Die sosio-kulturele ontwikkeling van Krugersdorp onder munisipale bestuur tot 1993

Abstract

The historical past of Krugersdorp dates back to the pre-historic period of the Australopithecus Africanus and the stone- and Iron Age communities of the present Krugersdorp region. At the time the first white pioneers settled in this region in the nineteenth century, the area was unoccupied. The Batswana people fled from the region during the period of the Difaqane to settle. west from Krugersdorp, near the present town of Rustenburg. Two major events in the late nineteenth century lead to the establishment of the town Krugersdorp in 1887. The first event was linked to the British annexation of the old Transvaal Republic in 1877 and the public gathering of the Boer people on the farm Paardekraal in 1881. The Boers took a solemn oath and decision to restore their independence and freedom by stacking a cairn. This cairn played an important role in the location of the newly established town. The role of the cairn and the annual national festivals at the Paardekraal Monument, which was erected over the original cairn, in the development of Afrikaner nationalism and the social-cultural activities of the Afrikaans speaking community gives significance to the national assembly of 1881 in the history of Krugersdorp. The discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in the early 1880's was the second event that had an influence on the establishment of Krugersdorp. The proclamation of the farms Paardekraal and Luipaardsvlei as public diggings in 1886 necessitated the establishment of a town to serve the newly proclaimed gold fields. On the request of the owner of the farm Paardekraal, M. W. Pretorius, the new town was named Krugersdorp after the president of the South African Republic (Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek), Paul Kruger. The first stands in Krugersdorp were sold by public auction on 31 October 1887. The early developments of Krugersdorp were overshadowed by the political turmoil over the political rights of the many foreigners on the gold fields of the Witwatersrand. The turmoil resulted in the Jameson Raid (1896), in which Krugersdorp played a significant part. The discovery of gold and the influx of people from all over the world to the Witwatersrand contributed to the multi-cultural population that characterized Krugersdorp since its early days. Krugersdorp developed within a few decades from a public digging to a major mining town and industrial node on the West Rand.

Where the mining industry formed the basis of the economic development of the town, it was the industrial development that sustained the economy of Krugersdorp from the 1940's. The Jewish and Indian traders played an important role in sustaining commercial development in the Central Business District (CBD) of the town. The . economic role of the black people in the economy of the town was limited to that of a labour force, both to the gold mines and the industrial enterprises. The economic development from an agricultural to a mining and industrial economy demanded the development of various industrial sites and a higher standard of municipal services provided to the industries, as well as to the communities. Krugersdorp was declared as a municipality in 1903. The institution of transitional local councils in 1993 ended the period of white domination in municipal management. During the period 1903 to 1993 non-white people had little or no say in municipal matters or in the way the town developed. The national political segregation of the population into ethnic groups, contributed to the discrimination exercised by the municipal management with regard to the development of residential areas, the provision of infrastructure and services provided to the Black, Indian and Coloured communities in Krugersdorp. The white population benefited from the provision of infrastructure, services provided and the way in which the municipality was managed. The fact that the white population receives more attention in the thesis underlines the imbalances in the municipal management and the spatial development of Krugersdorp into zones for specific population groups. The social-cultural development of the town was influenced by the spatial development of Krugersdorp into zones for higher and lower income groups, with the poorest of the poor on the periphery of the municipal area. Urbanization influenced the social-cultural life of all the people in Krugersdorp. The transformation from a rural environment to an urban environment confused and disrupted the intellectual, religious, economic and family life of each individual. The social-cultural activities of the population stood in the shadow of the national - political policies and the segregation of the people according to nice, colour, religion and language. The so-called supremacy of the white race dominated the social cultural development of Krugersdorp. The influx of people from all over the world to the Krugersdorp gold fields and the British victory in the South African War ( 1899- 1902), contributed to the strong British colonial character of the cultural activities of

the white population during the first decades in the history of the town. The unfolding of Afrikaner culture gathered momentum in the 1920's with the development of a national awareness of own values and Afrikaner nationalism. The opportunities for organized cultural activities in the Black, Indian and Coloured communities were limited by a lack of facilities and the perception, mainly from the white population, that the culture, customs, belief and artifacts of these communities were primitive or barbaric. The intrinsic values of the cultural activities of the Black, Indian and Coloured communities were not recognized as part of the national heritage. The Black, Indian and Coloured communities were very poor. In their struggle for survival in the urban economy of Krugersdorp, they lack initiatives from within for cultural development. The thesis gives an overview of municipal management, the development of an infrastructure and residential areas and the rendering of municipal services in Krugersdorp in the period 1903-1993. Analysis of the social-cultural development of the town in the same period includes the social economic development of Krugersdorp, festivals, performing arts, sport and sport facilities, religion, education, crime and judicial services. Cultural diversity was expressed in social life, cultural organizations, tradition and cultural activities.