Did you know: Mary Fitzgerald Square

The square is the block located between Rahima Moosa and Lilian Ngoyi streets, and between Margaret Mcingana and Henry Nxumalo streets.

It’s just a stone’s throw away from the newly-built Newtown Junction Mall, it’s across the road from Museum Africa and a short walk from the iconic cultural music venue, Bassline.

Fitzgerald, who was born in Ireland, is renowned for being the first female trade unionist in South Africa.

The site, called Aaron’s Ground before its renaming, was a place where she organised a number of strike meetings in the early part of the 1900s. She became well known around 1910 when she played a key role in the organisation of the miner’s strike around the same time.

The square was named after the iconic woman in 1939, as a result of continued political activity that took place in the area, all of which was facilitated by the change agent herself.

In 2000, the site was launched as a cultural venue as part of the Newtown urban renewal project, where concerts and festivals could take place, accommodating about 50 000 people for any given event.

To date, there have been a number of sold-out events held at the venue including the Jameson Cult Film Festival, the Axecess Jozi concerts, the Women’s Day 5km or 10km run and the Back to the City music festivals.

Next year, it is set to host one of the biggest concerts to be held in Joburg, the Jack Daniel’s Boomtown concert with headlining rapper, T.I.

When it is not being used to host festivals and parties, Mary Fitzgerald Square is used as a parking space for visitors to Museum Africa or any of the popular surrounding venues.