Atteridgeville
Encyclopedia
Atteridgeville, part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is a township
Township (South Africa)
In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...

 located on the west of Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...

, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

. It is bordered to the west by Saulsville, to the east by Proclamation Hill; to the south by Laudium and to the north by Lotus Gardens.

History

Atteridgeville was established in 1939
1939 in South Africa
-Events:*The University of Pretoria's official university newspaper, the Perdeby, is established-September:* 2 September - James Hertzog puts his case to the National Assembly for South Africa to remain neutral in the Second World War against Jan Smuts who supports a Commonwealth alliance* 4...

 for black people by the government, after much lobbying by Mrs. Myrtle Patricia Atteridge. The Apartheid Government was voted in in 1948 after Atteridgeville was founded. The first occupants were moved to Atteridgeville on 26 May 1940. Mrs. Myrtle Patricia Atteridge, philanthropist, black sash activist, Pretoria City Councillor and deputy mayoress of Pretoria endeavoured to improve living conditions of Blacks who were previously living in appaling conditions in Marabastad. Atteridgeville provided brick housing; lighting; toilets etc. Later, to further enhance living standards the township was also connected by train to Pretoria CBD. Schools, creches, clinics etc. were to follow. The naming of the township was in fact suggested by the black people themselves who also requested Mrs. Atteridge to represent them in parliament which she refused as she was disinclined to participate in an exclusionary regime.
Between 1940 and 1949 more than 1500 houses were built for people relocated from Marabastad
Marabastad, Pretoria
Marabastad is a business area near the city centre of Pretoria, South Africa. The original Maraba Village, situated just to the south of the present Marabastad, was founded and ruled by the Pedi Chief Maraba...

, Bantule and other areas around Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...

.

Development was frozen between 1968
1968 in South Africa
-January:* 10 January - Jacobus Johannes Fouché becomes the 3rd State President of South Africa-April:* 20 April - A South African Airways Boeing 707 crashes just after take-off from Windhoek en route to London killing 122 out of the 129 onboard....

 and 1978
1978 in South Africa
-January:* Former African National Congress member, Steve Mtshali who turned state witness in various trials is shot and wounded-February:* An unexploded bomb "capable of destroying a 22 storey building" is found in a Johannesburg office block and defused...

 in accordance with the government's policy that housing provided for black people be limited to the homeland
Homeland
A homeland is the concept of the place to which an ethnic group holds a long history and a deep cultural association with —the country in which a particular national identity began. As a common noun, it simply connotes the country of one's origin...

s. In 1984
1984 in South Africa
-Events:* 8 January - The South African Defence Force begins withdrawal from southern Angola-February:* 3 February - A bomb destroys the offices of the Ciskei consulate in Durban* 23 February - A Escom installation in Georgetown is slightly damaged by explosion...

, Atteridgeville was granted municipal status.

1984 saw school boycotts and general unrest when demands by the Congress of South African Students to implement democratic Students' Representative Council
Students' Representative Council
A Students' Representative Council represents student interests in the government of a university, school or other educational institution. Generally the SRC forms part of a broader Students' Association which may include other functions such as societies, entertainments and sports Universities...

s in schools were rejected by the Department of Education and Training.

On 15 April 1988 a bomb explosion caused damage to the Atteridgeville Municipal buildings; no-one was injured during the attack. The attack was planned by Umkhonto we Sizwe
Umkhonto we Sizwe
Umkhonto we Sizwe , translated "Spear of the Nation," was the armed wing of the African National Congress which fought against the South African apartheid government. MK launched its first guerrilla attacks against government installations on 16 December 1961...

 and executed by one of their members, Johannes Maleka. In November 2000, Johannes Maleka was granted amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...

 for his part in the attack by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

In March 2008 seven people were killed in xenophobic
Xenophobia in South Africa
Prior to 1994 immigrants from elsewhere in Africa faced discrimination and even violence in South Africa, though much of that risk stemmed from the institutionalised racism of the time due to apartheid. Post 1994 and democratisation, and contrary to expectations, the incidence of xenophobia increased...

 attacks when their shops and shacks were set alight.

Languages

Atteridgeville is a diverse township
Township (South Africa)
In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...

 whose residents speak many languages. The most commonly spoken language is Sesotho, which is closely related to Setswana and Sepedi. A mixture of languages such as Afrikaans
Afrikaans
Afrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...

, Sesotho, English and isiZulu are sometimes fused together to form what is now a unique language-style of the township with a slight inclination to a slang known as tsotsitaal
Tsotsitaal
Tsotsitaals are a variety of mixed languages mainly spoken in the townships of Gauteng province, such as Soweto, but also in other agglomerations all over South Africa...

.

Some spoken languages in the community are:
  • Xitsonga
  • Sesotho
  • isiZulu
  • isiNdebele
  • Tshivenda

Subdivisions

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

Nicknames:
  • Tlhala mpya - Newly built houses callously nicknamed "divorce the dog" in Northern Sotho.
  • Ou Stad- Sesotho speaking residents are concentrated in this area.
  • Ten Morgan - Same demographics as Ou Stad.
  • Black Rock - A blurred concentration of Zulu, Xhosa and Ndebele speaking residents.
  • Matebeleng (derog.) - mixture of Tswana and Sespedi speaking residents are based here.
  • Extension 3,4,5,6 - Newly developed areas defying past ethnic segregation.
  • Selbourne Side - Xitsonga, Tshivenda and Shangane speaking people
  • Ghost Town - Areas near the old graveyard of Atteridgeville
  • Harlem/Mshongo - Atteridgeville-west informal settlement
  • Brazzaville - Another extension of the west informal settlement
  • Skopers - Lotus Gardens

Places of interest

  • Ga-Mothakga Resort - (SS Mendi Memorial Site)
  • Atteridgiville park - Popular jazz artists gather here each year and perform to a crowded audience
  • Saulsville Arena - Hosts music concerts, religious meetings and other major local activities
  • Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium
    Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium
    Lucas 'Masterpieces' Moripe Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Atteridgeville, a suburb of Pretoria, South Africa. It is currently used mostly for football matches and serves as part-time home stadium of Premier Soccer League clubs Supersport United and Mamelodi Sundowns who also use the...

     - Where Premier Soccer League PSL
    Premier Soccer League
    Premier Soccer League is the trading name of the National Soccer League of South Africa. The top league is the ABSA Premiership, sponsored by ABSA...

     matches and other cups are held under SAFA
    South African Football Association
    The South African Football Association or SAFA is the governing body of football in South Africa.-History:The South African Football Association was founded on 8 December, 1991, the culmination of a long unity process that was to rid the sport in South Africa of all its past racial division.Four...

     as well as a temporary home to SuperSports United FC and Mamelodi Sundowns
    Mamelodi Sundowns
    Mamelodi Sundowns are a South African football club that plays in the Premier Soccer League.Since 2003, Sundowns are owned by rand billionaire Patrice Motsepe....

  • Ram Square Cafê - A well known pub for well groomed 'urban' locals.
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