| dc.description.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. | |
