We’re in the News—but not the first! - The Swellendam Church Steeple - By Peter Piggott

When the aging church steeple of our venerated Moederkerk was sky-hooked by helicopter and merrily whirled into oblivion, the event did not go unnoticed. Movie maker Cathy van Eeden was on hand to record every moment on her video camera and, soon it was on the World Wide Web. Ace reporter Willemien de Wet, took pictures and wrote up a report that appeared as a front page story in Die Burger.
But how did a Bavarian newspaper get the story? In its 30 November edition, the Münchener Merkür reported as follows:
Kirchturm kracht in Kirchenschiff
Die Restaurierung eines Kirchturms ist im süd afrikanischen Swellendam danebengegangen. Nun muss auch noch die Kirche wieder aufgebaut warden—der Turm krachte nämlich durch das Dach in das Gebäude. Ein Hubschrauber (helicopter) hatte den an Kabeln befestigten Turm der historischen Kirche leicht angehoben. Plötzlich rissen die Seile, und der Turm rauschte zu Boden. Verletzt wurde dabei niemand.
Not the first!
From Bryanston, Sandton, comes the comment by Peter Piggott, veteran chairman of Heliquip, one of South Africa’s pioneering helicopter companies and himself involved in many helicopter lifts and operations in the past:
“Well there is very little one can say except, was a Critical Job Risk Analysis carried out by the SAAF??
I remember back when I worked for Helicopter Services, 1966-1967 and the Company was charged with a similar task on the Dutch Reformed Church at De Deur.
The ladies of the Church had gathered and, with much enthusiasm, had prepared a feast of koeksisters, vetkoek and the like for the church members while they watched the illustrious pilots in their Alouette II place a new Perspex steeple high upon the church tower.
As there was insufficient space for anyone to place the steeple from the outside, a plan had been made for the attaching rope to be threaded through a hole in the centre of the apex of the steeple. Once the steeple was secured in place, the rope would be cut and removed by the helicopter.
This was a good plan as safety was of prime consideration. No person would have to balance precariously on the outside, while the helicopter was hovering above.
The helicopter arrived and duly picked up the steeple. It circled the church grounds to show off the crew’s expertise to the assembled gathering.
The rope chosen was of nylon with sufficient strength to lift an elephant. Unfortunately, because of its method of attachment, it could not swivel. Normally, this would not be too important, except that this particular, beautiful Perspex tower was shaped like a tall thin pyramid.
On moving through the air, it spun gracefully around and around until the heat generated at the hole in the apex just melted the nylon rope and it crashed unceremoniously into the adjacent cemetery.
The company involved replaced the tower and, with the experience gained, made a successful lift of the new tower. I wonder if this is to be the fate of aging church steeples on all our churches?”