Atteridgeville

Atteridgeville
Atteridgeville

 Atteridgeville shown within South Africa

Coordinates: 25°46′24″S 28°04′17″E / 25.77333°S 28.07139°ECoordinates: 25°46′24″S 28°04′17″E / 25.77333°S 28.07139°E
Country South Africa
Province Gauteng
Municipality City of Tshwane
Established 1939
Area[1]
 • Total 9.84 km2 (3.80 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 64,425
 • Density 6,500/km2 (17,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[1]
 • Black African 99.1%
 • Coloured 0.3%
 • Indian/Asian 0.1%
 • White 0.2%
 • Other 0.3%
First languages (2011)[1]
 • Northern Sotho 41.4%
 • Tswana 16.7%
 • Sotho 12.3%
 • Zulu 7.2%
 • Other 22.4%
Postal code (street) 0008
PO box 0006
Area code 012

Atteridgeville, part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is a township located on the west of Pretoria, South Africa. It is bordered to the west by Saulsville, to the east by Proclamation Hill; to the south by Laudium and to the north by Lotus Gardens.

History

Atteridgeville was established in 1939[2] for black people by the government, after much lobbying by Mrs. Myrtle Patricia Atteridge. The Apartheid Government was voted in in 1948 after Atteridgeville was founded. The first occupants were moved to Atteridgeville on 26 May 1940.[2] Mrs. Myrtle Patricia Atteridge, philanthropist, Black Sash activist, Pretoria City Councillor and deputy mayoress of Pretoria endeavoured to improve living conditions of Blacks who were previously living in appalling conditions in Marabastad. Atteridgeville provided brick housing; lighting; toilets etc. Later, to further enhance living standards the township was also connected by train to Pretoria CBD. Schools, creches, clinics etc. were to follow. The naming of the township was in fact suggested by the black people themselves who also requested Mrs. Atteridge to represent them in parliament which she refused as she was disinclined to participate in an exclusionary regime. Between 1940 and 1949 more than 1500 houses were built for people relocated from Marabastad, Bantule and other areas around Pretoria.[3]

Development was frozen between 1968 and 1978 in accordance with the government's policy that housing provided for black people be limited to the homelands. In 1984, Atteridgeville was granted municipal status.

1984 saw school boycotts and general unrest when demands by the Congress of South African Students to implement democratic Students' Representative Councils in schools were rejected by the Department of Education and Training.The first victim of the school boycotts was Emma Sathekge from David Helen Peta High School(01.02.1984).The schools were suspended for the better part of 1984 and exams were not written by all High school learners.[4]

On 15 April 1988 a bomb explosion caused damage to the Atteridgeville Municipal buildings; no-one was injured during the attack. The attack was planned by Umkhonto we Sizwe and executed by one of their members, Johannes Maleka. In November 2000, Johannes Maleka was granted amnesty for his part in the attack by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.[5][6] Atteridgeville is the only township in Gauteng that blocked Zulu-land migrants from forcefully occupying Hostels, prominent members of the ANC in the township including Dr Abe Nkomo, Mr Rami Dau, Reeves Mabitsi and Kgomotso Mokoka held the forefront.


In March 2008 seven people were killed in xenophobic attacks when their shops and shacks were set alight.[7]

Languages

Atteridgeville is a diverse township whose residents speak many languages. The most commonly spoken language is Sesotho, which is closely related to Setswana and Sepedi. A mixture of languages such as Afrikaans, Sesotho, English and isiZulu are sometimes fused together to form what is now a unique language-style of the township with a slight inclination to a slang known as tsotsitaal.

Some spoken languages in the community are:

Subdivisions

Atteridgeville is commonly known as "Phelindaba" or "Pheli" which is an isiZulu expression for "End of Story". Atteridgeville is so nicknamed because of its proximity to the nuclear power sites of "Phelindaba" and "Valindaba". Some areas of the township are divided in terms of ethnic groupings, a system of housing engineered and instituted by the apartheid government. Some of these areas were nicknamed by local residents.

Nicknames:

Places of interest

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Main Place Atteridgeville". Census 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Atteridgeville". South African History Online. Archived from the original on Nov 22, 2007. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  3. ↑ "ATTERIDGEVILLE / SAULSVILLE". SAWEB. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  4. ↑ "Youth celebrate two decades of militant struggle". African National Congress. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  5. ↑ "PROCLAMATION UNDER SECTION 20 OF THE PROMOTION OF NATIONAL UNITY AND RECONCILIATION ACT, 1995 (ACT NO. 34 OF 1995)". Government Gazette, Vol. 444, No. 23328, 14 June 2002. South African Government. Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  6. ↑ "AC/2000/199 - APPLICATION IN TERMS OF SECTION 18 OF THE PROMOTION OF NATIONAL UNITY AND RECONCILIATION ACT, NO. 34 OF 1995.". Truth and Reconciliation Commission (South Africa). Retrieved 2009-08-12.
  7. ↑ "Recent attacks tip of xenophobic iceberg". TheTimes.co.za. Retrieved May 19, 2008.