Vereeniging () is a town located in the south of

Gauteng province 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 1 ...

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 ...

, situated where the

Klip River The Klip River is the main river draining the portion of Johannesburg south of the Witwatersrand, and its basin includes the Johannesburg CBD and Soweto. The mouth of the river is at Vereeniging where it empties into the Vaal River, which is a tri ...

empties into the northern loop of the

Vaal River The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Ocean. ...

. It is also one of the constituent parts of the

Vaal Triangle The Vaal Triangle is a triangular area formed by Vereeniging, Vanderbijlpark and Sasolburg about 60 km south of Johannesburg, South Africa. The area forms a substantial urban complex. Meyerton, just north of Vereeniging, is also generally ...

region and was formerly situated in the

Transvaal province The Province of the Transvaal ( af, Provinsie van Transvaal), commonly referred to as the Transvaal (; ), was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end of apartheid. The name "Trans ...

. The name ''Vereeniging'' is derived from the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

word meaning "association".

Geographical information

Vereeniging is situated in the southern part of Gauteng Province, and forms the southern portion of the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeninging (PWV) conurbation, and its neighbors are

Vanderbijlpark Vanderbijlpark is an industrial town with approximately 95 000 inhabitants, situated on the Vaal River in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa. The city is named after Hendrik van der Bijl, an electrical engineer and industrialist. Va ...

(to the west), Three Rivers (east), Meyerton (north) and Sasolburg (south). The city is currently one of the most important industrial manufacturing centres in South Africa, with its chief products being iron, steel, pipes, bricks, tiles and processed lime. The predominant language in Vereeniging is

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

followed closely by

Sesotho Sotho () or Sesotho () or Southern Sotho is a Southern Bantu language of the Sotho–Tswana ("S.30") group, spoken primarily by the Basotho in Lesotho, where it is the national and official language; South Africa (particularly the Free ...

language and

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

History

In 1879, George William Stow was commissioned by the

Orange Free State The Orange Free State ( nl, Oranje Vrijstaat; af, Oranje-Vrystaat;) was an independent Boer sovereign republic under British suzerainty in Southern Africa during the second half of the 19th century, which ceased to exist after it was defeat ...

government to look for coal deposits in the Bethlehem district With no deposits found he moved northwards to ''Maccauvlei'' on the Vaal River and then crossed the river to the

Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal. * South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...

side. On the farm ''Leeuwkuil'', he found a

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

deposits twelve feet thick. But the Orange Free State government believed that it was too far away and there was a lack of transport so turned down the idea of mining. Stow settled in Kimberley in order to find a job where he met Samuel Marks who realized after hearing the formers story, the opportunity for coal at the Kimberley diamond fields for energy generation. Marks formed the ''De Zuid Afrikaanshe en Oranje Vrystaatsche Kolen and Mineralen Vereeniging'' (South African and Orange Free State Coal and Mineral Association) and sent Stow to purchase the farms where the coal was found. On the 25 November 1880 he purchased the farm ''Leeuwkuil'' for £5,000 and 12,000 acres. Marks' agent J.G. Fraser would purchase the farm ''Klipplaatdrift'' of 6,000 acres from Karl August Pistorius in October 1881 for £15,500. This was opposite the farm ''Maccauvlei''. From 1881, coal was taken by ox-wagon to Kimberley and by 1882 there was so much development that there was a need to survey a village on the two farms and the '' Volksraad'' agreed naming it after the company's shortened name Vereeniging.

Second Boer War

The city is the location where the

Treaty of Vereeniging The Treaty of Vereeniging was a peace treaty, signed on 31 May 1902, that ended the Second Boer War between the South African Republic and the Orange Free State, on the one side, and the United Kingdom on the other. This settlement provided f ...

ending the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

(1899–1902) was negotiated by the delegates of the

South African Republic The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it ...

and the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

. During the conflict, a

concentration camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...

was set up in the area by the British. The concentration camp at Vereeniging was set up in September 1900, and by October 1901 housed 185 men, 330 women, and 452 children. Conditions at the camp were very poor: drinking water was brought by cart from a fountain (there was no direct water supply although it was situated next to the Vaal River) and there were only 24 latrines. Most inmates lived in bell-tents but there was a dispensary and a school. The Concentration camp was situated where the Mittal Steel plant (Vaal Works) is situated. Today, the Maccauvlei Golf Course is on the opposite side of the Vaal River to where the concentration camp was and a Garden of Remembrance is situated at Maccauvlei. All the British Soldiers killed in and around Vereeniging during the war were re-buried on this site.

Apartheid

Vereeniging was one of the first municipalities in South Africa to provide better housing for Africans. Near Vereeniging is the predominantly black community of

Sharpeville, Gauteng Sharpeville (also spelled Sharpville) is a township situated between two large industrial cities, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging, in southern Gauteng, South Africa. Sharpeville is one of the oldest of six townships in the Vaal Triangle. It was na ...

, the site of the

Sharpeville massacre The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960 at the police station in the township of Sharpeville in the then Transvaal Province of the then Union of South Africa (today part of Gauteng). After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd o ...

in 1960.

Post-Apartheid

Since 1999 its municipal services were provided by the

Emfuleni Local Municipality The Emfuleni Local Municipality, founded in 1999, is one of three local municipalities comprising the Sedibeng District in Gauteng, South Africa. It is the westernmost local municipality in the District, and covers an area of 987 km² at th ...

. In 2018 the municipality was placed under administration after years of wasteful practices and poor service delivery. In February 2022 it was reported that Vereeniging had 14 out-of-service police vehicles for visible policing, and only 20 operational vehicles.

Trade and industry

The city's motto is ''Per Pacem ad Industriam'' (Through Peace to Industry). It is currently one of the most important industrial manufacturing centres in South Africa, with its chief products being

iron Iron () is a chemical element with Symbol (chemistry), symbol Fe (from la, Wikt:ferrum, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 element, group 8 of the periodic table. It is, Abundanc ...

, steel, pipes, bricks, tiles and processed

lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...

. Several

mines are also still situated in the area, with reserves being estimated at four billion tons. Other mines nearby extract fire-

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is ...

and building stone. Vereeniging also has several

Eskom Eskom Hld SOC Ltd or Eskom is a South African electricity public utility. It was established in 1923 as the Electricity Supply Commission (ESCOM) and was also known by its Afrikaans name Elektrisiteitsvoorsieningskommissie (EVKOM). Eskom repre ...

thermal

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an el ...

s that supply

electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as describ ...

to the nearby

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

mines.

Suburbs and municipality

In the census of 2001 the population of Vereeniging was recorded as 73,283. Vereeniging consists of 29 suburbs, of which 7 forms part of Three Rivers: * Arcon Park & -Proper * Bedworth Park * Dickensonville * Duncanville * Falcon Ridge * Fisheagle Estate (Three Rivers) * Homer * Kubali (Three Rivers) * Leeuhof * Peacehaven & -Proper * Powerville * Randwater * Risiville (Three Rivers) * Roodt's Gardens * Roshnee *

Sharpeville Sharpeville (also spelled Sharpville) is a township situated between two large industrial cities, Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging, in southern Gauteng, South Africa. Sharpeville is one of the oldest of six townships in the Vaal Triangle. It was na ...

* Sonland Park * Spider Valley * Springcol * Steel Park * Three Rivers (Three Rivers) *

Three Rivers Proper Three Rivers Proper is a suburb of Vereeniging, Gauteng, South Africa. The suburb is bordered by Three Rivers East to the east and Three Rivers North to the north. Its northern boundary is formed by the R42 (General Hertzog Road), its western ...

(Three Rivers) * Three Rivers East (Three Rivers) * Uitvlugt * Unitas Park * Vereeniging Central * Vischgat * Waldrift * Zuikerbosch * Zuikerbosch Estate (Three Rivers) Since 1999, Vereeniging has been part of the Emfuleni Local Municipality, along with

and the smaller Three Rivers.
Map of Three Rivers

Healthcare

Various health services are available in Vereeniging. The majority of these services are located in or near the major medical centres. These include: * Vereeniging Medi-Clinic * Midvaal Private Hospital * Kopanong Hospital * Sebokeng Hospital * Nkanyezi Private Hospital * Johan Heyns Hospital

Education

* Vereeniging Gimnasium (Afrikaans medium - Amalgamation of Hoërskool Vereeniging and Hoër Tegniese Skool Vereeniging) * Handhawer Laerskool ( Afrikaans and English medium) (http://www.handhawer.co.za) * Selborne Primary School (English medium) * General Smuts High School (English medium) * Arcon Park Primary School (English medium) * Unitaspark Laerskool (Afrikaans and English medium) * Vryheidsmonument Laerskool (Afrikaans medium) * Overvaal Hoërskool (Afrikaans medium) * Sonland Park Primary School (English medium) * Milton Primary School (English medium) * Three Rivers Primary School (English medium) * Riverside High School (English medium) * Hoërskool Drie Riviere (Afrikaans and English medium) * 3 Rivers Christian Academy (English medium - ACE) * Suikerbos Laerskool (Afrikaans and English medium) * Rust-ter-Vaal Primary School (English medium) * Rust-ter-Vaal Secondary School (English medium) * Phoenix High School (English medium) * Roshnee Islamic School (English medium) * Word of Life School (English medium - CIE) * Krugerlaan School (Afrikaans and English medium - LSEN School) *

Tertiary institutions

Campuses of: *

University of South Africa The University of South Africa (UNISA), known colloquially as Unisa, is the largest university system in South Africa by enrollment. It attracts a third of all higher education students in South Africa. Through various colleges and affiliates, U ...

* Damelin College * CTU Training Solutions * Sedibeng College * It is also close to the North-West University's Vaal Triangle Campus, and the

Vaal University of Technology Vaal University of Technology (VUT) is a tertiary institution in South Africa. It attracts students from all over the country. It is one of the largest residential Universities of Technology, with about 25,000 students, 300 programs, all primari ...

Notable residents

* Gerald Raymond Bosch, played Fly-Half for The Springboks 1974 -1976 *

Bles Bridges Bles Bridges (22 July 1946, in Viljoensdrif, Orange Free State – 24 March 2000, near Bloemhof, North West), born Lawrence John Gabriel Bridges, was a South African singer. He became known as Bles Bridges, as his Irish grandfather called him ...

, an Afrikaans country singer, stayed in Vereeniging until his death in 2000. * F.W. de Klerk was first elected to the South African parliament in 1969 as the member for Vereeniging. *

Francois Pienaar Jacobus Francois Pienaar (born 2 January 1967) is a retired South African rugby union player. He played flanker for South Africa (the Springboks) from 1993 until 1996, winning 29 international caps, all of them as captain. He is best known fo ...

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

rugby player *

Charl Schwartzel Charl Adriaan Schwartzel ( ; born 31 August 1984) is a South African professional golfer who currently plays in the LIV Golf Invitational Series and has previously played on the PGA Tour, European Tour and the Sunshine Tour. He has won one maj ...

(the 2011 US Masters champion),

Morné Morkel Morné Morkel (born 6 October 1984) is a South African former cricketer who played international cricket between 2006 and 2018. He is a right-arm fast bowler and lower order left-handed batsman. Morkel made his Test match debut in 2006 and w ...

and

Albie Morkel Johannes Albertus Morkel (born 10 June 1981), better known as Albie Morkel, is a former South African cricketer. He is an all-rounder who bowls right-arm medium fast and bats left-handed. He was earmarked as the new Lance Klusener from an earl ...

attended Vereeniging High. *

Leon Schuster Leon Ernest "Schuks" Schuster (born 21 May 1951) is a South African filmmaker, comedian, actor, prankster and singer. Early life Schuster was drawn to the filmmaking process at an early age. As a child he and his brother would play practical ...

, actor, comedian, filmmaker, presenter and singer *

Deon Dreyer Deon Dreyer (7 August 1974 – 17 December 1994) was a South African recreational diving, recreational scuba diving, scuba diver who died in Bushman's Hole in South Africa. Cave diver David Shaw (diver), David Shaw died more than 10 years ...

, a cave diver who perished in Bushman's Hole in 1994, was raised in Vereeniging.

Crime

The latest crime statistics for Vereeniging Police Precinct was issued by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in September 2010. The SAPS crime reportVereeniging 2010 Crime Statistics
/ref> showed the following information:

Flooding 2011

In December 2010 and January 2011 the southern part of

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 ...

and Mpumulanga experienced a higher than normal rainfall. This resulted in the need to release more water from the nearby

Vaal dam The Vaal Dam in South Africa was constructed in 1938 and lies 77 km south of OR Tambo International Airport. The lake behind the dam wall has a surface area of about and is 47 meters deep. The Vaal Dam lies on the Vaal River, which is one ...

. As a consequence, parts of Vereeniging, Three Rivers and the rest of the towns downstream were flooded. Three Rivers Proper Floods.JPG, Flooding along Sugarbush Drive, Three Rivers Proper Brandmuller Avenue.JPG, Brandmuller Avenue in Three Rivers Proper

Coat of arms

Vereeniging established a municipality in 1912. By 1931, the town council had assumed a
emblem
depicting bridge across a river, and two clasped hands. The town council obtained a coat of arms from the

College of Arms The College of Arms, or Heralds' College, is a royal corporation consisting of professional officers of arms, with jurisdiction over England, Wales, Northern Ireland and some Commonwealth realms. The heralds are appointed by the British Sovere ...

in October 1955, registered it with the Transvaal Provincial Administration in October 1957Transvaal ''Official Gazette'' 2664 (23 October 1957). and with the

Bureau of Heraldry Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administrat ...

in June 1987.National Archives of South Africa : Data of the Bureau of Heraldry
/ref> The arms were : ''Sable, on a fess wavy Or a barrulet wavy Tenne, the fess between in chief a thunderbolt between two picks, Or, and in base a steel pipe palewise proper between two cogwheels, also Or''. In layman's terms, the design is a black shield displaying, from top to bottom, a golden heraldic thunderbolt between two picks, a wavy orange stripe edged in gold, and an upright golden pipe between two cogwheels. The crest was a dove of peace perched on two clasped hands; the supporters were a lion and a zebra standing on a grassy base strewn with veld flowers; and the motto was ''Per pacem ad industriam''.

References

External links

Emfuleni MunicipalityVaal Triangle Info
{{Authority control Populated places in the Emfuleni Local Municipality Second Boer War concentration camps Populated places established in 1892