Krugersdorp (
Afrikaans for ''Kruger's Town'') is a mining city in the
West Rand
The West Rand is the name of the urban western part of the Witwatersrand that is functionally merged with the Johannesburg conurbation. This area became settled by Europeans after a gold-bearing reef discovered in 1886 and sparked the gold r ...
, Gauteng Province, South Africa founded in 1887
by
Marthinus Pretorius. Following the discovery of gold on the
Witwatersrand, a need arose for a major town in the west of the reef. The government bought part of the Paardekraal farm and named the new town after the
Transvaal president,
Paul Kruger. Krugersdorp no longer has a separate municipal government after it was integrated into
Mogale City Local Municipality
Mogale City Local Municipality is a local municipality in West Rand District Municipality, Gauteng, in South Africa.
Main places
The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places:
Politics
The municipal council consi ...
along with surrounding towns. It is now the seat of government for Mogale City.
History
Krugersdorp is the site of a December 1880 gathering at which more than 6,000 men vowed to fight for the Transvaal's independence.
[ Founded in 1887 by Marthinus Pretorius after the discovery of gold on his farm, ''Paardekraal'', thereafter the mining industry played an important role in the development of the city. Two important events in the history of South Africa: the Transvaal War of Independence (1881) and the discovery of the Witwatersrand Goldfields (1886) took place in Krugersdorp. These events had far-reaching political and economic consequences for the country's development.
In April 1887, the South African Republic's (ZAR) Executive Council purchased part of the farm ''Paarderkraal'' to build a town called Krugersdorp.] By the time the town was founded, the existence of the gold reef along the Witwatersrand had become common knowledge, and thousands seeking their fortunes pitched their tents and pegged claims. In 1888, Krugersdorp was proclaimed a separate gold field. By 1895, the proclaimed goldfields was separated from Krugersdorp, and the town and Distriksdorp, near the monument, were merged in April that year.[ By 1903, Krugersdorp became a municipality.][
During the Second Boer War (1899-1902), the British built a concentration camp in the valley that is now occupied by the Centenary Dam. This camp was overlooked by the "D" Shaft of the Luipardsvlei Estate Gold Mining Company, which was shut down in 1929 when mining shifted to deeper ore bodies that offered the prospect of larger tonnages. this shaft is being brought back into production. Part of the heritage of the area will feature in a museum to be built post-closure. An essential part of the museum's content will be the Boer War legacy.
In 1952, the West Rand Consolidated Mine was the first in the world to extract uranium as a byproduct of the gold refining process.
]
Demographics
Krugersdorp is home to the South African Branch of Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
, The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society.
In 2010, the town's Coronation Park area received international exposure for the depiction of Afrikaner poverty by . In 2014 the area was exposed again as a subject of the BBC documentary '' Reggie Yates' Extreme South Africa: White Slums''.
Economy
Gold, manganese, iron, asbestos and lime are all mined in the area.[Krugersdorp](_blank)
''www.gauteng-info.co.za''. Retrieved on 7 September 2019.
Krugersdorp has a modern business centre and shopping malls alongside many smaller shops, schools, and necessary amenities. There are also game reserves and a nearby bird sanctuary.
Krugersdorp is served by the Jack Taylor Airfield
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
which is easily accessible from Pretoria via the R28/N14 highway, and more commonly by the N1 highway, Lanseria International Airport on the R511 which is used for travel to Pretoria, and OR Tambo International Airport which is South Africa's main international airport located in Johannesburg.
The nearby Krugersdorp Game Reserve in the dense bush of the veld holds a large quantity of game and is one of the city's major tourist attractions. Also in close proximity are various provincial heritage sites including the Cradle of Humankind
The Cradle of Humankind is a paleoanthropological site and is located about northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, in the Gauteng province. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999, the site is home to the largest concentration of ...
and its Sterkfontein
Sterkfontein (Afrikaans for ''Strong Spring'') is a set of limestone caves of special interest to paleo-anthropologists located in Gauteng province, about northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa in the Muldersdrift area close to the town of K ...
Caves[ and the Wonder Cave.
]
Law and government
Government
Name change
Although the city's municipality changed its name from Krugersdorp to Mogale City, the assumption that the city's name has been officially changed to Mogale City has been refuted by the Mogale City Municipality
Coat of Arms
Krugersdorp was proclaimed a municipality in 1903. By 1931, the municipal council had assumed a pseudo-heraldic coat of arms. The shield was divided by a horizontal line, the upper half subdivided by a vertical line, the three sections depicting (1) the Paardekraal monument, (2) a mining landscape, and (3) a plough. The motto was ''Labor omnia vincit improbus''.[The arms were depicted on ]
cigarette card
issued in 1931.
A proper coat of arms was designed in the 1960s. It was registered with the Transvaal Provincial Administration in November 1965[Transvaal ''Official Gazette'' 1381 (17 November 1965).] and at the Bureau of Heraldry in January 1969.[http://www.national.archsrch.gov.za] The arms were : ''Per chevron ploye Azure and Or, dexter two mine hammers in saltire and sinister a cogwheel all Or, and in base the Paardekraal Monument Gules''. In layman's terms, the shield was divided by a curved chevron-shaped line into blue and gold, displaying two crossed mine hammers and a cogwheel at the top, and the Paardekraal monument at the bottom. The crest was three horses' heads issuing from a golden mural crown; the supporters were an eland and a gemsbok; and the motto was ''Labor omnia vincit improbus
''Labor omnia vincit'' or ''Labor omnia vincit improbus'' is a Latin phrase meaning "Work conquers all". The phrase is adapted from Virgil's ''Georgics'', Book I, lines 145–6: ''...Labor omnia vicit / improbus'' ("Steady work overcame all thi ...
''.
Attractions
Krugersdorp has popular tourist attractions such as Krugersdorp Game Reserve, Maropeng Visitor Centre, Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens and Sterkfonten Caves.
The town is the host of the annual Gauteng Beach Party held at Coronation Park. In recent years the event has featured performances by:
*DJ Sbu
*DJ Cleo
*Winnie Khumalo
*TBo Touch
*TKZee
*Brown Dash
Afropop sensation Mafikizolo and Ntando Bangani are noted acts that hail from Krugersdorp.
Sports
Krugersdorp also has an 18-hole golf course and many facilities for extreme sports.
Infrastructure
Health
Local clinics
*Central Clinic
*Kagiso Clinic B
*Azaadville Clinic
*Munsieville Clinic A
*Dr Kaka Clinic
Provincial hospitals
*Dr Yusuf Dadoo Hospital (Paardekraal)
*Sterkfontein Hospital
*Leratong Hospital
Private hospitals
*Krugersdorp Private Hospital
*Bell Street Day Hospital
*Netcare Pinehaven Hospital
*Medi-Cross Clinic
Education
The schools in Krugersdorp include:
*Alma Mater International School
* Krugersdorp High School
*Town View High School
Thuto-Lefa Secondary School
*Hoërskool Monument
Hoërskool Monument ( en, Monument High School; also known by the nickname Monnas) is a parallel medium (formerly purely Afrikaans medium) high school situated in Krugersdorp, Gauteng, South Africa.
The school is considered one of the top rugby ...
*Hoërskool Jan De Klerk
*HTS Nic Diederichs
*St Ursula's School
*Hoërskool Noordheuwel
*Hoërskool Bastion
*Laerskool Muldersdrif
Laerskool Kenmare
*Rant en Dal School for learners with Autism and SID
*Hoërskool Pro-Practicum
*Laerskool Millennium
*Laerskool Ebenhaeser
*Curro Krugersdorp Private School
*Laerskool Paardekraal
*Monument Primary School
*Laerskool Krugersdorp Noord
*Ahmed Timol Secondary School
*Azaadville Muslim School
*Silverfields Primary School
*Tina Cowley Reading Centre Krugersdorp
Notable people
* Yusuf Dadoo
* Johannes de Klerk
*Hanno Dirksen
Hanno Dirksen is a South African rugby union player currently playing for NOLA Gold of Major League Rugby (MLR).
He was a regular member of the Ospreys squad during the 2011–12 Pro12 winning season, and earned the award of try of the season ...
* Jaque Fourie
*Costa Gazi
Costa Gazi was an anti- apartheid activist in the underground South African Communist Party (SACP) and later the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), both of which were illegal organisations. Post-apartheid, he has worked as head of publ ...
*Allan Heyl
George Allan Heyl (died April 17, 2020) was a South African criminal, member of the Stander Gang.
Heyl met his accomplices André Stander and Lee McCall in 1977, while they were in prison together (Heyl had been sentenced in 1977 for an earlie ...
* Mmusi Maimane
* Nomvula Mokonyane
* Scott Spedding
*Desmond Tutu
Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...
* Lucien van der Walt
* Brad Binder
See also
* Krugersdorp Nature Reserve
References
External links
The Big Picture photo essay on white squatters in Krugersdorp
Meet the white squatters of Munsiville, Gauteng
{{Authority control
West Rand
Populated places in the Mogale City Local Municipality
Uranium mining
Populated places founded by Afrikaners
Mining communities in South Africa
Second Boer War concentration camps
Populated places established in 1887
1887 establishments in the South African Republic