A history of socio-economic change in 
Sharpeville, South Africa, 1940-2020s 

LT Ledwaba 

orcid.org 0000-0002-0482-9997 

Thesis accepted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree 

Doctor of Philosophy in History at the North-West University 

Promoter:   Dr C Gouws  

Co-promoter: Prof JWN Tempelhoff 

Graduation: July 2025 



ii 

DECLARATION 

I declare that this dissertation is my original work and has not been submitted previously 

for the award of any degree. All significant contributions to, and quotations within, this 

dissertation from the works of others have been appropriately attributed, cited and 

referenced. 

 

Date: 2025/02/21 

  



iii 

 

 

 

Dedicated to the unwavering legacy of my mentor, Ntate Rammatli William Diphaphang 

Serobane 

Rest in Power, Daddy.  

 

Ke thelleng kele: 

Mofokeng wa sefali sa kotoane oa maotoana a finyela a kaa ka linaleli 

Motho ea jang sengoathoane sa bohobe a khumame ka lengole, a se ja 

a ntse a shebile lireng ba ka nna ba hlaha. Ngoana khiba oa tšoana kholokoane 

ea makhabane, la ikholola la ipeha khorong, la re jang! jan! kapele mantsi keo oa tla. 

Ke ngoana (mora/morali) oa sefadi sa kotoane, oa ho tšoara mmutlanyana a o hlahlathe 

litsebe a o tlohele o tsamaee. 

Phoka!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



iv 

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

Ke rata go leboga Modimo le Badimo ba ga Ledwaba. Ke leboge le ba ga Ledwaba 

kudukudu my aunt Winnie Ledwaba, who was always at the other end of the line listening 

to my complaints and frustrations. Malome Eugene Ledwaba, kea leboga, you are 

amazing. 

I am deeply indebted to my dearest wife and daughters, Relebohile and Onalerena, for 

their immeasurable support and understanding throughout the journey that has 

culminated in this thesis.  

Sincerest gratitude to my dearest siblings Tshepiso Leta, Thabang Leta, Lebogang Leta, 

and my parents, Paulinah Leta, and Andreas Leta, your clandestine intercessions and 

ceaseless prayers kept me going.  

My sincerest gratitude goes to my supervisors, Dr Claudia Gouws and Prof Johann 

Tempelhoff. Their patience, professionalism, collegiality, and care have been 

instrumental in shaping me into a better academic.  

I am also grateful to Professor Costa Hofisi, Head of the Afrocentric Governance of Public 

Affairs (AGoPA), for his mentorship.  

Many thanks to the North-West University for providing the financial support necessary 

to pursue my studies. 

The librarians at the North-West University Vanderbijlpark campus - Mr Siyabonga Sithole 

and Mr Dannyboy Moloto: thank you for going far and wide to source materials critical for 

my research. 

Finally, I am immensely indebted to the voices that have framed this study - the people 

of Sharpeville. Thank you for sharing your experiences and perspectives, without which 

this research would not have been possible. 

  



v 

ABSTRACT  

Sharpeville is one of the oldest of six townships in the Vaal Triangle, located between 

Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging in southern Gauteng, South Africa. The construction of 

houses in Sharpeville began in 1942, when people were relocated from the "Top 

Location" to an area further removed from the central business district of Vereeniging. 

Famous for the massacre of civilians by the apartheid government on 19 March 1960, the 

Sharpeville Massacre is commemorated, remembered, and celebrated as a pivotal event 

in South Africa’s political history.  

While Sharpeville has been contextualised in national and international politics and 

received substantial academic attention, there remains a notable gap in historical analysis 

regarding its role in the development of the region. This thesis addresses this gap by 

incorporating contemporary history, unpacking not only how residents practised agency 

in making homes under the constraints of apartheid social engineering mechanisms but 

also how they reshaped their homes after 1994. 

This thesis uses oral history methods to enunciate the histories often neglected by 

academics who are traditionally fixated on the massacre. Guided by a history from the 

below approach, the thesis traces people’s social and economic experiences in Top 

Location and how the lengthy process of forced removals disrupted and changed 

resident’s lives. The forced removal from the Top Location and the lengthy process of 

displacement disrupted and changed residents' lives. The thesis highlights how residents 

circumvented or mitigated the impact of apartheid in their homes and communities. 

Fundamentally, it focuses on ways in which music, sport, recreational activities, religion, 

and ubuntu fostered a sense of homeliness and belonging. 

The ongoing development of the Vaal River City is seen as a 21st-century victory for 

humanity. It serves not only as a bridge construction and a post-apartheid housing 

scheme but also as a symbol of how Sharpeville residents, once confined to a Group 

Areas zone, are now able to access the former White suburbs and purchase property of 

their choice. Township tourism, which attracts visitors from Europe, America and Asia, is 

seen as a symbolic bridge or connection with Sharpeville's rich history, which 

encompasses tangible and intangible symbols, people, infrastructure, vibrance and 

culinary culture for the economic and social benefit of the residents. 



vi 

The thesis contributes to the neglected historiography of Sharpeville by examining the 

area's post-1994 social history, which reflects continuities, discontinuities, parallels, and 

paradigm shifts. It further conceptualises processes embedded in Sharpeville’s evolution, 

the reconstruction of past and present lifeways, and particularly the merging and uniting 

of Black and White communities and spaces following the 1994 democratic elections. 

Key terms 

Community, change, forced removals, home, Sharpeville, Top Location. 

  



vii 

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS  

NWU North-West University  

ANC African National Congress  

EFF Economic Freedom Fighters  

PAC  Pan Africanist Congress  

NARSSA National Archives Repository of South Africa 

VTC Vereeniging Town Council  

VTMA Vaal Teknorama Museum Archive 

IFP Inkatha Freedom Party 

 

  



viii 

LIST OF FIGURES 

Figure 4.1:  A Creche, Sharpeville 2023 

Figure 4.2:  An image of a Township four-room house design in the Vereeniging area 

Figure 4.3:  House plans of Bantu housing 

Figure 4.4:  A No. 6 Dover coal stove installed in a Sharpeville house 

Figure 4.5:  An old asbestos roof house in Vuka, Sharpeville   

Figure 4.6:  Donations for the poor people   

Figure 4.7:  An old bathroom refurbished into a shop, Sharpeville 

Figure 5.1:  A public swimming pool, Sharpeville 

Figure 5.2:  Cornerstone at the swimming pool entrance, Sharpeville 

Figure 5.3:  A house in Vuka 

Figure 5.4:  A partly renovated house in Vuka 

Figure 5.5:  An add-on to a house constructed by the council showing where 

construction ended 

Figure 5.6:  Backrooms in Sharpeville 

Figure 5.7:  Outside toilets in Putsoastene Sharpeville 

Figure 5.8:  Some items displayed in Mr Ncala Seniors shop in a Sharpeville 

Figure 5.9:  An Emerald Dover coal stove in a Sharpeville house 

Figure 5.10:  Mr Ncala senior displaying sports accolades  

Figure 6.1:  The Sharpeville Swingsters 

Figure 6.2: The stone blessed by Rev Reeves at Saint Cyprian in Sharpeville (1955) 

Figure 6.3:  A screenshot of the video titled Sharpeville is not a massacre 



ix 

Figure 6.4:  Phelindaba grave site, Sharpeville 

Figure 6.5:  Neglected construction of a ‘supposed heritage site’ in Phelindaba 

Cemetery, Sharpeville 

Figure 6.6:  A Vandalised stone of remembrance in Phelindaba Cemetery, Sharpeville 

Figure 6.7: Dirt and squalor at the Vuka Cemetery, Sharpeville 

Figure 7.1:  An image of Bedworth Park and adjacent suburbs and industrial centres  

Figure 7.2:  The planned Vaal River City mall 

Figure 7.3: The Vaal River City Interchange (K174/R42) 

 

  



x 

 

GASTRONOMY TERMINOLOGY IN SHARPEVILLE 

Sesotho  English  Description 

S
k
h

a
m

b
a

n
e

/k
o

ta
 

B
u

n
n

y
 c

h
o

w
 

Skhambane or bunny chow, has a unique naming contextualised 
in the townships in South Africa. Whilst commonly known as kota 
in Tembisa, Mamelodi, and other parts of the country, many refer 
to it as bunny chow in parts of KwaZulu-Natal. Skhambane is a 
more complicated type of sandwich comprising a quarter of bread 
stuffed with anything ranging from polony, achaar, potato chips, 
burger patty, meat, cheese, lettuce, cucumber and other 
ingredients. The price of the skhambane is determined by the 
stuffing preferred by the customer. Skhambanes are easily 
accessible in every section of Sharpeville; many pop-up stores are 
on Seiso Street. The growth of the student accommodation sector 
in Bedworth Park has encouraged the demand for bunny chow in 
the area, especially for its cost-efficiency. Many shops and 
vendors, especially on Cassandra Street, sell Kota.  

N
a
m

a
 y

a
 h

lo
g

o
 

A
n

im
a

l 
h

e
a

d
 

Nama ya hlogo is a Sesotho name for the meat found in the head 
of animals. Cow head meat is sold in many parts of Sharpeville, but 
mostly on weekends and in the mornings when the demand for it is 
high. The cow head soup is believed to improve male performance 
and reproduction. This is not scientifically proven, but scores of 
men have been seen drinking the soup combined with chilli pepper 
after eating pap and nama ya hlogo outside the Bedworth Centre 
in Bedworth Park. Nama ya hlogo is not limited to cows; it also 
includes heads of sheep, goats, and pigs.  

M
a

la
 M

o
g

o
d

u
 

O
ff

a
l/
a
n

im
a

l 
in

te
s
ti
n

e
 

Mala Mogodu is a Sotho name for an animal's stomach, usually 
goat, cow, and sheep. The intestines of these animals require 
intensive cleaning and are stubborn to cook, requiring lengthy 
periods for the cooking process. Cow offal remains dominant on 
the vendor's list in Sharpeville and most townships in South Africa. 
Mostly preferred as a winter dish because of its fat, it has gained 
traction in becoming a meal enjoyed in clubs and Shesa Nyamas 
throughout the country. This is evident in establishments 
throughout the country marketing the Monday meal of the day as 
‘Mogodu Monday’. Mala Mogodu is usually served with pap, 
steamed bread or, in some areas, samp.  

C
h
ic

k
e

n
 

d
u

s
t/

ru
n

a
w

a
y
s
 

C
h
ic

k
e

n
 

d
u

s
t/

ru
n

a
w

a
y
s
 Chicken feet, head, intestines, necks, gizzards, and full chickens 
are similar to the cuisine mentioned thus far. They are served on 
the streets of Sharpeville and parts of Bedworth Park. These are 
usually marinated and spiced before braaied. They are usually sold 
as a low-cost snack. Chicken feet can cost between R2-R5, and 
gizzards are sold as kebabs, costing the customer R10 on average.  

  



xi 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

DECLARATION .................................................................................................................................................. II 

PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................................... IV 

ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................................................... V 

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................................. VII 

LIST OF FIGURES .......................................................................................................................................... VIII 

GASTRONOMY TERMINOLOGY IN SHARPEVILLE .................................................................................... X 

TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................................................... XI 

CHAPTER ONE .................................................................................................................................................. 1 

INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 1 

1.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................... 1 

1.2 ORIENTATION ..................................................................................................................................................... 2 

1.3 BACKGROUND .................................................................................................................................................... 3 

1.4 PROBLEM STATEMENT ....................................................................................................................................... 7 

1.4.1 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .................................................................................................................................. 9 

1.4.2 SPECIFIC RESEARCH QUESTIONS ................................................................................................................... 9 

1.4.3 AIM OF THE STUDY .......................................................................................................................................... 9 

1.4.4 CENTRAL THEORETICAL STATEMENT ........................................................................................................... 10 

1.5 RESEARCH METHOD ........................................................................................................................................ 11 

1.5.1 SAMPLE......................................................................................................................................................... 11 

1.6.1 ORAL HISTORY .............................................................................................................................................. 13 

1.6.1.1 IMMERSION IN PLACE: RESEARCH DIARY REFLECTIONS AND ORAL HISTORY ........................................... 13 

1.6.2 INTERVIEWS .................................................................................................................................................. 23 

1.6.3 RESEARCH ETHICS ....................................................................................................................................... 24 

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ................................................................................................................................ 25 

CHAPTER TWO ................................................................................................................................................ 27 

LITERATURE AND HISTORIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................ 27 

2.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 27 

2.2 HISTORIOGRAPHY AND LITERATURE ANALYSIS ............................................................................................... 27 

2.3 TOWNSHIPS...................................................................................................................................................... 35 

2.4 FORCED REMOVALS ......................................................................................................................................... 37 

2.5 REGIONAL HISTORY ......................................................................................................................................... 39 

2.6 SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ................................................................................................................... 41 



xii 

2.7.1 LETTING AND SUBLETTING OF PROPERTY (SHANTYTOWNS) ........................................................................ 42 

2.7.2 ILLICIT PRODUCTION AND SELLING OF ALCOHOL .......................................................................................... 44 

2.8 THE SHARPEVILLE MASSACRE ........................................................................................................................ 45 

2.9 REFLECTION..................................................................................................................................................... 48 

CHAPTER THREE ............................................................................................................................................ 50 

THE FOUNDATION IS LAID: TOP LOCATION’S DEVELOPMENT AND DEMISE, 1920-1950 ............... 50 

3.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 50 

3.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................................................. 50 

3.3 THE SOUTH AFRICAN WAR AND VEREENIGING: THE MAKING OF PLACE ........................................................ 53 

3.4 THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF VEREENIGING .......................................................................................... 55 

3.5 TOP LOCATION: A PERMANENT TOWNSHIP ...................................................................................................... 60 

3.5.1 INFLUENCE OF URBANISATION ON AFRICAN CUSTOMS ................................................................................ 61 

3.5.2 ACCOMMODATING WORKERS IN TOP LOCATION AND INDUSTRY ................................................................. 64 

3.5.3 CLASS FORMATION, TENANCY AND BACKYARD SHACKS .............................................................................. 67 

3.5.4 BEER BREWING ............................................................................................................................................. 72 

3.5.5 FROM TOP LOCATION TO SHARPEVILLE ...................................................................................................... 77 

3.6 REFLECTION..................................................................................................................................................... 82 

CHAPTER FOUR ............................................................................................................................................... 84 

‘MODEL LOCATIONS’? CONTESTING SPACE, HOUSING ALLOCATIONS, AND COMMUNITY 

IDENTITY, 1940S-1994 ..................................................................................................................................... 84 

4.1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................. 84 

4.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................................................................. 86 

4.3 CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES IN SHARPEVILLE ................................................................................................ 87 

4.3.1 THE “MODEL” TOWNSHIP HOUSE .................................................................................................................. 91 

4.3.2 CHILDREN’S SPACES .................................................................................................................................... 95 

4.3.3 GARDENS ...................................................................................................................................................... 97 

4.3.4 SHARPEVILLE TWO OR FOUR-ROOM HOUSES AND OPEN STANDS ............................................................... 98 

4.3.5 SUPERINTENDENT / HOUSING MANAGERS .................................................................................................. 105 

4.3.6 CONSTRUCTION, FUNDS AND RENTALS IN SHARPEVILLE........................................................................... 110 

4.4 THE CONTROL OF LABOUR ............................................................................................................................. 118 

4.5 REFLECTION................................................................................................................................................... 120 

CHAPTER FIVE ............................................................................................................................................... 123 

‘DECONSTRUCTING’ THE LANDSCAPE: CONCEPTIONS OF HOME, HOUSING, AND IDENTITY, 

FROM APARTHEID TO DEMOCRACY ........................................................................................................ 123 

5.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 123 



xiii 

5.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................................................... 124 

5.3 DISCOURSES ON HOME ................................................................................................................................. 126 

5.3.1 MARXIST AND FEMINIST DISCOURSE ON HOME .......................................................................................... 126 

5.3.2 HOME AND MULTILOCALITY ........................................................................................................................ 132 

5.4 THE MAKING OF HOME IN SHARPEVILLE ........................................................................................................ 138 

5.4.1 HOME, HOMELESSNESS AND HOMEYNESS ................................................................................................. 139 

5.4.2 HOME: THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURE ............................................................................................................ 145 

5.4.3 CONVERSATIONS WITH RESIDENTS ABOUT HOME ...................................................................................... 147 

5.4.4 RENOVATIONS ............................................................................................................................................ 150 

5.4.5 MATERIAL POSSESSIONS ............................................................................................................................ 160 

5.4.6 TECHNOLOGY AND CHANGING GENDER ROLES.......................................................................................... 165 

5.5 REFLECTION................................................................................................................................................... 167 

CHAPTER SIX ................................................................................................................................................. 170 

BEYOND THE HOME: THE SHARPEVILLE MASSACRE AND THE MAKING AND UNMAKING OF 

HOME ............................................................................................................................................................... 170 

6.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 170 

6.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................................................... 170 

6.3 BELONGING BEYOND THE HOUSE/HOME........................................................................................................ 171 

6.3.1 THE SOCIAL LANDSCAPE OF SHARPEVILLE AND CULTURAL TRENDS ......................................................... 173 

6.3.2 BEER HALLS ................................................................................................................................................ 174 

6.3.3 CINEMAS, BEAUTY CONTESTS AND GANGS ................................................................................................ 176 

6.3.4 MUSIC ......................................................................................................................................................... 177 

6.3.5 SOCCER ...................................................................................................................................................... 180 

6.3.6 BOXING ....................................................................................................................................................... 182 

6.3.7 RELIGION .................................................................................................................................................... 184 

6.4 THE SHARPEVILLE MASSACRE ...................................................................................................................... 188 

6.4.1 DISCONTENTMENT BEFORE THE MASSACRE .............................................................................................. 188 

6.4.2 MARCH 1960 .............................................................................................................................................. 195 

6.4.3 THE SHARPEVILLE MASSACRE AND THE UNMAKING OF HOME .................................................................. 209 

6.4.4 “SHARPEVILLE IS NOT A MASSACRE” ......................................................................................................... 214 

6.5 BELONGING AND THE MAKING OF HOME IN A DEMOCRATIC SOUTH AFRICA ................................................. 217 

6.6 REFLECTION................................................................................................................................................... 224 

CHAPTER SEVEN .......................................................................................................................................... 225 

BEYOND SHARPEVILLE: SYMBOLS, CONSTRAINTS, CONTESTATIONS, AND OPPORTUNITIES 225 

7.1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................... 225 

7.2 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ........................................................................................................................... 226 



xiv 

7.3 THE PHYSICAL REMNANTS OF APARTHEID: AN OVERVIEW ............................................................................ 227 

7.4 SYMBOLIC CONNECTIONS BETWEEN TOWNSHIPS AND SUBURBIA ................................................................. 235 

7.5 THE VAAL RIVER CITY EXCHANGE ................................................................................................................ 243 

7.5.1 BRIDGING THE PHYSICAL ............................................................................................................................ 245 

7.5.2 INFRASTRUCTURAL RENEWAL .................................................................................................................... 246 

7.5.3 TOWNSHIP TOURISM DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL ....................................................................................... 247 

7.5.4 THE VAAL RIVER ........................................................................................................................................ 254 

7.5.6 INFRASTRUCTURE INEQUALITY ................................................................................................................... 255 

7.5.7 DISTRUST IN THE GOVERNMENT................................................................................................................. 257 

7.6 REFLECTION................................................................................................................................................... 258 

CHAPTER EIGHT ............................................................................................................................................ 260 

CONCLUSIONS AND REFLECTIONS .......................................................................................................... 260 

BIBLIOGRAPHY .............................................................................................................................................. 270 

ANNEXURE A: INFORMED CONSENT ..................................................................................................................... 298 

 



1 

CHAPTER ONE  

INTRODUCTION 

1.1 Introduction 

This thesis draws inspiration from the diverse range of historical perspectives presented 

at the Vaal University of Technology’s (VUT) inaugural commemoration of the 60th 

anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre in March 2020. Notably, Neville Felix, in his 

reflection on the development of Sharpeville, argued that “history should not be treated 

as an event.”1  In addition, Shan Bolton emphasised the importance of change, durability, 

longevity, and the sustenance of memories beyond the days when massacres and other 

historical events were remembered.2 This thesis is based on a people-centred history-

from-below approach, which was encouraged by the concerns expressed by Sharpeville 

residents during the commemoration.   

Sharpeville residents used the opportunity to express their disgruntlement with the lack 

of service delivery from the Emfuleni Local Municipality (ELM). The massacre is a turning 

point in the liberation history of South Africa, but the yearly contestations over service 

delivery are arguably devaluing the essence of the day. Furthermore, the 2024 

commemoration contestations yielded a youth perspective-laden clarion call that 

advocated for appreciating aspects of the community beyond the commemoration. These 

included the people who have historically contributed to the social and cultural 

transformation of the township. Furthermore, the township's physical landscape, including 

the Dlomo Dam, was expressed as a natural feature that accentuates and memorialises  

the history of place and belonging.  

Essentially, the lens on Sharpeville should sharply focus on the broader contemporary, 

current, and everyday experiences of township residents. Against this backdrop, the 

thesis, however, does not strain itself on detailing the particularities of the massacre – 

 

1 Neville Felix, Director at the Sedibeng district Municipality, was a panellist at the commemoration event 
and presented a talk on the history of Sharpeville. 

2 Shan Bolton, chairperson of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation based in Lenasia, in addition to Neville 
Felix accentuated the complex and expensive process of acquiring images of the Sharpeville 
massacre and how the process denies the totality of the narrative of Sharpeville. 



2 

this has, as shall be shown in the discussion, been dealt with exhaustively elsewhere. In 

line with the community’s clarion call, this thesis focuses on the history, growth, 

development, and change that shaped the trajectory of Sharpeville. 

The thesis escalates beyond the assumption that residents were entirely satisfied or 

dissatisfied with the living conditions in Sharpeville. By doing so through the lens of 

Ubuntu, it investigates the experiences of Sharpeville residents in post-democratic South 

Africa to analyse change over time in the broader experiences of community and the 

making of home. Through the oral history method and a thematic approach, unexplored 

nuances have extensively contributed to the meta-narrative on local histories and shed 

light on the everyday experiences of township residents. By doing so, perceptions 

towards housing, community, identity, symbols of apartheid, and environments, in 

addition to the socio-economic factors that informed residents’ perceptions, are analysed. 

Furthermore, the thesis situates Sharpeville's relevance amid the social and economic 

transformations taking place in its region because of the Vaal River City.  

1.2 Orientation 

Established in the 1940s, Sharpeville was constructed to accommodate Top Location's 

former residents and house employees of the nearby industrial areas of Vereeniging.3 

The 1960 massacre received immense attention from politicians, academics, and civil 

organisations on a global scale.4 As a result, the Sharpeville region has gained popularity 

as the cradle of human rights. The academic focus on events of such atrociousness tends 

to focus on the victims and perpetrators of the shootings rather than on the macro-

contextual dynamics affecting victims’ lives and their communities.5 In preserving the life 

 

3 J.M. Ngoaketsi, “An Introduction to the History of Sharpeville 1942-1996” (Honours diss., Potchefstroom 
University for CHE, 1998), 8. 

4 See K. Beavon, Johannesburg the Making and Shaping of the City (Pretoria: Unisa Press, 2005), 77; 
D.M. Scher, “The Consolidation of the Apartheid State, 1948-1966,” in A History of South Africa from 
the Distant Past to the Present day I, ed. F. Pretorius (Pretoria: Protea Book House, 2014), 329; R. 
Ross, A Concise History of South Africa (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 131.  

5 T. Lodge, Sharpeville, a Massacre and its Consequences (New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), 
74−75; and C. Nicholson, “Nothing Really Gets Better: Reflections on the Twenty-Five Years 
between Sharpeville and Uitenhage”, Human Rights Quarterly 8, no. 3 (1986): 512.  



3 

stories of victims, academics are increasingly becoming mindful of the broader histories 

of people and communities indirectly affected by massacres and apartheid legislation.6  

Historians have increasingly focused academic attention on regions' social and economic 

conditions to understand broader dynamics often neglected in regional histories.7 This 

tendency became accentuated when Sharpeville residents used the 60th-anniversary 

commemoration on 21 March 2020 to amplify their dissatisfaction with their living 

conditions, service delivery, and lack of agency in decision-making processes. Residents 

attending the commemoration furthermore expressed that they become relevant only 

during the annual commemorations in March. The community subsequently loses 

importance after the commemoration. Community members also alluded to broader 

societal problems in Sharpeville that the local government does not address.  

Against this backdrop, this thesis unpacks the mechanisms that Sharpeville residents 

implemented to challenge, comprehend, survive, and succeed since the 1940s. 

Therefore, a socio-economic perspective is critical in unpacking the everyday 

experiences that shape the township landscape, particularly Sharpeville, to provide a rich 

history of place and memory.  

1.3 Background 

Since the Union of South Africa (1910), legislation has separated the population 

according to race and ethnicity. This led to apartheid legislation (1948 - 1990) and social 

engineering endeavours, which increasingly became fixated towards maintaining 

geographical spaces between people. The study of Top Location and the subsequent 

move to Sharpeville, provides a unique vantage point for understanding the living 

conditions under segregation and apartheid. Further, it provides access to the adaptation 

 

6 P. Bonner and N. Nieftagodien, Alexandra a History (Johannesburg: WITS University Press, 2008), 20. 

7 E. Van Young, “Doing Regional History: A Theoretical Discussion and some Mexican Cases,” Yearbook 
Conference of Latin Americanist Geographers 20, no number (1994): 22; K. Hering, “That Food of 
the Memory Which Gives Life the Clue to Profitable Research: Oral History as a Source for Local, 
Regional, and Family History in the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century,” The Oral History 
Review 34, no. 2 (2007): 29; E.S. Van Eeden, "Regional, Local, Urban and Rural History as Nearby 
Spaces and Places: Historiographical and Methodological Reflections", New Contree 63, Special 
Edition (2012): 20; E.S. Van Eeden, "Challenging Traditional Ways of Constructing Local/Regional 
History Research in South Africa: Some Global Learning and Sharing," International Journal of 
Regional and Local History 9, no. 1 (2014): 34. 



4 

processes endeavoured by people in an ever-expanding capitalistic South Africa. The 

discourse on the history of Vereeniging traditionally articulates the town's economy and 

the importance of its African populace as labour.8 Revisionist discourse, influenced by a 

Marxist class-oriented perspective, acknowledges Top Location as the inception of some 

of the townships in the region. This helps trace the shifts, paradigms, and consequences 

of forced removals and relocations in the region beyond Sharpeville.  

Vally’s interrogation of the concept of ‘model location’ in Sharpeville points to the demand 

for labour in Vereeniging’s expanding iron and steel industry as an impetus for a 

cosmopolitan town in the 1940s.9 Chaskalson’s analysis of labour movements in the 

Vanderbijlpark area highlights industries' preference for migrant labour traditionally 

accommodated in compounds. Similarly to Vally, Chaskalson attributes the presence of 

migrant labour as a critical consequence of developing a freehold Top Location that 

provided labour for the nearby industries.10 This is further emphasised by the stellar works 

of Clark and Worger’s Voices of Sharpeville, which reference the expanding industrial 

region's origins within the framework of Company Town.11 This supplements the 

industry's dovetail nature in bringing to life communities and other relevant structures, 

such as governance and administration. 

The thesis demonstrates how moving from Top Location to Sharpeville, whether coerced 

or by choice, increased the distances between workplaces and homes. Chaskalson notes 

the economic benefits enjoyed by employees housed on compounds during the 1940s, 

usually on factory property, compared to those who found shelter in shanty structures 

administered by landlords.12 This thesis accentuates the changes that have taken place 

 

8 S. Trapido, "Putting a Plough to the Ground, a History of Tenant Production on the Vereeniging Estates 
1896-1920," In Collected Seminar Papers. Institute of Commonwealth Studies 33 (1984):  59-81. 

9 N.T. Vally, “The ‘Model Township’ of Sharpeville: The Absence of Political Action and Organisation, 
1960-1984” (MA diss., University of the Witwatersrand, 2010), 39. 

10 M. Chaskalson, “The Road to Sharpeville: A History of South African Townships in the 1950s” (Honours 
diss., University of the Witwatersrand, 1985), 6. 

11 N.L. Clark and W.H. Worger, Voices of Sharpeville: The Long History of Racial Injustice (New York: 
Routledge, 2024), 21. 

12 Chaskalson, “The Road to Sharpeville”, 5.   



5 

in the region and how, especially after 1994, Sharpeville arguably transformed from a 

group area to a self-determined community.  

The thesis also elaborates on the socio-economic consequences of removals and 

adaptation processes endeavoured by the community members. The existing historical 

scholarship on the generational impact of forced removals on the socio-economic well-

being of the victims of removals, in both global and national historiography,13 does not 

until recently include Sharpeville (see Clark and Worger’s Voices of Sharpeville).14 A 

people-centred approach15 used in oral research will enhance the discourse on the region 

and contribute nuances to the existing literature.  

Malenga’s case study on the development of Daveyton emphasises the importance of 

ethnic tension before and after the relocation of forcefully removed communities.16 This 

analysis is applied to Top Location and Sharpeville in assessing the social distances 

between relocated people, as emphasised by Chaskalson, and how they played out in 

Sharpeville over time.17 The thesis contributes to the body of knowledge by investigating 

societal divisions as a consequence of social engineering, or the lack thereof, within 

 

13 R. Hallett, “Desolation on the Veld: Forced Removals in South Africa,” African Affairs 83 (1984): 
301−320; K Henrard, “Post-Apartheid South Africa: Transformation and Reconciliation,” World Affairs 
166, no. 1 (2003): 37−55; D. Newton, “Forced removals in South Africa,” South African Review – 
SARS 5 (1990): 403−414; L. Platzky and C. Walker, The Surplus People: Forced Removals in South 
Africa (Johannesburg: Ravan Press, 1985); C. Landman, “Telling Sacred Stories Eersterust and the 
Forced Removals of the 1960s,” Religion and Theology 6, no. 3 (1999): 415−427; I. Hofmeyr, 
“Gender, Patterns of Story-telling and Forced Removals: A Transvaal Perspective,” Collected 
Seminar Papers Institute of Commonwealth Studies 44 (1992): 39−53; K. Gopalan, “Forced 
Relocations, Memory and Nostalgia Amongst Indian South Africans in Post-Apartheid South Africa,” 
Alternation Journal 24, no. 1 (2017): 270−93; W. Beinart, P. Delius, and S. Trapido eds., Putting a 
Plough to the Ground: Accumulation and Dispossession in Rural South Africa, 1850-1930 (New 
History of Southern Africa Series) (Johannesburg: Ravan Press, 1986); W. Beinart and S. Dubow, 
Segregation and Apartheid in Twentieth Century South Africa (London and New York: Routledge, 
1995). 

14 Clark and Worger, Voices of Sharpeville, 5.  

15 B. Bozzoli and M. Nkotsoe, Women of Phokeng, Consciousness, Life Strategy, and Migrancy in South 
Africa, 1900-1983 (Johannesburg: Heinemann, 1991), 148, placed an overwhelming emphasis on 
people’s experiences which shed light on the interconnections between space, authority and agency.  

16 S.S. Malinga, “The Establishment of Black Townships in South Africa with Particular Reference to the 
Establishment of Daveyton Township on the East Rand” (MA diss., University of Johannesburg, 
1997), 57−59. 

17 Chaskalson, “The Road to Sharpeville,” 24. 



6 

Sharpeville. Divisions were noticeably exacerbated by the nature of the removals and the 

absence of social mechanisms to induct new community members.  

Mindful of the dynamics of forced removals and relocation elsewhere in South Africa, 

most freehold townships' histories have pondered the processes that led to removals and 

relocation in townships such as Sophiatown,18 District 6,19 and Cato Manor.20 In doing so, 

leading academic thought has increasingly emphasised the ambiguous relationships 

between national and local governments in implementing removals and relocations.21 In 

some instances, the ambitions of separate development22 were envisaged and 

implemented by the Apartheid government since 1948. This instilled social, economic, 

and political separateness between races.23 Fundamentally, it led to instances where 

forced removals had taken place without relocation measures being implemented for the 

destitute. The outcomes were homelessness or temporary housing until the local 

authorities declared Group Areas for them.24  

The announcement of removals and relocation in Top Location triggered division. This 

thesis analyses the perceptions and experiences of Sharpeville residents towards the 

removals during the 1950s. It also discusses the municipality’s methods, including 

coercion, and its justification for removals. Doing so broadens the discourse on the 

 

18 T. Lodge, “The Destruction of Sophiatown,” The Journal of Modern African Studies 19, no. 1 (1981): 
124. 

19 D. Jethro, “’Waar val jy uit?’ District Six, sacred space, and identity in Cape Town,” Journal for the 
Study of Religion in South Africa 22, no. 1 (2009): 23.  

20 I. Edwards, “Cato Manor: Cruel Past, Pivotal Future,” Review of African Political Economy 21, no. 61 
(1994): 416. 

21 Compare with J. Butler, Cradock, How Segregation and Apartheid came to a South African Township 
(USA: University of Virginia Press, 2017), 124. 

22 The Apartheid government developed a separate development policy, whereby each of the nine African 
(Bantu) groups was to become a nation with its own homeland, or Bantustan. They had rights and 
freedoms only within the confines of the designated homeland, while outside the reserves they were 
to be classed as foreigners. 

23 Butler, Cradock, 124. 

24 Indian people were temporarily placed in a military camp during the 1950s after the removals of 
Sophiatown due to lack of accommodation. See L.T. Leta, "‘It was no different to a prison camp’: 
Oral Accounts of Adaptations, Transitions and Surviving an ‘Emergency Camp’; from Sophiatown to 
Ammunition Depot 91, 1955-1960s," HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies 77, no. 2 (2021). 
4. 



7 

processes that shaped perceptions of their new environment during different stages of 

their lives. These experiences also shaped the preconceptions of an apartheid township 

transitioning into a democratic dispensation after 1994.  

1.4 Problem statement  

Political and legislative measures designed to ensure spatial segregation have profoundly 

shaped South Africa's socio-economic and historical landscape.25 The enactment of the 

Group Areas Act of 1950 and the Urban Areas Act of 1923 triggered widespread forced 

removals that uprooted several communities across the country.26 While much scholarly 

attention has been devoted to relocations in places such as Sophiatown, District Six, and 

Cato Manor, there remains a significant gap in the historiography of Sharpeville as a 

'model location' and the long-term consequences of its development. The relocation from 

Top Location to Sharpeville was characterised by administrative and political hiccups that 

prolonged the relocation and the issuing of houses.27 Housing was developed and 

allocated slowly, exacerbating social divisions and creating territorial rivalry. For example, 

people who arrived much earlier in Sharpeville were often hostile towards those arriving 

later, particularly in Sharpeville Extension 1.28 Rivalry manifested in the arts, sports, and 

the development of gang activity, caused by youth unemployment and industry's 

preference for Basotho migrant labourers instead of the Sharpeville youth.29  

Existing literature has insufficiently explored the impact of apartheid-era removals on 

perceptions of home and community in Sharpeville and the broader socio-economic 

transformation of the township post-1994. This thesis investigates how Sharpeville 

evolved from a state-imposed 'model location' into a self-determined community following 

the end of apartheid. It examines how studies on home perceptions have opened avenues 

 

25 C. Rasool, “The rise of heritage and the reconstitution of history in South Africa,” Kronos: Journal of 
Cape History 26, no. 1 (2000): 1. 

26 Platzky and Walker, The Surplus People, 67. 

27 Chaskalson, “The Road to Sharpeville,” 4. 

28 I. Jeffrey, “Cultural Trends and Community Formation in a South African Township: Sharpeville 
1943−1985” (MA diss., University of the Witwatersrand, 1991), 68. 

29 Jeffrey, “Cultural Trends,” 71. 



8 

for robust research on the meaning and importance of community, home, homelessness, 

and ‘homeliness’.30 The thesis considers the mechanism of apartheid legislation and its 

influence on the perceptions of ‘home’ in South African townships before and after forced 

removals. It explores the extent to which houses built by the state have played a role in 

forming community relations and possibly social cohesion. In her study of hostel dwellers, 

Ramphele transcends the politics of Group Areas by analysing the experiences of 

residents living in apartheid architecture designed for temporary dwellers.31 Sulevi 

interrogates the evolving meaning of home and how people perceive and construct 

home.32  

The thesis is not solely concerned with physical structures but with how the individual and 

collective shape the nature and meaning of home. It examines how meaning changes 

over time and differs from one house to another in different political contexts. It 

interrogates the nature of homes/houses, as articulated by those who dwell in such 

houses, to determine the factors that make a house a home.33 The home/house exists 

within an immediate context and, therefore, collaborates with external factors to shape a 

community. This includes museums, sports, culture, service delivery, politics, massacres, 

and political unrest, especially in South Africa. Symbiotically, all these factors, especially 

under apartheid rule, contributed to identity formation processes and experiences worth 

analysing to reflect change over time.   

Sharpeville’s history is incomplete without a deeper understanding of its socio-economic 

and cultural transformations from the 1940s to the present. This study seeks to fill a critical 

gap in the historiography of Sharpeville, providing new insights into forced removals, 

relocation experiences, and the changing meanings of home and community over time. 

 

30 S. Riukulehto and K. Rinne-Koski, A House a Home (UK: Cambridge: 2016), 25. 

31 M. Ramphele, A Bed Called Home: Life in the Migrant Labour Hostels of Cape Town (Cape Town: 
David Phillip Publishers, 1993), 41. 

32 Riukulehto and Rinne-Koski, A House, 25. 

33 I first encountered the concept of home and homeliness in A House a Home. The authors interrogated 
the diverse meaning of home, which I applied to Sharpeville to determine how residents redefine 
their spaces amid political influences and control.  



9 

 

1.4.1 Research questions  

The overarching question guiding this study is: 

How did the socio-economic history of change take shape in Sharpeville, South Africa, 

between 1940 and 2020s?  

To unpack this question, the following specific questions were pursued: 

1.4.2 Specific research questions 

a. What were the social, economic and political nature and the broader repercussions 

of removals from Top Location during the 1950s?  

b. How can oral history strategies reveal the processes of housing allocation in 

Sharpeville and residents' perceptions of community, home, identity, and space?   

c. To what extent has Sharpeville society changed since the 1950s, and how have 

residents ‘decolonised’ or deconstructed the landscape of former Group Areas 

during the 1990s?  

d. How did the Sharpeville community transcend political epochs, particularly from 

the 1960 massacre to a democratic South Africa?   

e. What roles do symbolism, constraints, contestations and opportunities play in 

extending Sharpeville beyond its apartheid social borders?  

1.4.3 Aim of the study 

The study aims to analyse socio-economic changes in Sharpeville from the 1940s to the 

2020s to provide a comprehensive and community-focused history that transcends the 

singular political narrative of the 1960 massacre. The research seeks to illuminate the 

agency of residents in shaping the township’s evolution and identity. To achieve this aim, 

the study pursued the following objectives namely to: 

a. Examine Top Location's social, political, and economic nature and the broader 

repercussions of the move from Top Location to the ‘model location’ Sharpeville 

during the 1950s.  

b. Analyse the housing allocation process in Sharpeville and people’s perceptions 

of community, home, identity, and space from 1940 to the 2020s. 



10 

c. c. Assess the mechanisms and agency used by Sharpeville residents to 

reshape and redesign the township's tangible and non-tangible characteristics.  

d. Investigate how the Sharpeville community navigated political epochs, focusing 

on their perceptions of the Sharpeville massacre and a township in a 

democratic South Africa. 

e. Identify and assess old and new symbols, constraints, contestations and 

opportunities in place-making and their influence on Sharpeville’s socio-spatial 

transformation.  

1.4.4 Central theoretical statement 

The bedrock of the thesis is the analysis of the home making strategies used by residents 

to make sense of place and to mediate socioeconomic changes in their contexts.. This 

analysis will inform the complex approach to determining the socio-economic history of 

Sharpeville and the impact of social engineering mechanisms. This includes how 

literature critiques cause-effect relationships concerning apartheid, forced removals, 

inequality, and general critiques of race, particularly the history of Sharpeville and the 

changes in the community and homes.  

The overarching theoretical framework used to understand the evolution of the region is 

the theory of socio-economic change. This theory can be understood from diverse 

disciplinary standpoints. The economic positionality, amongst others, analyses economic 

changes within a community, region, country or at the global level to fathom economic 

changes over time. The social aspects, on the other hand, are much broader and 

complex, and require specific focus on the evolution of broader phenomena in society’s 

transformation. This thesis considers change to be an impactful phenomenon on 

societies. In the context of Top Location, change is considered to have been a 

consequence of economic development that stimulated in-migration and eventually 

population growth. The thesis also considers people’s agency in opposing or embracing 

everyday changes in their lives, which is regarded as a strategy implemented, at times 

using Ubuntu, to manage political, economic, and social changes. Whilst the 

manufacturing industry experienced a growth trajectory in the 1940s, this was an 

opportune moment for changes in employment and settlement patterns of vast areas in 



11 

the Johannesburg region.34 However, whilst this thesis can provide accounts of change 

management strategies in Top Location and Sharpeville (during and after apartheid), the 

enormity and complexity of change are difficult, if not impossible, to measure. People’s 

experiences shed light on how ubuntu assisted in designing community and home in 

unfamiliar contexts. Furthermore, change can be characterised or enforced by violence 

thus contributing to the destruction of the community. In addition, change may create, 

generally, instability whilst the lack of change may in turn contribute to instability.35 Yet, 

these moments, this thesis contends, have provided opportunities for nation building, 

solidarity and the redevelopment of the community through ubuntu.  

1.5 Research method  

This study employed a qualitative research approach, integrating oral history and semi-

structured interviews to explore Sharpeville's socio-economic evolution from the 1940s to 

the 2020s. The historical inquiry foregrounds residents' perceptions concerning legislative 

changes, forced removals, and the socio-political landscape under apartheid and in post-

apartheid South Africa.  

Oral history is central to this methodology, offering rich, subjective narratives that 

complement traditional documentary sources. The approach adopts a multidisciplinary 

lens, drawing from regional, cultural, public, and national histories and economic and 

social history. Semi-structured interviews were employed to capture the lived experiences 

of Sharpeville residents. Open-ended questions enabled participants to articulate their 

memories, life stories, and perceptions, particularly those from older generations who 

witnessed critical socio-political changes. 

1.5.1 Sample 

The initial interviewee process comprised informal conversations with more than fifty (50) 

people in Sharpeville, Tshepiso, and Boipatong townships. The reference list consists of 

twenty-seven (27) interviewees whose articulations have shaped the thesis. The 

 

34 D. Posel, The Making of Apartheid 1948-1961 Conflict and Compromise, (Clarendon Press, 1997), 27.  

35 A. Lauterbach, “Socio-Economic Instability and Personal Insecurity,” The American Journal of 
Economics and Sociology 12, no. 1 (1952): 37. 



12 

curtailment in the sample size was caused by inconsistent and questionable romanticised 

narratives that were nullified by consultations with archival information and secondary 

sources. Evidently, incorrect names of the facilities were often provided, aspersions were 

cast on famous people in Sharpeville who were politically active during apartheid, and 

affiliations to political parties, which could not be proven, amongst others, were some of 

the conundrums that reduced the sample size. Another factor, a conversation for another 

day, was potential respondents' hesitance to participate in the research because of the 

lack of compensation for their histories and time. The researcher has coined this 

experience “the commercialisation of history”.  

The sample comprises the youth who were generally 18-35 years of age. This age gap 

had contemporary and modern views of Sharpeville that embraced the historical 

significance of the Sharpeville Massacre but advocated for representation and voice in 

the community issues that affect them. Also, they are prone to oscillate between the 

various townships and suburbs in the region because of the networks made in schools, 

sporting fields, and other social events in the townships. Multilocality was a key aspect in 

their socialisation with space. A significant number of responses ranged from 36-55 year 

olds, and a smaller number of the sample were over 60 years of age. These respondents 

were pivotal in tracing change over time in Sharpeville and the making of place. Gender 

representation, as shall be seen, skewed more towards male interviewees; a small 

percentage of the sample were women whose histories and domestic experiences 

shaped experiences within and outside the household.  

Though the majority of interviewees spoke Sesotho, some of the respondents who 

inhabited the backrooms in Sharpeville were from Zimbabwe. They opted to reside in 

Sharpeville’s backrooms because of cost containment strategies, accessibility to places 

of employment, and friendly neighbours. The sample, furthermore, comprised a smaller 

proportion of university students, employed and self-employed individuals (mainly in the 

informal sector), pensioners, and unemployed people.  

 



13 

1.6.1 Oral history 

As acknowledged in literature, “history evokes a narrative of the past, and oral history a 

medium of expression”.36 The study of history concerns the critical and objective 

presentation of the past. Oral historians create environments in which respondents recall 

and express their narratives. Portelli describes the relationship shared by oral narratives 

and history as intrinsically intertwined and beneficial for historical inquiry.37 Furthermore, 

Scobie’s Family and Community History through Oral History positions interviewees as 

rich sources of historical information that are “even more critical as the principal historical 

source.”38  

Oral history offers nuanced perspectives on the unexplored histories of people’s 

experiences in varied times. In addition, oral history enhances a bottom-up approach that 

accentuates the experiences of communities.  Given the historical nature of the study, 

the research design follows a historical structure for source collection and analysis, 

integrating qualitative methods, including a literature review and interviews. This 

multidisciplinary approach engages regional, cultural, public, and national histories in 

South Africa and economic and social history domains. 

1.6.1.1 Immersion in place: research diary reflections and oral history 

This thesis focuses on a single location comprising people who arguably share collective 

memories and experiences due to their proximity. The interconnectedness of township 

residents has inevitably facilitated a snowball effect, contributing to recollections of the 

past and enriching the research focus. Before the academic decision to research 

Sharpeville, the researcher had social and economic interactions with its residents that 

created opportune moments to meet the people of Sharpeville. These engagements 

varied in form, including sporadic conversations with acquaintances who resided in 

Sharpeville or had long-standing economic and social ties to the township. 

 

36 A. Portelli, “Oral History as Genre,” in M. Chamberlain and P. Thompson, Narrative and Genre (UK: 
Routledge, 1997), 23. 

37 Portelli, “Oral History as Genre,” 23.   

38 I.W. Scobie, “Family and Community History through Oral History,” The Public Historian 1, no. 4 
(Summer 1979): 38. 



14 

Academic interest in the township was further stimulated by discourse at VUT’s inaugural 

commemoration and informal Sunday conversations with acquaintances at a car wash on 

Seiso Street. Beyond offering impeccable services and affordable prices compared to 

neighbouring Vanderbijlpark, the car wash became a space for cultural engagement. 

Culinary experiences, including the Shisa nyama at Rhythm Lounge and the skhambane 

(bunny chow) sold by entrepreneurs, were pivotal avenues for immersion in Sharpeville’s 

cultural spaces. The enticing aroma of charcoal smoke infused with spices and marinade 

provided sensory experiences that vividly marked these moments as memorable. Like 

many former residents of South African townships, as detailed in Chapter 7, the 

researcher oscillated between Vanderbijlpark and Sharpeville to access township 

experiences and cuisine. 

 

Immersion was essential for gaining a first-hand understanding of place. The vibrant 

ambience of Sharpeville was defined by melodic whistles from township youth 

communicating in hidden codes, the leisurely walks of elderly churchgoers, and the 

disapproving glances from teetotallers directed at inebriated youths near the Sharpeville 

Memorial Precinct. The occasional sight of Dlomo Dam, the flamboyant display of Italian 

fashion, and the echoes of "beke le beke" (week after week) reflecting loyalty to Italian 

clothing brands added to the township's unique character. This lively atmosphere and the 

covert appreciation for the beauty of township life offered much-needed relief from the 

monotony, quiet, and social isolation of Vanderbijlpark's SE7 suburb. The escape from 

this suburb, with its ambivalent blend of privilege, class, and Whiteness, also invoked 

childhood memories of growing up in Ekurhuleni’s township of Tembisa.  

It was an opportunity to reconnect with the ambience, cuisine, music, latest fashion 

trends, and people in townships. These heuristic-laden sensory occasions are constant 

reminders of the similarities between the physical layout of township streets and houses 

in townships of South Africa. Still, the interactions with township people highlighted the 

social peculiarities and particularities that made them distinct and only accessible through 

immersion of self with place. This was pivotal in shaping a historical narrative that is not 

distant from people’s experiences. Dunaway posits that “empathy and detailed research 

into an event or period allow us to view events approximately as participants did in their 



15 

own time”.39 The immersion of self in the community, without any research inclination, as 

experienced in Sharpeville, was eye-opening. It formed a pathway to the sensitivities that 

a researcher with recording technologies and a note pen would have been oblivious to. 

Furthermore, informal and unregulated conversations with locals tended to eradicate the 

outsider syndrome more efficiently than entering a community as a researcher. Locals 

were more concerned about the ‘outsiders’ upbringing, township affiliation, sports 

preference, clothing, religious background, cuisine, etc. They shared experiences and life 

histories spontaneously, without speaking in a relevant tone to the academic researcher 

and his/her recording devices.  At the precise moment when the researcher enters a 

community imbued with research methods and university-approved determinations of 

ethical conduct, the outsider syndrome kicks in, and interviewees possibly construct 

bulwarks.40 

In this instance, bulwarks were constructed for many reasons, varying from language 

proficiency and accent to appearance and, among other things, material possessions. 

Language proficiency is worth consideration. Brooke’s study of language usage in 

Ekhurhuleni’s township of Vosloorus accentuates the contextual complexities of 

language.41 The youth has arguably continued the historical legacy of informal language 

that is often categorised as tsotsitaal or urban slang.42 The presence of a variety of 

languages often results in the mixture of languages and cultures to form informal ways of 

speaking:  

The main languages of communication in Vosloorus are urban varieties of Zulu and South 

Sotho. In contrast to rural varieties, these urban varieties borrow more extensively from 

other languages—particularly English, but also Afrikaans and other Bantu languages, 

 

39 D.K. Dunaway. "Field Recording Oral History" The Oral History Review 15, no. 1 (1987): 25.  

40 These recollections are taken from my personal research diary from interviews conducted in 
Johannesburg South.  

41 H. Brookes, "Urban Youth Languages in South Africa: A Case Study of Tsotsitaal in a South African 
Township," Anthropological linguistics 56, no. 3 (2014): 360.  

42 Brookes, “Urban Youth Languages,” 360.  



16 

depending on the history of the speakers in the area and with whom they came into 

contact.43 

Language “plays an important role in defining who we are and makes us instantly 

recognisable to other members of our particular speech community”.44 Language creates 

opportune moments for acculturation and assimilation into communities. Still, in some 

instances, language has been noted to create stereotypes, the labelling of others, and 

“boundary creation” between people.45 The researcher brings into the participants’ locality 

cultures drawn from their broader social spaces, which are inevitably transmitted by the 

spoken language. This was instantly recognised by respondents in Sharpeville, 

particularly the younger generations who preferred to converse in a combination of 

Sesotho and a bit of Afrikaans. In most instances, the elderly interplayed between 

Afrikaans and Sesotho, whilst the younger participants' responses borrowed from 

Sesotho and, surprisingly, from Afrikaans. The transmission of township language has 

arguably bequeathed language styles and a selection of words from Afrikaans and the 

older generation to the younger sector of the community.46 This has been evidenced as 

a strategy to induce belonging and familiarity with space and people. 

Being a regular in Sharpeville beyond the Sunday car wash conversations had benefits. 

Familiarity with the place and people created an awareness of social and cultural 

dynamics and a sense of belonging that gradually obliterated the ‘outsider syndrome’. 

Anyone older was addressed as a ‘grootman’ (derived from the Afrikaans word big 

brother). Being constantly called ‘grootman’ or ‘swaer’ (also taken from the Afrikaans 

language meaning brother-in-law) was a respectful demeanour of affirmation, recognition 

and respect that Sharpeville residents gradually attached in the refinement and 

contextualisation of Sesotho and Afrikaans when referencing the township folk. Also, 

knowledge of community-sensitive issues became clandestine conversations whose 

 

43 Brookes, "Urban Youth Languages,” 360.  

44 C. Dyers, "Language Shift or Maintenance? Factors Determining the Use of Afrikaans Among Some 
Township Youth in South Africa." Stellenbosch Papers in Linguistics 38 (2008): 51. 

45 S. Rudwick, "Coconuts” and “Oreos”: English‐speaking Zulu People in a South African 
township," World Englishes 27, no. 1 (2008): 112. 

46 Researcher observations during conversations with some of the youth in Sharpeville.   



17 

sensitivities were often communicated in non-verbal expressions (a complex form of 

language) pointing to objects of memory. For instance, even when imbibed with alcoholic 

beverages, following social occasions, some of the acquaintances timidly, with a unique 

nod occasionally and clandestinely pointed to sensitive places. 

These nods were towards a seemingly neglected house that belonged to a councillor who 

was allegedly murdered following the turmoil that characterised Sharpeville in the 1980s 

and 1990s.  Chapter 7 discusses this house as a monument for dark tourism in the region. 

Outsiders pursuing research interests should immerse themselves in the complex 

dynamics of communication patterns unique to each township. The inability to do so, as 

experience in Sharpeville has shown, could lead to a missed opportunity in the cultural 

knowledge embedded in non-verbal communication. This is usually expressed through 

nods, hand-signings, eyes, and silences.  

An analysis of the minutiae's non-verbal display towards the monumental meaning of the 

house was quickly tamed by snippets of fear. It was accentuated supposedly through 

childhood tales that shaped nuanced mythology, ambiguities, taboo, and respect around 

the house. Worthy of consideration is the o se ke wa pimpa (‘do not snitch’, a mpimpi is 

a person that snitches) normality that is engrained in young African children and township 

folk. This normality may have contributed to the fear of ostracisation, distrust from 

community members, victimisation and violent repercussions from those involved in the 

incident related to the house. Woldoff and Weis contend that:  

While there are many reasons why individuals choose not to report crimes to police, the 

potential of being stigmatized as a snitch can certainly influence reporting decisions.  The 

snitch is a despised character, and being labelled as a snitch can potentially place 

individuals at risk of social stigma and physical harm.  Within specific social groups, the 

snitch is a traitor who reveals group secrets or cooperates with a group’s enemies, 

whether they are peer rivals, outsiders, or formal authority figures, such as the police. 

Though the snitch’s motives for informing can be altruistic, he or she is mostly seen as 

betraying the group.47 

 

47 R. Woldoff and K.G. Weiss, "Stop Snitchin’: Exploring Definitions of the Snitch and Implications for 
Urban Black Communities," Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture 17, no. 1 (2010): 185. 



18 

Snitches or informants declared guilty by the kangaroo courts assembled by apartheid 

township community members were subjected to harsh sentences. Punishment often 

included petrol bombing of properties belonging to the ‘snitch’ or the infamous inhumane 

‘necklacing’ of ‘snitches’. Mbongeni Ngema and William Nicholson’s Sarafina exposed 

the latter to the broader South Africa. In the movie, Sabelo, played by Mbongemi Ngema, 

a police official, is seen fleeing a mob of protesters after the torching of his house. Upon 

arrest, one of the protesters poured petrol on his mercy-begging body as he looked 

staringly into the eyes of Sarafina, played by Lelethi Khumalo. At least temporarily, the 

scene of his flaming body was liberatory; one less snitch in the township.48 Snitches are 

despised. In the context of township research, speaking to journalists, researchers, and 

other parties of interest is evident to by-passers, neighbours, and gossipmongers.49 The 

township has limited privacy, see-through fences, busy streets, and loitering, and the 

close proximity of houses to the streets and each other makes for easy surveillance. The 

presence of a researcher is even more apparent, and in some cases, communities 

become concerned with the discussions taking place and the potential for ‘snitching’ on 

community affairs.50 

Let us return to Sharpeville and the ‘house’. When asked about the house in a formal 

interview, most interviewees refused to discuss it. Respondents sometimes attempted to 

redirect the conversation to another topic strategically. The physically onerous but 

mentally stimulating and informative walk of Sharpeville under the banner of ‘get to know 

the township’ accentuates complexities. Mr Ncala's admirable recollections of the 

township were stimulated by trees, old buildings, roads, schools, etc. Mr Ncala, having 

walked more than 10 kilometres, was articulate and immaculately projected his voice 

without a hint of short breath and swallowing of words. We had not consumed water or 

any other beverage for more than two hours. Albeit suggesting we take a break and buy 

cooldrink from the Indian (often referred to as Makuleng, a derogatory term used by the 

locals to describe Indian-owned shops) shop in Vuka. He objected to the offer because 

 

48 Researchers observations. 

49 Researchers observations. 

50 Researchers' diary on research conducted in Sophiatown and Lenasia. These observations have also 
been noted on tourist excursions in Soweto and Sharpeville.  



19 

of the distrust the community, in general, has against the counterfeit foods and products 

allegedly sold by the Indian-owned shops in the region. The township’s discontent with 

foreign-owned spaza shops became vivid in October 2024. Counterfeit goods sold by 

spaza shops allegedly caused the death of children in some parts of South African 

townships; this contributed to efforts to drive out foreign-owned shops in Sharpeville.51 

Returning to the streets near the Mohlodi Maritime School, using non-verbal 

communication learnt previously, Mr Ncala Senior was asked, with a nod towards the 

house, if he had any recollections. He responded with a familiar, sombre, and almost 

silent whisper, delivered cautiously with an inspectional gaze and heightened awareness 

of potential nearby listeners. Once again, it was seemingly taboo to talk about it. It was 

also challenging to make sense of his drowning voice. It seemed from his broken, sunken 

delivery that the house belonged to a ‘councillor’ who died a painful but usual death 

associated with political turmoil in townships. The man in question was Jacob Dlamini, 

deputy mayor in the apartheid era, Lekoa Town Council. It was the traumatic violence 

supposedly committed by some residents of Sharpeville that increasingly complicated the 

township's framing of the discourse on the event. A group of protesters allegedly stoned 

Dlamini’s house when the township was engulfed with violence following rent increments 

that, amongst other issues, led to a state of emergency under the presidency of PW Botha 

in the 1980s. Dlamini arguably embodied state demeanour and was a representative of 

a regime that protesters detested; it was for this reason that protesters allegedly attacked 

his house. The similarities between Dlamini and Sabelo’s incident in Sarafina are 

strikingly similar. To deter the protesters, Dlamini, it is reported, shot at the protesters, 

injuring a lady.52 Although Sabelo did not shoot at the protesters, upon his escape from 

the premises, a mob managed, after chasing him, to detain and inflict a formidable attack 

on him. Dlamini experienced a similar ordeal:  

They wrestled him to the ground outside Maile’s kitchen door, disarmed him and began 

assaulting him. Other residents, also unidentified, joined in. They stoned Dlamini around 

 

51 M. Koka, Sunday World, “Why Sharpeville is driving out foreign spaza shop owners”, 21 October 2024, 
https://sundayworld.co.za/news/why-sharpeville-is-driving-out-foreign-spaza-shop-owners/. 

52 J. Dlamini, “Embittered Histories: the other Sharpeville and the Making of South African Pasts”, 14 
March 2011 https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/embittered-histories-other-sharpeville-and-making-
of-south-african-pasts-0/  



20 

the head, knocking him out. As Dlamini lay unconscious outside Maile’s door, some 

residents pushed his car out of the garage and onto Nhlapo Street. They turned the car 

on its side and set it alight. As the flames consumed the car, two or three people, also 

never identified, dragged Dlamini’s limp body to his burning car. They set him alight. He 

was alive but unconscious.53 

The objective of the analysis of Dlamini’s incident is not to ponder or provide a deep 

historical analysis of the event but to accentuate the complexities and limitations of 

conducting oral histories without having immersed oneself in the intricacies of place. 

Immersion was an opportunity to frame and understand the community’s complex 

positionality on violence, its history, and its articulation in a post-democratic dispensation. 

The violence broadly associated with forced removals, relocations, massacres, and 

protest action in South Africa has arguably normalised violence in townships. Violence in 

the context of apartheid South Africa’s townships had, to a large extent, political 

underpinnings.54 To eradicate what was deemed as alleged askaris in apartheid South 

Africa, communities, in their rage, executed government operators, spies, informants, 

snitches or ‘dipimpi’ in an extremely violent and excruciating form known as necklacing.55 

The incident in Sharpeville’s Vuka section is but one of the many incidents in South 

African townships that contributed to violent eruptions that remain, in some contexts, 

sensitive and controversial issues amongst township residents.  

Walking the streets, hanging out with the locals, eating their food, drinking their beer, and 

talking their language - without the framework of an ethnographer or interviewer - proved 

more beneficial than formal interviews. Ethnographical approaches, especially in works 

like Charles Van Onselen’s The Seed is Mine,56 Delius’s work on the Transvaal and 

 

53 Dlamini, “Embittered Histories”. 

54 S. Mbuqe. "Political Violence in South Africa: A Case Study of" Necklacing" in Colesberg," (PhD 
dissertation., Duquesne University (2010), 11.  

55 M. Riedwaan, “A Prose of Ambivalence: Liberation Struggle Discourse on Necklacing”, Kronos 36. no. 
1 (2010): 137. 

56 C. Van Onselen, The Seed is Mine: The Life of Kas Maine, a South African Sharecropper, 1894-1985, 
(New York, Hill and Wang 1997). 



21 

Bozzoli’s Women of Phokeng57, along with other revisionists' work involving extensive 

fieldwork and interviews, highlight the value of people-oriented historical methods. These 

works broadly emphasise understanding the experiences of the participants/interviewees 

through their narratives and perspectives. These were moments of undoing and 

unlearning pivotal for acclimatisation and, arguably, acculturation into the social context. 

Fundamentally, the academic cap, worn typically by researchers entering the field with 

the primary objective of attaining information, was, unfortunately, limiting. “The historical 

interviewer does not apply standards of his/her own time or of his/her subculture to 

historical testimony; s/he is in the business of eliciting witnessed facts and constructing a 

historical frame of reference that is neutral, as much as possible, for these facts.58 

The interviewer's elitist (class, education, and material wealth displayed by recording 

devices, clothes, perfume/cologne, vehicle, etc.) positionality has been observed to 

prohibit access to a binary process of establishing commonalities and linkages between 

the interviewer and participants. The interviewer is purposed to extract knowledge but 

give back knowledge to the symbiotic process. The transaction is the sharing and 

dissemination of knowledge, in essence, partners in knowledge production. This 

knowledge can be used as a panacea to many societal issues engulfing South African 

communities or to expand epistemic and pedagogical frameworks. Drawing from 

suggestions by community members, Chapter 7 provides recommendations to address 

the dilapidation of heritage sites in Sharpeville as a viable solution to infrastructure 

inequality in the region. Rehabilitating these sites within the Vaal River City project context 

could contribute to poverty alleviation in the area.  

The researcher is the essential determinant of the impact of the knowledge systems 

derived from the community or interviewee process. In Dunaway's situation analysis, the 

researcher is positioned as a representative of an organisation and its stereotypes, and 

less concern or interest is placed on the individual outside their organisation.59 The 

interviewer is also cautious and empathetic of the community dynamics and thus has 

 

57 B. Bozzoli and M. Nkotsoe, Women of Phokeng, Consciousness, Life Strategy, and Migrancy in South 
Africa, 1900-1983 (Johannesburg: Heinemann, 1991). 

58 Dunaway, "Field Recording Oral,” 24.  

59 Dunaway, "Field Recording Oral,” 24 



22 

preconceived notions from prior research. Blee, who worked on the USA’s Klu Klux Klan, 

recalls: 

In my interviews with former Klan members, however, I made few efforts to establish such 

rapport or to shy away from controversial topics. Indeed, I was prepared to hate and fear 

my informants, to find them repellent and, more importantly, strange. I expected no 

rapport, shared assumptions, or commonality of thought or experience. Moreover, I 

expected them to be wary of me and reluctant to express their true attitudes. But this was 

not the case. Instead of participating reluctantly in the interviews, these former Klan 

members seemed quite at ease.60 

Before the interview stages, researchers' perceptions are shaped by many factors, 

including but not limited to secondary sources, archival material, news publications, and 

word of mouth. The immersion in the community is an additional opportunity to gain 

familiarity with the context in which respondents/participants navigate daily. The 

academic cap was a hindrance in the discourse of Dlamini’s death. The views expressed 

by the participants may be published or shared with the broader community, and the 

respondents could be accused of gossip, fabrication, or even snitching.  

Immersion in the community was an opportunity to learn the Sharpeville community's 

broader cultural norms and values. The respondents were predominantly Sesotho 

speakers and inevitably adhered to the patterns of the Basotho people. The township has 

become a cosmopolitan and vibrant space where the cultures of the Ndebele, BaPedi, 

Tsonga, and Zulu speakers, amongst others, interact in shaping the social landscape of 

Sharpeville. The immersion in the place was a vantage point to gender dynamics in the 

township. Social norms somewhat prohibited conversations between opposite sexes 

without the presence of their partners. Sometimes, when male interviewees were 

approached in their homes, women would leave before the conversation began. It is 

believed that in some cultural spaces when men speak, women should remove 

themselves from the conversation as a sign of respect. This limited knowledge 

acquisition, especially on homemaking, a practice designated for women in many cultures 

in South Africa. In instances where the interview process could take place with older 

 

60 K.M. Blee, "Evidence, Empathy, and Ethics: Lessons from Oral Histories of the Klan" The Journal of 
American History 80, no. 2 (1993): 604.   



23 

married women, the presence of a female gatekeeper cushioned the potential 

contradictions to cultural practices. However, it was almost intolerable and dishonourable 

to visit a man’s house in their absence and to interact with his spouse.  These visitations 

could become the talk of the town and may lead to the spread of rumours from 

gossipmongers. 

 

1.6.2 Interviews 

The socio-economic history of Sharpeville is deconstructed by conducting semi-

structured interviews with the residents of Sharpeville. Semi-structured interviews are 

preferred because the method enhances the interaction between the interviewer and 

interviewee, allowing for recollection. Open-ended questions are crucial in retrieving 

information and life stories of interviewees. The open-ended questions prepared for the 

interviews have been constructed in the context of the socio-economic environment of 

South Africa. They are designed to probe the articulation of memory particularly with older 

citizens. The dynamics of the history of South Africa, as demonstrated by Oral History in 

a Wounded Country, have informed the methods and approaches taken by the 

researcher.61  

The lived realities of Sharpeville residents are diverse. For this reason, oral interviews 

were conducted with adults of varying ages and backgrounds. Furthermore, as mentioned 

earlier, the research process was mindful of the broader issues that may limit 

communication between the interviewer and interviewee. Issues such as class, gender, 

identity, language, race, and culture, amongst others, are typical examples. 

Acknowledging potential memory issues, such as nostalgia, the study adopts a reflexive 

 

61 B. Carton and L. Vis, “Doing Oral History,” in P. Denis and R. Ntsimane, Doing Oral History in a 
Wounded Country Interactive Interviewing in South Africa (Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu 
Natal Press, 2008), 66; See in addition E. Jessee, “The Limits of Oral History: Ethics and 
Methodology amid Highly Politicized Research Settings,” The Oral History Review 38, no. 2 
(Summer/fall 2011): 292 interrogates the political dynamics that may hinder effective responses from 
interviewees that oral historians must be cognisant of during the interviews.  



24 

and critical approach to oral narratives.62 Despite these challenges, oral interviews 

provided crucial access to untold stories and offered a textured understanding of 

Sharpeville's evolving socio-economic landscape. 

1.6.3 Research ethics 

The research adhered to North-West University’s BaSSREC ethical guidelines, requiring 

participants to sign informed consent forms before the interview.  Classified as a low to 

medium-risk study, it involved interviewing residents in Sharpeville without including 

vulnerable groups. Ethical considerations included clearly outlining the study's aim, 

background, and significance to participants and ensuring their rights and welfare were 

protected throughout the research process. The researcher, as the sole investigator with 

the necessary academic qualifications, conducted all interviews and data analysis to 

maintain confidentiality and integrity. 

The inclusion and exclusion criteria are thoroughly discussed in the BaSSREC 

information and consent leaflet (see Annexure A). These include the selection of 

participants appropriate for the questions being asked. The inclusion process required, 

for example, a resident of Sharpeville who is knowledgeable about the socio-economic 

development and history of Sharpeville because they had lived there during apartheid. 

Furthermore, inclusion entailed that they had experienced social, political, and economic 

changes that shaped the landscape of the township post-1994. The rights and welfare of 

all participants were respected at all times. Steps were undertaken to ensure that the 

participant's decision to enrol would not be influenced by their potential relationship with 

the researcher, that is, if any potential participants were in a dependent relationship with 

the researcher.  

Regardless of the acquaintances made in the township, the researcher contacted leaders 

in Sharpeville, who then referred the researcher to interview elderly acquaintances, 

family, relatives, and colleagues who experienced the development of Sharpeville 

between 1950 and 2020. Some of the interviewees from Sharpeville suggested 

 

62 The study used the suggested anthropology of mentality (through methodology) to do this study as 
explained by J. Tosh, The Pursuit of History: Aims, methods and New Directions in the Study of 
History, 6th ed. (London: Routledge, 2015), 221−224. 



25 

respondents who reside in Bedworth Park. The students interviewed were randomly 

selected in Bedworth Park. The interviewees' privacy and anonymity were prioritised, and 

if they contributed to the snowball effect, interviewees were required to obtain permission 

from potential participants before issuing contacts. A snowball effect, a popular sampling 

method for collecting and analysing information in the Social Sciences, generated a 

unique type of social knowledge — knowledge which is emergent, political, and 

interactional. Participants were not compensated for their participation. Interviews were 

conducted at the interviewees' homes. It was found that the interviewees' homes and 

memories associated with place and identity pivotally interrogated some of the critical 

research questions. The duration of the interviews was generally an hour, with a short 

comfort break when necessary. 

The potential risks and benefits associated with the study (e.g., physical, psychological, 

social, economic, etc.) were minimal, if any. There was no risk to the community or a 

particular group of individuals (e.g., stigmatisation) as the questions were not personal. 

The researcher abided by the NWU ethical principles of non-maleficence and 

beneficence. The interviewees were informed of the context and objectives of the 

research both verbally and in writing, and written consent was issued and stored safely 

by the interviewer. The researcher used the prescribed BaSSREC informed consent 

leaflet in which clear explanations of how potential risks are minimised/managed, and the 

risks are notably reasonable to anticipated benefits.  

Significance of the study 

Historians have given substantial attention to the history of ‘model locations’ in the South 

African urban context. In the context of Sharpeville, historians and academics have 

predominantly focused on the processes and developments that shaped Sharpeville from 

segregation until the advent of democracy without interrogating the extensive changes 

that occurred post-1994. When they do engage with the post-apartheid era, the focus is 

often limited to the commemoration of the Sharpeville massacre. 

This thesis diverges from that trajectory by emphasising the changes that have taken 

place since 1994 and how the community has actively contributed to the memory and 

landscape of Sharpeville through ubuntu and other mechanisms. Fundamentally, the 

thesis argues for a deeper and more critical understanding of Sharpeville beyond the 

Sharpeville massacre, unpacking fresh nuances of the residents' experiences. 



26 

Furthermore, it analyses Sharpeville’s economic, cultural, and social relevance in a 

transforming region. The following chapter analyses the dominant literature on the 

discourse of Sharpeville, the methodology used, and the researcher’s diary.  

 



27 

 

CHAPTER TWO 

LITERATURE AND HISTORIOGRAPHY  

2.1 Introduction 

This chapter examines the historiography and literature on model townships, forced 

removals, regional history, socio-economic development in the Vereeniging region, and 

the Sharpeville massacre. It provides a critical literature framework and outlines the 

methodological groundwork that guided the research process. Additionally, reflections 

from the researcher’s diary enrich the ideographic framing of place, offering valuable 

context for readers unfamiliar with Sharpeville. 

2.2 Historiography and literature analysis  

Literary trends stemming from the British Imperialist School, the Settler or Colonial 

School, and the Afrikaner Nationalist have contributed to studying the regional histories 

of Southern African township communities. The thesis is cognisant of the shades of 

nuances embedded in each school of thought. The lens focuses on revisionist and recent 

forms of thinking to accentuate a deeper analysis of the historiography that shaped 

Sharpeville and Vereeniging.  

The South African War’s (also known as the Second Anglo-Boer War, 1899-1902) 

influence on Vereeniging is undervalued as a heritage product with tourism potential value 

that can benefit the community. The nationalists' writings and perceptions of the South 

African War are pivotal knowledge systems that may enhance the construction and 

articulation of tourism products in the area. Equally important is deepened research on 

the contributions of non-whites and other nationalities to the war effort and the histories 

of the concentration camps in Vereeniging’s vicinity.   

Afrikaner nationalists' writings on the South African War (Second Anglo-Boer War of 

1899-1902) underplayed the contributions of non-whites to the war effort on both sides. 

The edited publication in 1973 of Sol Plaatje’s The Boer War − Diary of Sol T. Plaatje, 



28 

accounted for a ‘non-white’ perspective of the war.1 Plaatje’s attempts to shift the 

narrative on the war from a white-dominant perspective to a reflection of the war from 

non-white positionalities and agency are plausible. Though academic shifts have been 

made, evidently in the renaming of the war, the thesis found disconnections, disinterest, 

and lack of material and symbolic claims with symbols of war and memory in the region.2 

Furthermore, oral histories, traditional methods of communicating family histories, have 

watered down, if not obliterated, narratives related to the war in the region. Most 

interviewees displayed little knowledge of the South African War or the Second World 

War’s (1939-1945) social and economic influence on the Vaal. Tom’s reflections on his 

uncle’s experiences in the Second World War illustrate the pivotal function of storytelling 

in keeping family histories alive in moments when traditional discourses lacked altruism. 

Tom recalls:  

In the evenings, we used to sit around the fire and listen to his stories about the 

war. I cannot forget how he used to say, ‘You, my nephews are going to fight here 

inside South Africa for the black man’s liberation’. There is no black soldier now 

who will go overseas and fight. I was too young then to understand what he was 

saying, but it’s all clear to me now.3 

The Liberal School, in comparison to the British Nationalists and the Settler or Colonial 

schools of thought, went against the grain by attempting to accentuate the relevance of 

Africans in the socio-economic spaces of segregationist and apartheid South Africa. At a 

time when it was unfashionable and politically incorrect to do so, “what was new in their 

vision was their rejection of a “segregated” history and the placing of people of colour in 

the past as a factor of equal importance with whites”.4 W.M. Macmillan and his pupil C.W. 

de Kiewet were firm believers that an accurate history must accentuate the voices of 

others. In essence, a history of South Africa should encapsulate the experiences of non-

 

1 P.L. Bonner, “An African View of the Boer War-The Boer War, Diary of Sol T. Plaatje: an African at 
Mafeking”, The Journal of African History 15, no. 2 (1974): 341.  

2 Researchers Observations.  

3 P. Tom, My Life Struggle (South Africa: Ravan Worker Series, 1985), 12. 

4 W. Visser, Trends in South African Historiography and the Present State of Historical Research. 
Conference paper delivered at the Nordic Africa institute, Uppsala, Sweden 23 September 2004, 6.  



29 

whites, especially those of poor Whites and Blacks whose presence is aligned with the 

country's economy.5  

Leonard Thompson’s A History of South Africa series used unorthodox terminology and 

a ‘radical’ tone, evident in phrases such as ‘white invaders’.6 Liberals called for the 

narration of a precolonial history approach inclusive of the much-neglected histories of 

African communities and the inclusion of an African voice. Revisionist scholars, 

furthermore, critiqued liberals for their analysis of South Africa’s political and economic 

development, especially in the 1960s, from a racial and ethnic perspective.7 Liberals, to 

their defence, set the tone by accentuating and locating a shade of history that followed 

historical accounts that were somewhat neglected. This gave Marxist revisionist scholars 

a foundation on which to build their discourse.  

Steered by a Marxist class-oriented perspective, revisionist discourse vitalised a 

framework largely neglected by liberal scholars. Their insistence on social histories and 

class in a racialised and masculine-laden industrial South Africa reverberated the 

discourses on class in a class-based society. Edited by Bozzoli, Class, Community and 

Conflict accentuated the broader experiences of South Africans in their places of 

employment to encapsulate union activism and labour.8 Brink begins the discourse of 

female insubordination and abuse in the garment industry by reminding the reader of 

racial, sexist, and prejudiced slurs that, from the onset, uncover the unfortunate position 

that women experienced in the manufacturing industry.9 Carelessly used as a term of 

 

5 C. Kros, "Farewell to the Middle Style? Reflections on The Seed is Mine," South African Historical 
Journal 37, no. 1 (1997): 181. 

6 L. Thompson, A History of South Africa (Johannesburg and Cape Town): Jonathan Ball Publishers: 
2014), 70.  

7 F. Johnstone, "“Most painful to our hearts”: South Africa through the eyes of the new school," Canadian 
Journal of African Studies/La Revue Canadienne des études Africaines 16, no. 1 (1982): 7.  

8 E. Brink, “‘Joh’ burg Hotheads’ and the ‘Gullible Children of Cape Town’: The Transvaal Garment 
Workers’ Union’s Assault on low wages in the Cape,” in Class, Community, and Conflict: South 
African perspectives, ed. Belinda Bozzoli (Johannesburg: Ravan Press, 1987), 179.  

9 Brink, ‘Joh’ burg Hotheads’, 179.  



30 

endearment for domestic labourers, ‘meide’ is still used in many urban areas of South 

Africa to describe women who provide labour to the domestic spheres.10  

Like the handful of historiographical interests in the Vereeniging region, this thesis has 

largely neglected the histories and experiences of women in the manufacturing sectors 

and their possible contributions to domestic labour in neighbouring suburbs. Vast 

academic interests have yielded seminal accounts of women's experiences and 

contributions to domestic labour in parts of South Africa.11 These accounts are pivotal in 

accentuating the shifts in thinking on the positionality and relevance of Africans in White 

spaces. Furthermore, the implementation of apartheid legislation, notably influx control 

measures, gradually prohibited the accommodation of labour on their property and 

pressured councils to build group areas.12 

Women’s experiences and place in urban Vereeniging, like the East Rand, are relegated, 

conventionally, within the confines of a male-oriented discourse as producers of illicit 

alcohol.13 This thesis attempts to redirect the discourse by unpacking women’s agency in 

making capitalists' environments home. Also, how women left a footprint, especially in 

Sharpeville, through establishing formal and informal societies that contributed to the 

community's well-being. Insubstantial academic interest has been geared towards 

studying women’s experiences and agencies in a patriarchal and classist Vereeniging 

and Sharpeville.  As with Women of Phokeng, Historiographical traditions enunciate 

women's histories and navigations in a classist society that local history scholars can use 

as a framework for women's studies in