The rich history of Roodepoort

A question that is often asked is “Why bother with history?” Many feel that history does not have a place in our lives because we are living in the present and are planning for the future.

The answer is simple. We can only understand how things change by studying history.

Roodepoort is a treasure chest filled with a history rich in gold, literally. Ninety-eight per cent of South Africa’s gold production comes from the Witwatersrand Goldfields, and in 1961, the South African currency was named the Rand, after the enormous amount of gold extracted from the rocks of the Witwatersrand.

And it all started in Roodepoort.

After working hard for months, Fred Struben struck a rich vein of gold on the morning of 18 September 1884, on the farm Wilgespruit, owned by Louw Geldenhuys. He called this the Confidence Reef, demonstrating his confidence in this mine’s gold-bearing potential. The Confidence Reef was declared a national monument in 1983, and is situated in the Kloofendal Nature Reserve. The gold found at Wilgespruit did not last long, but it brought a lot of attention to the Witwatersrand and caused prospectors to flock to the area, searching for more.

The Main Reef group of conglomerates was discovered in 1886 on a farm named Langlaagte. A great deal of confusion surrounds this discovery, because a lot of people laid claim to to it. An appointed commission eventually declared that George Walker, not George Harrison (who received the ‘Founder Claim’), was responsible for the discovery of the Main Reef.

This discovery led to the farms Klein Paardekraal, Vogelstruisfontein and Roodepoort being proclaimed as public diggings under the Gold Law in October 1886, and caused many gold diggers to come to the area.

Mining camps were set up on the farms and four small townships emerged. Roodepoort was established as a village in 1886 on the farm Roodepoort. Maraisburg developed on a portion of the farm Klein Paardekraal and Florida developed on the farm Vogelstruisfontein in 1887. The township of Hamberg also developed on Vogelstruisfontein, in 1888.

In 1890, the railway line from Boksburg to Johannesburg was extended to Krugersdorp and stations were built at Maraisburg, Florida and Roodepoort. Railway halts were added at Unified, Roodepoort West and Princess in 1930.

The gold mines and towns developed in the Witwatersrand Goldfields were joined by Main Reef Road. The road has recently been renamed to Albertina Sisulu Road in honour of the famous anti-apartheid activist who was the wife of Walter Sisulu.

The Roodepoort-Maraisburg Urban district was raised to the status of a municipality in 1904 and in 1977 Roodepoort was granted city status and dropped Maraisburg from its name. Many gold-mining pioneers were honoured with suburb and street names such as FredenHarry Road in Strubens Valley, and Honeyball, Struben and Walker Avenues in Discovery. And in 1948, the road originally referred to as the ‘Road to Heidelberg’ on Fred Struben’s 1885 map of the area, or the ‘Old Krugersdorp Main Road’ was named Ontdekkers (Afrikaans for Discoverers) Road after a proposal from a land surveyor named Laurence Gillespie.

Did you know?

– Early Stone Age Man camped in the Witwatersrand area. Archaeologists working on an excavation in 1998 in the Kloofendal Nature Reserve found stone tools dating back to the late Stone Age.

– The first settlements on the Witwatersrand occurred between AD 900 and 1300. Shards of pottery dating back to the late Iron Age were found in the Little Falls Reserve.

– Other discoveries of gold were also made in the area before the Struben discovery. These discoveries ran dry very quickly and were not considered significant.

From 1800 to 1885, Jan Gerritze Bantjies owned the prospecting rights on the farm Roodepoort. His efforts were outdone in 1886, when the Main Reef group of conglomerates was discovered on the farm Langlaagte.

For more information on the discovery of gold on the West Rand, visit the Roodepoort Museum, which is situated at the Civic Theatre, 100 Christiaan de Wet Road, Florida Park.

The museum has permanent displays of the history of Roodepoort that can be viewed. They also do guided tours and offers educational programmes suitable for Grade 4 pupils. A group of up to 100 pupils can be accommodated daily.

The museum is open by appointment only; therefore booking is essential. To book a visit, please phone the museum on 011 761 0226.

Do you perhaps have more information pertaining to this story? Email us at roodepoortrecord@caxton.co.za (remember to include your contact details) or phone us on 011 955 1130.

For free daily local news on the West Rand, also visit our sister newspaper websites Randfontein Herald, Krugersdorp News and Get It Joburg West Magazine

Remember to visit our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages to let your voice be heard!