Lynette Louw and Marius Bakkes

With the recent visit of Neil and Sheilah Murray to Barberton it came to light that Barberton is the only town where the murals of the traveling German artist, Conrad Frederick Genal, have survived and can actually still be seen.

According to Neill their interest was triggered as they inherited some of his works on canvas and paper, which hung in the old Township Hotel in Springs that was managed by Shielah’s grandfather.

Genal stayed at this hotel and from there traveled all over the country. He also painted murals in the reading room of the old Springs Library across the road from the hotel. These were once featured in a promotional brochure of the town, published in 1933.

For his hospitality, Genal rewarded Shielah’s grandfather with the paintings. These inspired them to embark on a search of the continent to find what was still left of his work and what actually became of him.

At the gathering of the Sheba Historical Association in Barberton, the Murray’s gave a talk on what was achieved in their search this far. Sadly, nowhere in South Africa or any of its neighboring countries, could they detect more of these murals that have stood the test of time. Maybe, somewhere in a private home, but not even the once richly decorated Dutch Reformed Church in Warden, bears evidence of his work anymore, said Neil.

Only in Barberton could they find some of his paintings – those in the derelict Impala Hotel, now used to store building material, and some in the dining room of Diggers Retreat. These were most probable done shortly before his death in 1936 and inspired by the story of Jock of the Bushveld as well as the era of wagon transport in the Lowveld.

Genal was born in Ulm in 1875. At the tender age of 19, he and two of his fellow students dropped out from commercial art class and joined the French Foreign Legion. Genal was first posted in North Africa but later transferred to Indo-China. With Africa already in his blood, he deserted his posting in the East, and embarked on a journey south, taking him from Egypt to Umtata in the Eastern Cape.

All along the way he earned his keep by painting decorative murals. He met his future wife, Alice Watts in the former Rhodesia and for a while found a stable job as railway guard. After their marriage in 1901 they settled in Umtata.

Except for a short spell being interned as a German citizen in Durban during the First World War I, Genal spent most of his life traveling all over colonial Africa and the Union. He paid his way by painting murals in public buildings, private houses, hotels and even churches.

Over the years his technique developed into a very recognisable style as seen in of his work still preserved here in Barberton. At a stage in his career he became quite known for his tariff of 10 shillings a yard, painted!

In a recently home-published compilation, containing earlier and recent correspondence with connection to Swaziland by older settlers and their descendants reminiscing, reference was again found to his work although no mention of his name. One of these letters tells the story of the Riverside Hotel in Bremersdorp, today Manzini. The period referred to must have been sometime after 1919. The letter was written shortly after Swaziland’s independence in 1968.

According to the Murrays those in Swaziland are long gone. None are to be found in Kwa-Zulu Natal where the old I.X.L tearoom on the Durban beachfront has long since been demolished. What remains needs professional photographical documentation.

A wall with actual-size high-quality printed duplication in the local museum is the only sure way to preserving something of the work that for previous generations was so much part of everyday life.

But for Barbertonians the fact remains – we have something unique that has in the past attracted tourists and would still prompt them and other interested parties to visit our town - something we should most probable make sure the world knows about.

Sheilah, Vivienne and Neil Murray with some of Genal’s paintings

The mural that can be seen in the dining room of Digger’s Retreat

Terrence Matthews beneath the few remaining murals in the old Transvaal Hotel. As a young boy of thirteen in 1936 he witnessed the artists in action pitched high on a ladder painting his panels at a shilling per yard

The last of Genal’s murals in the derelict old Transvaal Hotel in Barberton across the Road from the Cockney Liz

The last of Genal’s murals in the derelict old Transvaal Hotel in Barberton across the Road from the Cockney Liz