A Win for Somerset West in ‘Wiki Loves Monuments’ contest
‘Wiki Loves Monuments’ is an initiative of Wikimedia Foundation to photographically document all of the world’s heritage. Budding photographers from all walks of life are invited each year to actively participate in and celebrate their country’s heritage by snapping pics of historically important sites and uploading them to the ‘Wiki Loves Monuments’ website.
The South African version of the photo competition for monuments and heritage sites drew submissions of 4,013 photographs this year. Although this was a slight decrease from the 6,432 uploads of 2013, Wikimedia South Africa said in a statement on their website: “we are very happy with what seems to be the much higher quality of this year’s submissions.”
Helderbergers will be especially pleased that a photo of one of Somerset West’s most recognizable icons, The Dovecote – part of the farmyward at Onverwacht (Die Bos) – beat thousands of other entries from around South Africa to achieve third place. Dovecotes were traditionally used to house pigeons or doves, and though they were common in Europe and the Middle East for centuries, very few exist in the Cape. The stunning black and white photo of the national monument was taken by Chris Snelling.
You can view the other winners and all of the photographs submitted during the ‘Wiki Loves Monuments South Africa 2014’ contest here: http://wikilovesmonuments.co.za/wiki/Main_Page