Linksfield is a suburb of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. It is a suburb lying north-east of the

Johannesburg CBD The Central Business District, commonly called Johannesburg CBD, is one of the main business centres of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is the densest collection of skyscrapers in Africa, however, due to white flight and urban blight, many of the b ...

and is surrounded southerly by Linksfield Ridge, easterly by Linksfield North and Bedford, St Andrews and Senderwood. Linksfield itself is located in Region E of the

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite services for the city. Z ...

. On the southerly side and over the ridge are the areas of Cyrildene, Observatory and Morninghill, but these suburbs are not visible to Linksfield as they are hidden behind the Linksfield Ridge.

History

The suburb is located on part of an old

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand () (locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, which ...

farm called ''Doornfontein''. In 1910, the area was known as ''Muller's Plantation'' and it was many years later and after several attempts, before the land was successfully surveyed. It would be proclaimed as suburb on 8 March 1922 and its name is derived from the word Links and its closeness to the nearby

Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club The Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club is a 36-hole golf complex located in Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa. The resort opened in 1890 as the Royal Johannesburg Golf Club, and merged with the Kensington Golf Club in 1998. It is part ...

. The suburb was developed by A.M. Kennedy and Hermann Kallenbach. Kallenbach would build a house on Linksfield Ridge in 1929. The Huddlepark Golf Course and Driving Range borders with Linksfield and Linksfield North.

Parks and greenspace

The Harvey Nature Reserve lies on the western part of Linksfield Ridge. The land was donated to the people of Johannesburg in 1959 by Sydney Harvey and consisted of 7 acres for a nature and bird sanctuary. It is maintained by the Johannesburg City Parks. The area borders with the controversial Rietfontein farm that was donated by President Paul Kruger to the people of Johannesburg as a tropical disease Hospital in approximately 1895. It is now known as Sizwe Hospital. The farm has the only pristine natural grasslands left in Johannesburg and is still the home for the Vervet monkeys and much natural fauna and flora. Unfortunately the farm is under threat for development.

Education

The suburb has two schools within it. Linksfield Primary School which has been open since 31 July 1950. The second is a Jewish school called King David Schools, Linksfield and was founded in 1948 and the high school in 1955. In close proximity is the Greek School, Saheti School, and the English Girls' School, St Andrews.

Notable residents past and present

Jani Allan Jani Allan (born 11 September 1952) is a South African journalist, columnist, writer and broadcaster. She became one of the country's first media celebrities in the 1980s and 1990s. In 1980, Allan became a columnist for the centrist newspaper, ...

, columnist lived in Linksfield Ridge with her husband,

Gordon Schachat Gordon Schachat (born 25 January 1952) is a South African businessman and art collector. Personal life In 1973 Schachat met his first wife at university, the former '' Sunday Times'' columnist Jani Allan and married her in Mauritius in 1982.

References

Johannesburg Region E Jews and Judaism in Johannesburg {{Johannesburg-stub