Lady Selborne is a

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), the distortion or disruption of parts of a building * Closing (real estate), the final step in executing a real estate transaction *Settlement (fin ...

located near

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

. It is in

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

province. It was established in 1905 as an area where anyone could buy and own land. As apartheid took hold the authorities eventually found a rationale for removing the residents and the houses were bulldozed in 1963. In 2017 the place was being reformed and former residents were claiming reparation of their lands.

History

Since 1905 Lady Selborne had been an area where the native people were allowed to legally own land. It was named for

Maud Palmer, Countess of Selborne Beatrix Maud Palmer, Countess of Selborne (11 April 1858 – 27 April 1950) was a British people, British political and women's rights activist. Early life Born in Marylebone as Beatrix Maud Gascoyne-Cecil, she was the eldest child of futu ...

. The suburb was useful as it supplied cheap labour to Pretoria's white residents. In 1942 22,000 people were living there. However the area was too popular for the liking of the authorities, but they struggled to find a legal basis under the

Group Areas Act Group Areas Act was the title of three acts of the Parliament of South Africa enacted under the apartheid government of South Africa. The acts assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a system of u ...

for seizing the land as the residents had freehold properties. The last family to leave was in 1984. Lady Selborne was bulldozed away during the apartheid era in 1963. The Restitution of Land Rights Act 22 became law in 1994 and this entitles former owners to reclaim their property. Reparations have seen some of the historic occupants reclaiming their land despite local opposition. Many however have taken compensation, as they lack the funds to build on the land. In 2019, 150 people claimed that they were owners of property in the former town. They took the authorities to court demanding that they should each be allowed to buy a plot for 43,000 Rand. The judge ordered the court be adjourned for two months while the evidence associated with each of their cases could be tested.

Notable residents

* Ebrahim "Boetie" Abramjee MP lived * Yusuf Abramjee was born here in 1963/4 *

Jody Kollapen Narandran "Jody" Kollapen (born 19 May 1957) is a Judge of the Constitutional Court of South Africa. He was appointed by President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa on 24 December 2021, and began his service on 1 January 2022. He had previously ser ...

, judge was born here on 19 May 1957 *

William Frederick Nkomo William Frederick Nkomo (1915–1972) was a South African medical doctor, community leader, political activist and teacher from Pretoria. He was the founding chairman of the African National Congress Youth League. While at the University of the Wi ...

practiced in Lady Selborne *

Seputla Sebogodi Septula Steez Sebogodi (born October 31, 1962) is a South African actor and singer. He is the recipient of two SAFTA Awards. He made appearance on Critical Assignment (2004), The Republic (2019) and soap opera Rhythm City, Scandal!. Career ...

actor and singer was born here in 1962. * Hannah Stanton was at the women's mission here before her arrest * Lefifi Tladi, the artist and musician was born here in 1949.

References

{{City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality Townships in Gauteng