Soweto Tours Halfday
Duration: soweto half day
Location: Johannesburg, Zambia
The history of African townships south west of Johannesburg thatwould later form Soweto was propelled by the increasing eviction ofAfricans by city and state authorities. Africans had been drawn to workon the gold mines that sprang up after 1886. From the start they wereaccommodated in separate areas on the outskirts of Johannesburg, suchas Brickfields (Newtown) [2].In 1904 British-controlled city authorities removed African and Indianresidents of Brickfields to an "evacuation camp" at Klipspruitmunicipal sewage farm (not Kliptown, a separate township[3]) outside the Johannesburg municipal boundary, following a reported outbreak of plague [4].Two further townships were laid out to the east and the west ofJohannesburg in 1918. Townships to the south west of Johannesburgfollowed, starting with Pimville (1934; a renamed part of Klipspruit)and Orlando (1935) [5].Industrialisation during World War II drew thousands of black workers to the Reef[clarification needed].They were also propelled by the implementation of legislation thatrendered many rural Africans landless. Informal settlements developedto meet the growing lack of housing. The Sofasonke movement of James Mpanzain 1944 organised the occupation of vacant land in the area, at whatbecame known as Masakeng (Orlando West). Partly as a result of Mpanza'sactions, the city council was forced to set up emergency camps inOrlando (1944), Moroka, and Central Western Jabavu (1946) [6].Soweto's only hospital came courtesy of World War II. The RoyalImperial Hospital, Baragwanath, was built in what today is Diepkloof in1941 for convalescing British and Commonwealth soldiers [7]. John Albert Baragwanath owned a hostel, The Wayside Inn, from the late 19th century near the hospital's current location [8].Field Marshall Jan Smuts noted during the opening ceremonies that thefacility would be used for the area's black population after the war.In 1947 King George VI visited and presented medals to the troops there[9]. From this start grew Baragwanath Hospital (as it became known after 1948), reputedly the world's largest hospital [10]. In 1997 another name change followed, with the sprawling facility now known as Hani-Baragwanath Hospital in honour of the African National Congress leader who was assassinated in 1993 by white extremists [11].After the Afrikaner-dominated National Party gained power in 1948 and began to implement apartheid,the pace of forced removals and the creation of townships outsidelegally-designated white areas increased. The Johannesburg councilestablished new townships to the southwest for black Africans evictedfrom the city's freehold areas of Martindale, Sophiatown,and Alexandra. Some townships were basic site and service plots (Tladi,Zondi, Dhlamini, Chiawelo, Senaoane, 1954), while at Dube middle classresidents built their own houses. The first hostel to accommodatemigrant workers evicted from the inner city in 1955 was built at Dube.The following year houses were built in the newly proclaimed townshipsof Meadowlands and Diepkloof [12].In 1956 townships were laid out for particular ethnic groups as partof the state's strategy to sift black Africans into groupings thatwould later form the building blocks of the so-called "independenthomelands." Spurred by a donation of R6-million to the state by SirErnest Oppenheimer in 1956 for housing in the area, Naledi, Mapetla,Tladi, Moletsane and Phiri were created to house Sotho andTswana-speakers. Zulu and Xhosa speakers were accommodated in Dhlamini,Senaoane, Zola, Zondi, Jabulani, Emdeni and White City. Chiawelo wasestablished for Tsonga and Venda-speaking residents [13].In 1963, the name Soweto (SOuth WEstern TOwnship) was officiallyadopted for the sprawling township that now occupied what had been thefarms of Doornkop, Klipriviersoog, Diepkloof, Klipspruit and Vogelstruisfontein.Soweto came to the world's attention on June 16, 1976 with the Soweto Uprising, when mass protests erupted over the government's policy to enforce education in Afrikaans rather than English. Police opened fire in Orlando West on 10,000 students[14] marching from Naledi High School to Orlando Stadium, and in the events that unfolded, 566 people died [15].The impact of the Soweto protests reverberated through the country andacross the world. In their aftermath, economic and cultural sanctionswere introduced from abroad. Political activists left the country totrain for guerrilla resistance. Soweto and other townships became thestage for violent state repression. Since 1991 this date and theschoolchildren have been commemorated by the International Day of the African Child.In response, the apartheid state started providing electricity tomore Soweto homes, yet phased out financial support for buildingadditional housing [16].Soweto became an independent municipality with elected black councillors in 1983, in line with the Black Local Authorities Act [17]. Previously the townships were governed by the Johannesburg council, but from the 1970s the state took control [18].Soweto's black African councillors were not provided by theapartheid state with the finances to address housing andinfrastructural problems. Township residents opposed the blackcouncillors as puppet collaborators who personally benefittedfinancially from an oppressive regime. Resistance was spurred by theexclusion of blacks from the newly formed tricameral Parliament (whichdid include Whites, Asians and Coloureds). Municipal elections inblack, coloured, and Indian areas were subsequently widely boycotted,returning extremely low voting figures for years. Popular resistance tostate structures dates back to the Advisory Boards (1950) that co-optedblack residents to advise whites who managed the townships.In Soweto popular resistance to apartheid emerged in various formsduring the 1980s. Educational and economic boycotts were initiated, andstudent bodies were organized. Street committees were formed, and civicorganizations were established as alternatives to state-imposedstructures. One of the most well-known "civics" was Soweto's Committeeof Ten, started in 1978 in the offices of The Bantu Worldnewspaper. Such actions were strengthened by the call issued by AfricanNational Congress's 1985 Kabwe congress in Zambia to make South Africaungovernable. As the state forbade public gatherings, church buildingslike Regina Mundi were sometimes used for political gatherings.In 1995 Soweto became part of the Southern Metropolitan TransitionalLocal Council, and in 2002 was incorporated into the City ofJohannesburg [19]. A series of bomb explosions rocked Soweto in October 2002. The explosions, believed to be the work of the Boeremag, a right wing extremist group, damaged buildings and railway lines, and killed one person.[edit] DemographicsAs Soweto was counted as part of Johannesburg in South Africa's 2001census, recent demographic statistics are not readily available. It hasbeen estimated that 65% of Johannesburg's residents live in Soweto [20] (2002 figures). However, the 2001 Census put its population at 896,995 [21] - or about one-third of the city's total population.Soweto's population is predominantly black. All eleven of the country's official languages are spoken, and the main linguistic groups (in descending order of size) are Zulu, Sotho, Tswana, Venda, and Tsonga.[edit] SuburbsBy 2003 the Greater Soweto area consisted of 87 townships groupedtogether into Administrative Regions 6 and 10 of the City ofJohannesburg Regional Spatial Development Framework.Estimates of how many residential areas make up Soweto itself vary widely. Some say that Soweto comprises 29 townships [22], others find 32 [23]. Still others talk of 34 [24] or even 50 [25] "suburbs." The differences may be due to confusion arising from the merger of adjoining townships (such as Lenasiaand Eldorado Park) with those of Soweto into Regions 6 and 10. But thetotal number also depends on whether the various "extensions" and"zones" are counted separately, or as part of one main suburb. The 2003Regional Spatial Development Framework arrived at 87 names by countingvarious extensions (e.g. Chiawelo's 5) and zones (e.g. Pimville's 7)separately. The City of Johannesburg's website groups the zones andextensions together to arrive at 32, but omits Noordgesig and MmesiPark.[26]The list below provides the dates when some of Soweto's townshipswere established, along with the probable origins or meanings of theirnames, where available:Chiawelo (1956), "Place of Rest" (Venda)Dhlamini (1956), Unknown, Nguni family nameDiepmeadow, comprisingDiepkloof (1957; "Deep Ravine", Afrikaans), originally a farmMeadowlands (1958), Originally Meadowlands Small Holdings (1938)Meadowlands WestDobsonville including Dobsonville GardensDoornkop, "Hill of Thorns" (Afrikaans)Dube (1948), Named for John Langalibalele Dube (1871-1946), educator [27], newspaper founder, and the first ANC president (1912-17) [28]Emdeni (1958), "At the family" (Zulu, from umndeni - family), including extensionsJabavu (1948), Named for Davidson Don Tengo Jabavu (1885-1959), educator and authorJabulani (1956), "Rejoice" (Zulu)Klipspruit (1904), "Rocky Stream" (Afrikaans), originally a farm mapKliptownMapetla (1956), including Mapetla Extension (1962), someone who's angryMmesi Park sotho name for somebody who burns things on fireMofolo(1954), including (Mofolo Central, Mofolo North, Mofolo South), Namedfor Thomas Mofolo (1876-1948), Sotho author, translator, and educatorMolapo (1956), Name of a Basotho tribe, sotho name for fetiqueMoletsane (1956), Name of a Batuang chiefMoroka (1946), including Moroka North (1955), Named for Dr James Sebe Moroka (1891-1985)[29], later ANC president (1949-52) during the 1952 Defiance CampaignNaledi (1956), "Star" (Sotho/Pedi/Tswana), originally MkiziNoordgesig, "North View" (Afrikaans)Orlando(1932), including (Orlando East, Orlando West, 1946), Named for EdwinOrlando Leake (1860-1935), chairman of the Non-European AffairsDepartment (1930-31), Johannesburg mayor (1925-26)Phiri (1956) and Phiri Extension, "Hyena" (Sotho/Tswana)Pimville (1934), Named for James Howard Pim, councillor (1903-07), Quaker [30], philanthropist, and patron of Fort Hare Native College [31]; originally part of KlipspruitPower Park, in the vicinity of the power stationProtea Glen, Unknown (The protea is South Africa's national flower)Protea NorthProtea SouthSenaoane (1958), Named for Solomon G Senaoane (-1942), first sports organiser in the Non-European Affairs DepartmentTladi (1956), "Lightning" (Sotho)Zola (1956), "Calm" (Zulu/Xhosa)Zondi (1956), Unknown family name(Zulu)Other Soweto townships include Braamfischerville, Killarney, Mzimhlope, Phefeni, Phomolong, Snake Park, and White City [32].A full description of the origins of the names of these suburbs can be found at Urban legends - what's in a name?.
Starting From: $3.96
