OBITUARY: Arie Burggraaf, the engineer who helped shape the V&A Waterfront

Arie Herman Burggraaf, a former chief civil engineer who helped shape Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront, died on Monday at the age of 86.

He is survived by his wife Liz, son Anton and daughter Jolanda.

Burggraaf is best known for four decades of work as a harbour engineer across South Africa’s ports and for his foundational influence on Cape Town’s Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

He rose through the ranks of the transport parastatal South African Railways and Harbours, spending two decades as a harbour engineer in Durban.

In Cape Town, he managed the construction of the new Ben Schoeman container dock during the Suez crisis and oversaw the development of a new export harbour at Richards Bay.

Later, as inspecting harbour engineer, his influence extended to ports across South Africa, where his responsibilities included maintenance, upgrades, capacity and expansion. He eventually became Portnet’s chief civil engineer, overseeing development across the country’s harbours.

But the pinnacle of Burggraaf’s career was his role in establishing and developing the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront.

As head of the Burggraaf commission, his 1985 report to the cabinet laid the foundation for what would become the billion-rand V&A Waterfront. He remained on its board for many years after his retirement and saw five of the six phases he had helped develop completed.

For his son, Anton, 59, his father’s connection to the harbour was something he experienced from childhood.

“I have vivid memories of going with my dad to the harbour as a boy. To him it was all business as usual but to me it was mysterious and awe-inspiring,” Anton said.

He remembered the “gigantic ships, outsized bollards and cliffs of new concrete like monuments in the wind and spray”.

The experience left such an impression on him that he organised an end-of-year harbour tour for his classmates.

“He was generous like that and loved sharing the wonder of his world with anyone and everyone,” Anton said.

That sense of wonder was a defining part of Burggraaf’s personality.

Anton recalled his father standing at the harbour with his tie “flapping in the wind” and a camera around his neck, saying: “Look!”

His curiosity extended well beyond engineering. According to his daughter Jolanda, 56, Burggraaf once misdialled a landline call to Europe and ended up speaking to a Russian person for 20 minutes simply because they had answered.

At home, his engineering skills were also put to use. Jolanda recalled that he took exceptional care in doing much of the handyman work himself, including tiling and roofing.

Anton also remembered one particular home improvement project from his childhood.

“When we were kids, he decided that we didn’t need the dividing wall between the lounge and the dining room. He got a five-pound hammer and bashed it down,” he said.

“Of course, he was an engineer. He knew it wasn’t a supporting wall.”

His influence also extended to his children’s careers. Jolanda recalls that her father’s idea of babysitting was taking her to work meetings and allowing her to colour in plan drawings on the floor.

“And so, my love of civil engineering started, ending in 20-odd years as a civil engineer,” she said.

Burggraaf was born in the Netherlands just months after the outbreak of World War 2 and was three months old when the country was invaded.

At nine, his family moved to Indonesia. In 1953, after Indonesia became independent and ties with the Netherlands were severed, the family returned to his home country during a holiday before eventually moving to South Africa.

As a teenager, Burggraaf arrived in the country through a port he would later work in and leave his mark on.

He attended school at Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool in Pretoria before completing an engineering degree at what was then the University of Natal. He married Margaret Elizabeth Richardson in 1966.

After years of engineering work and a period of post-Transnet consulting, he settled into retirement in Johannesburg.

Away from work, Burggraaf was devoted to his family, faith and hobbies, including photography, stamp collecting and model building.

He was massively interested in people and would never fail to be amazed by the smallest detail. Life was miraculous to him—  Burggraaf’s son Anton

His children remember a man who remained curious about the world and deeply interested in people.

Anton described his father as “unassuming, curious and passionate”.

“He was massively interested in people and would never fail to be amazed by the smallest detail. Life was miraculous to him,” he said.

“He had little time to indulge doubt, melancholy or regret. Living was best handled by moving on or looking on the bright side.”

At the heart of Burggraaf’s life was a love of the sea, rooted in his childhood beside the North Sea Canal in the Netherlands.

Despite spending more than seven decades in South Africa, he never let go of his Dutch roots.

Burggraaf died of natural causes after becoming weak following an operation. He was admitted to hospital and spent 10 days there before he died on Monday.