it in 2010 and it was an amazing experience. What I saw there made me more determined to try photograph as many of the other cemeteries in the area as I could. This webpage is dedicated to Nancefield, Doornkop and Dobsonville cemeteries.

Panoramic view of Avalon (1506x420 new window)

Panoramic view of Avalon (1506x534 new window)

Panoramic view of Avalon (1498x601 new window)

Nancefield Cemetery was a totally unknown. I had 6 CWGC war graves to photograph in there which is why I had to go there in the first place. The cemetery is almost on the intersection of Klipspruit Valley Road and Chris Hani Road (Formerly the Potchesftroom Road), in fact the latter bisects the cemetery into two pieces. My graves were in the main half of the cemetery. Finding the entrance was a problem because my GPS took me to the closest point but that was a veritable maze of houses and tiny streets, the cemetery within shouting distance, but not accessible through that route. Eventually I extricated myself and retraced the route till I found what I was after. The vehicle gate is actually on Klipspruit Valley Road. The cemetery is the oldest in Soweto and was opened in 1924, and the records for it were lost during the 1976 uprising. Overall it's in a good condition, with not a lot of toppled stones or litter, but it is a regular thoroughfare for the people who live around it. The entrance to Nancefield can be found at the Google Earth co-ordinates 26° 15.685'S  27° 53.680'E

Nancefield Cemetery Panoramic View (1506x431)

Nancefield Cemetery Panoramic View (1506x414)

Nancefield Cemetery Panoramic View (1506x445)

Doornkop Cemetery equally is an unknown. I know that there are at least 3 Jameson Raid casualities buried in "Doornkop". Unfortunately my data did not specify whether these were in this particular cemetery or not. However, given that the cemetery was founded 1956, and long after the Jameson Raid it was unlikely that they were in it. The entrance is in Mphahlwa Steet and there were staff on duty and they were very courteous and helpful. Overall maintenance has been good here and I did not see too many signs of vandalism or litter. The cemetery is a sprawling one and some of the roads are untarred and I expect finding anything would be difficult unless you know where the grave/section actually is. The entrance to Doornkop can be found at the Google Earth co-ordinates 26° 14.188'S  27° 51.369'E

Doornkop Cemetery Panoramic View (1506x497)

Doornkop Cemetery Panoramic View (1506x497)

Doornkop Cemetery Panoramic View (1506x429)

Dobsonville Cemetery is a smaller cemetery, suprisingly close to Doornkop. I visited this one because I was in the area and wanted to at least capture some images of it. The entrance is on Kgame Drive and is unmanned. There is a sliding vehicle access gate which we were able to get through because there were workers inside the cemetery. It was opened in 1960 and I did spot some post 2000 graves in it. Once again maintenance was good here and I did not see too many signs of vandalism or litter. The entrance to Dobsonville can be found at the Google Earth co-ordinates 26° 13.830'S  27° 50.703'E

Dobsonville Cemetery Panoramic View (1506x390)

Dobsonville Cemetery Panoramic View (1506x489)

Dobsonville Cemetery Panoramic View (1506x388)