How’s your not-so-cold winter? Through all the craziness happening in the world and in our neighbourhood, we hope you had an amazing Father's Day and an even better Youth Day. Welcome to Melville Untold.

In today’s newsletter,

• Tintanic: A South African's Titanic Dream Anchors in Melville ⛴️

• Pet Sterilisation: A Chat with the SPCA 🐾

• How Creass Keep Our Hood Running 🦺

Let’s go. 

— Aubrey Moloto, Kele Jackson

The Digest

Tintanic: A South African's Titanic Dream Anchors in Melville ⛴️

27 Boxes has been under fire lately. It had a buzz in its early days, but since COVID, many businesses have closed and corridors have grown silent. Current businesses called for management to sell in a recent Times article, lamenting the lack of an anchor tenant.

At the start of 2025, 27 Boxes rebranded to Joburg Artist Market. They promised to make these containers an artist hub. Since then, they've contributed significantly to Melville's art resurgence. Their galleries and events are building momentum.

They may have just found a different type of anchor tenant: a phenomenal exhibition featuring the largest Titanic model in Africa. At 8.7 metres long, it's called the Tintanic and was made by Boksburg-born artist Gino Hart.

The Birth of a South African Titanic Society

"Rewind the tapes!" In 1985, two ship enthusiasts met on a long-distance train. Derek R Walker and Bryan Potgieter bonded over a newspaper article about the Titanic. When they arrived in Joburg, Derek took Bryan to a collector's shop in Hillbrow. There, Brian bought his first Titanic model. A few meetings later, a close friendship anchored by the Titanic was born, and so was The Titanic Society of South Africa.

This was one of many societies around the world dedicated to preserving the history and memory of the Royal Mail Ship Titanic. But that isn't where South Africa's connection to the legendary ship started. You probably hadn't a clue that many South Africans were on board when it sank in 1912. They all have remarkable Titanic stories, from elites accustomed to travel and fine dining to integral engineers and crew members.

These were hot topics the Society pored over. They shared newspaper clippings, scoured archives for documents, and bought and traded artefacts with fanatics across the globe.

The Psychology of Titanic Fascination

The Titanic's fascination comes from an interplay of psychological, historical, and cultural factors. Psychologically, the Titanic's story resonates deeply because it's dramatic and tragic. It evokes empathy. The slow, harrowing sinking allowed for a prolonged period of human drama. Acts of heroism, sacrifice, and personal tragedy filled those final hours. This makes it a compelling narrative that captivates imaginations to this day.

A Small-Town Boy's Big Dream

The ship's next mental hostage was a 14-year-old Gino Hart. He was born in Boksburg but grew up in a small farming town in Freestate that failed to stimulate his budding imagination. Gino, a born artist, felt like an outsider in Villiers. When he first saw the movie in '97, his mind had a much-needed outlet. He immediately became "consumed by the real ship and it’s characters - the real people involved in tragedy in 1912,” and made his first Titanic replica out of cardboard.

Over the next decade and a half, Gino built 18 prototypes. All of them now swim with the fishes at the bottom of the Vaal. By 2014, he began building the Tintanic as it is today.

Becoming the Keeper of South African Titanic History

By 2012, Gino had become an expert on the Titanic and a mega enthusiast. He was too late to join the Society, which had closed in 2008. Membership had dwindled, and the few remaining members believed there weren't enough enthusiasts anymore.

Gino met many former members over the years. He realised that this piece of SA heritage had to be salvaged – members were dying! In 2013, he interviewed Valerie Mckeown, the last chairman and secretary of the Titanic Society. She had actually worked at Harland and Wolff shipyards in Belfast where the real Tintanic was built and had seen the original plans.

In 2015, Gino made a shrewd move. He purchased all the documents from the old Titanic Society from Derek Walker in a tidy bit of business. This made him the copyright holder of these documents.

A Dream Job Comes Calling

Later in 2025, the world-famous Titanic The Artifact Exhibition travelled the world and made a pit stop in South Africa. Their biggest exhibition operates from Las Vegas by the Premier Exhibitions and RMS Titanic Inc. Being the rights holder for all Titanic South African history documents and known for building the biggest model in Africa, Gino was invited to display some of his artefacts. He also became a tour guide at the exhibition held in Rosebank.

Gino led about 25,000 people on hourly tours. The exhibition showcased 144 real artefacts recovered from the wreck. He describes this opportunity as "a dream job."

The Tintanic's Grand Launch

In 2017, Gino launched the Tintanic in a high-end Titanic dinner-style event. The venue was his old carpentry classroom at Hoërskool Villiers. This was a full-circle moment – it was the very place the idea first came 20 years earlier.

The event marked the official completion of the Tintanic to an acceptable standard after three years of construction. A local crowd received it warmly, including extremely proud high school carpentry and English teachers who were honoured guests. A notable attendee was Redmond Taggart, the great-nephew of Thomas Andrews, the original designer of the RMS Titanic.

It was a pivotal moment that marked the starting point for the Tintanic's countrywide touring exhibition. She went on a five-year tour, visiting 22 prime shopping locations across six major provinces. She covered a whopping 10,000 kilometres and was seen by ten million visitors.

Construction and Features of the Tintanic

Scale and Dimensions: An 8.7-metre long, 1:29 scale model. It measures 90cm-1 metre at its widest point and 2 metres (6ft) from keel to mast top.

Materials: Primarily made of "tin" (high-grade aluminium), along with waterproof plywood, real wood, acrylic perspex for windows, resin plastic, and over 100,000 coffee stirring sticks.

Rivets: Uses 105,000 real pop rivets, making it a world record holder for the most real pop rivets used in a single Titanic model project. Gino chose pop rivets for practicality because of the model's small spaces, in contrast to the solid rivets used on the real Titanic.

Sectional Design: Constructed in six sections, joined into two main halves (4.2 metres forward, 4.5 metres aft) to allow for easier movement through doorways.

Timeframe: Five years of construction and 10 years of decoration. Gino has been working on Titanic models for 20 years, with the Tintanic itself taking three years initially to build.

Interior Details: He aims to have over 4,000 interiors, nine different deck levels, seven grand staircases, 88 sets of aluminium stairs, and 1,523 unique resin figurines. Interior detailing and smoke/lighting effects are still ongoing.

Special Parts: Three Smoke Genie fog generators by PMI and MovieVision and 3D printed working lifeboat davits by French Artist Nicolas Rouillard.

Artistic Licence: Gino intentionally incorporated oversized rivets for a "cartoon appearance". He made slight changes to the funnels' colour and bridge window shape for copyright and artistic originality. The bridge is clad in aluminium for a smoother appearance, despite the original being made of wood. Checkerboard-style plates were added under the waterline due to sectional divides.

Inspiration for Construction Plans: Used vintage reprints from the Titanic Society of South Africa, based on the RMS Olympic's plans (Titanic's near-identical twin), which fell into the public domain in 1929.

Duration: It took five years to build the impressive hull, and now it will take approximately 10 years to build the rest. This includes finishing the outside’s appearance and the miniature interior decor which has begun now in Melville. 

Finding His Tribe in Melville

Growing up in a farm town, Gino has always wanted to find his tribe. He's always dreamed of being part of an artistic community. Having visited Melville over the years, he sees it as an "art mecca where every second person is an artist or has an art-related business."

He also thought it fitting for the exhibition to be at a mall made from shipping containers. He's always wanted to exhibit here since the mall was built. He needed a studio space to work on the Titanic's miniature interiors, which would take some time, so he moved to Melville.

Gino always struggled with working space. The ship is usually miles away from where he lives, making it tough to travel and work, especially when inspiration hits. His previous location was 8km away from his work. Coming to Melville, he could change that.

He now lives a short walking distance from the studio. He passes his favourite shop, Bounty Hunters - Charity For Cats, where he stops to browse thrift clothing, play with the cats, and have long chats with Gail, the owner.

An Anchor for Melville's Future

He loves the new 27 Boxes rebrand and can see how hard they're working to attract artists back to Melville. He's proud that the Tintanic can serve as an anchor tenant – or a "hook" – to further help this cause. He believes in Melville's potential and feels it just needs a chance to prove itself.

He chose Melville because he sees its potential, rather than being deterred by its current state. Gino wants to fully immerse himself and his business in the area by collaborating with local businesses and artists.

The Obsession That Drives Excellence

Gino comes across as a man who's extremely serious about his craft. He obsesses about every inch of the model and collaborates with enthusiasts and artists from all over the world. One example is Australian artist Damon Hill, known for his incredible Titanic miniatures. When he starts talking about the Titanic, his eyes flicker and he gets lost in story after story. This shows how, after all these years, he's still as in love with the Titanic as ever.

Unlike the former members of the Society, he believes there's still plenty of enthusiasm for the Titanic. He's seen it in his travels from city to city with people of all ages. From kids who just bought their first models to lifelong fans of the ship and movie.

Dreams That Open Doors

Gino wants to keep building the Tintanic here in Melville and then retrace the steps of the Titanic in a tour around the world. He wants its final home to be in Belfast where the Titanic was built.

His hopes are that this carefully curated exhibition – his life's work – will spark children's imagination. He wants to inspire people to dream and believe that even if something doesn't seem financially viable as a career if there's a will, there's a way.

Lose yourself in your dream, pour your heart and soul into it, and watch doors open. This story feels a lot like us with Melville. I resonate. Thank you, Gino Hart, for bringing this once-in-a-lifetime experience to Melville!

To check out this one-in-the world exhibition you can buy tickets on quicket. You can learn more about them out online at www.tintanicmodelship.weebly.com and their YouTube Channel link @tintanicchannel to watch some of the building processes. It’s oddly satisfying to watch mini things getting built!

If you’re happy to know more about our own Tintanic and enjoyed this week’s digest, why not buy us a coffee?

What’s Happenin’ 🤔

Arts and culture are still holding Melville down – here's what's on this week!

Check out the events calendar for regular events - The Melville Pulse Events Calendar 

Melville Weather For The Week 🧣

Wednesday 

20° 🌡️ 2°  | 🌤️ |  🌧️ 0% | SSW 13 km/h 💨

Thursday  

20° 🌡️4° | 🌤️ | 🌧️ 0% | ENE 9 km/h 💨

Friday 

21° 🌡️ 3° | 🌤️ | 🌧️ 0% | ESE 7 km/h 💨

Saturday 

20° 🌡️ 4° | ☀️ |  🌧️ 0% | NE 6 km/h 💨

Sunday

17° 🌡️ 4° | 🌤️ | 🌧️ 1% | N 7 km/h 💨

Monday 

18° 🌡️ 3° | 🌤️ |  🌧️ 0% | N 4 km/h 💨

Tuesday 

18°🌡️ 4° | 🌤️ |  🌧️ 0% | SWS 7 km/h 💨

Live & Music Events Lowdown 🎸

Music events seem to have slowed down a little...

19/06 | Thursday | 8 pm | 78a 4th Avenue Melville | Very Quiet Night ft. IONHAVEANAME, Orpheus, Isadora:dustmite, Lolo, unscene.being, ScifiKyme, and S.O.S | R80

20/06 | Friday | 7 pm | 78a 4th Avenue Melville | Late Night Frequencies: Garage Nights Vol.3 ft. Guy Herman and Drew | R50

21/06 | Saturday | 78a 4th Avenue Melville | RÊVERIE | TBA

For more updates as the week goes on, visit our instagram page @snapson7th or our new Melville Pulse event calendar

If our weather or comprehensive gig guide came in clutch, consider buying us a coffee. 

Civil Matters 👷‍♀️

How Creass Keep Our Hood Running 

The Mail and Guardian article prompted the good people at CREASS Community Services – our community's caretakers – to explain their workload and operational capacity within the area. They're contracted by the Melville Residents Association and Melville Security Initiative and do as much as the City permits them to.

CREASS currently operates on a six-pillar system in the Melville area:

Pillar One: Emergency Work

These are instances where intervention is required ASAP. Think of fallen trees, power lines, hazards, accident clean-up, and securing vulnerable sites. They also support entities like City Power when there's a prolonged outage and Creass resources are needed to speed up restoration. This work is covered by the MSI.

Pillar Two: Street Cleaning

This focuses on clearing up litter, dumped waste, and servicing municipal bins. Ten sites are covered rotationally twice a week. Work is undertaken for the MRA.

Pillar Three: Verge Maintenance

This focuses on sidewalks not maintained by the City or nearby homeowners. It's weeding, grass cutting, bush trimming, and cleaning street gutters. They currently have eight sites that they tend to as needed. Work is undertaken by the MRA and MSI.

Pillar Four: General Maintenance Tasks

This covers a list of locations where repairs, remarking, restoration, replacement, or reinstatements are needed. There are 39 locations on this list right now. Work is undertaken for the MSI and MRA.

Pillar Five: Project-Based Solutions

These are mini-projects where they facilitate crowdfunding and private work. They currently have three projects scheduled for work in the coming months. One needs the JRA to approve and facilitate tree removal, plus eight other planned projects. Private work is done based on the availability of necessary resources – builders, boilermakers, or the full team.

Pillar Six: Administrative Assistance

This involves site audits of locations worked on by City Services that need further work or repairs. The list is then sent to the departments, with the MRA and councillor copied in. Audits are done on an ad hoc basis towards month-end.

Besides weekly street cleaning and project-based work, they have:

• One working day every month for the MSI in the Melville area

• One working day every month for the MSI in the Auckland Park North area

• Two working days every second month for the MRA in the Melville area

While the workload is heavy, they do well to make strides against it. Things like weather conditions, vandalism, or an increase in burst pipes lead to huge increases in action needed under Pillar 1 and 4 duties. 

The Tail End 🐾

Pet Sterilisation: A Chat with the SPCA

This week we checked in with the SPCA and spoke to Mr Dialaratsila. He reckons pet owners and potential pet owners could benefit from knowing a bit about sterilisation.

Why Sterilise Your Pet?

It's important to sterilise animals to prevent unwanted litters. It's also crucial for your pet's health, as overbreeding can cause many types of illnesses. Sterilisation also prevents animals from wanting to wander, keeping them safe at home.

When to Sterilise

The best ages to sterilise your pet are from 3 months old onwards. You wouldn't want to sterilise older pets – most can't go on heat anymore, and it's dangerous for them to undergo anaesthesia. It's preferable to sterilise animals that are already vaccinated.

What It Costs

The costs of sterilisation can be upwards of R2,000, depending on where you go. You can visit animal hospitals, private vets, or the SPCA themselves.

Community Outreach Programme

The SPCA is currently doing sterilisations in underprivileged communities. They go into these areas, survey them to see if there's a pressing need, and then hold community sterilisation events there. These help limit animal reproduction in households that can't afford to care for many animals and curb the potential for strays as well.

What to Expect During the Procedure

If you do opt to sterilise your pet, the procedure goes something like this:

• You take them in and they do a full check-up to assess their health and fill in consent forms.

• They're collected the following day and booked in overnight to ensure they don't eat after 10 pm (this avoids vomiting and choking or other complications during surgery)

• They'll operate the following morning, vaccinate and deworm your pet.

• They'll return your animal a day after surgery with painkillers to help manage pain.

• The surgical wound will heal within 7 days (dogs and cats heal much faster than humans!)

Get in Touch with the SPCA

For sterilisation, to report animal cruelty, lost pets, or adoptions, you can reach them at:

• Adoption queries: [email protected] or phone 011 681 3600

• Finance queries: [email protected] or 011 681 3600

• Hospital-related queries: [email protected]

• Cruelty or Inspector queries: [email protected]

Market Watch 🎪 

Vendor Spotlight: The Smallest Restaurant In Jozi

Let's catch up with the Melville Artisanal Market with a quick vendor highlight. Have you heard about The Smallest Restaurant In Jozi? It's a rockstar stall run by Estelle, “a home cook” who's passionate about food and loves to explore and experiment with different types of cuisine. She mixes and matches ingredients like a proper food alchemist.

At the stall you'll find:

Killer dips: Think hummus, baba ganoush, and muhammara that'll have you coming back for more.

Vegan Pâtés: With flavours like mushroom and walnut that are absolutely divine.

Soup of the Week: Perfect for cold times like these! Estelle serves up a wide range of flavours like pea and ham, lentil, vegetable, and mushroom – plus many more that'll warm you right up.

Baked Goods & More: The Smallest Restaurant In Jozi products are mostly vegan or vegetarian. They're currently exploring plant-based ready meal options too. The stall also bakes rusks and gluten-free crackers.

But here's the real kicker – Estelle makes the most delicious gourmet jaffles. We regularly pop into the market for those!

Estelle joined the Melville Artisanal Market in 2021 during COVID. Many businesses were struggling, and she saw joining the market as the perfect cooking practice. She now loves producing quality products weekly and has become a market favourite with a strong, loyal customer base.

The Smallest Restaurant In Jozi proves that sometimes the best things really do come in small packages!

Thank you! 🙏

And there it is, a short Melville Untold. If you enjoyed your read, consider buying us a coffee!

You can also support the team by booking us for a shoot – let's capture those special moments!

'Til next Tuesday, Melville,

Stay humble, stay happy, stay happening!

Chisarai! ✌️