Lady Selborne is a

settlement Settlement may refer to: *Human settlement, a community where people live *Settlement (structural), downward movement of a structure's foundation *Settlement (finance), where securities are delivered against payment of money *Settlement (litigatio ...

located near

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

, in the province of

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

. 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. 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 syste ...

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, 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 W ...

practiced in Lady Selborne * Seputla Sebogodi 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