Marabastad, Pretoria
Encyclopedia
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. The name Marabastad is the Afrikaans
word meaning Maraba City.
Mariamman Temple arguably being its most prominent landmark. Like the residents of other racially diverse areas in South Africa, such as District Six
, "Fietas
" and Sophiatown
, the inhabitants of Marabastad were relocated to single-race townships
further away from the city centre. These removals were due to Apartheid laws like the Group Areas Act
. Unlike Sophiatown, Fietas and District Six, it was not bulldozed, but it retained many of its original buildings, and became primarily a business district, with most shops still owned by the Indians
who had also lived there previously. Some property was however owned by the city council and the government, resulting in limited development taking place there. In addition, a large shopping complex was built to house Indian-owned shops.
The black residents of Marabastad were relocated to Atteridgeville
(1945), the Coloured
residents to Eersterus (1963), and the Indian residents to Laudium
(1968). There are plans to revive once-picturesque Marabastad, and to reverse years of urban decay
and neglect, although few seem to have been implemented as of 2005.
s and this resulted in squatting.
An overflow from Schoolplaats to the north-west and Maraba’s village occurred and in August 1888 the land was surveyed by the government. The location Marabastad was established and was situated between the Apies River in the north, Skinner Spruit in the west, Steenhoven Spruit in the east and De Korte Street in the south. There were 67 stands varying between 1400 and 2500 square meters each. Residents were not allowed to own stands, but had to rent them from the government at 4 pounds a year. They were allowed to build their own houses and to plant crops on empty plots. Water was acquired from the various bordering rivers and 58 wells situated in the area.
The township
was not private owned and was managed by the Transvaal Boer Republic. At the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War in 1899 there were no rules and regulations with regard to Marabastad. Africans who streamed to Pretoria during the war were living in squatter camps near the artillery barracks, the brickworks and the railway stations at Prinshof
. This resulted in the development of ‘New Marabastad’ in the area between Marabastad and the Asiatic Bazaar in 1900 by the British military authorities. They had been occupying the city since June 1900 and resettled refugees in the area. By 1901 there were 392 occupied stands in the New Marabastad and there was no real segregation between Africans, Asians and Coloured people.
Although New Marabastad was intended as a temporary settlement the military
authorities granted permission for in their employ to erect brick houses. This resulted in the erection of other permanent structures like schools and churches. The new Town Council was established in 1902 and it was accepted that the residents of New Marabastad would be moved to other, planned townships. In 1903 New Marabastad had grown to 412 stands while Old Marabastad still only had 67. Along with the Cape Location, which was situated in the southern part of the Asiatic Bazaar, it fell under the jurisdiction of the City Council of that year. The greatest problem was the provision of water and this was only addressed after the war. Due to the fear of epidemic all wells in the area had been filled during the war, and a single public tap had replaced the entire system. New Marabastad didn’t have any wells or taps. There was an attempt to rectify this in 1903 by providing more taps, but the number was still inadequate.
In 1906 New and Old Marabastad became one location. Rates were determined and sanitary and building regulations came into effect. These regulations didn’t achieve their objections as a result of municipal maladministration and the fact that Africans could not own land and afford well-built permanent houses. Streets remained unpaved, the water supply was inadequate and there were no sanitary facilities worth mentioning. More and more shacks appeared. By 1907 conditions improved marginally, but the streets were left in their unkempt state and by 1910 this had still not been addressed. The Native Affairs Department accused the Pretoria Town Council of inefficient administration, which had led directly to this situation.
, it became a reality. It was decided to remove all residents of the area to a new location further away from the city centre and to demolish the old township. Now followed the struggle of finding a suitable site. The site on the southern slope of Daspoortrand was decided on in 1912 and in January planning for the ‘New Location’ started. It would include a number of brick houses that could be rented from the municipality. By September of the same year the first relocations were taking place and demolishing of old structures commenced. It was a slow process and Old Marabastad was only completely destroyed by 1920.
The lack of space remained a problem and New Marabastad was experiencing severe overcrowding. By 1923 the last houses of the second municipal project was completed in New Location and Marabastad residents who had been exposed to the worst conditions were allowed to move in first. In 1934 part of the Schoolplaats population was moved to Marabastad and the squatter problem became more severe. There was no room for expansion due to a lack of space.
An attempt to solve these problems manifested itself in the establishment of Atteridgeville
in 1939. The Marabastad community would be moved here and compensation was offered to previous owners of property in the form of new houses they could rent, but not own. The war slowed down the process considerably, but 1949 had moved three quarters of the population of Marabastad to Atteridgeville, and by 1950 the transition was complete.
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...
. The original Maraba Village, situated just to the south of the present Marabastad, was founded and ruled by the Pedi
Northern Sotho language
Northern Sotho , also inaccurately known by the name of a major dialect, Pedi or sePedi, is one of the official languages of South Africa, and is spoken by 4,208,980 people — in the South African provinces of Gauteng,...
Chief Maraba. The name Marabastad is the 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...
word meaning Maraba City.
Background
Marabastad was a culturally diverse community, with the HinduHinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
Mariamman Temple arguably being its most prominent landmark. Like the residents of other racially diverse areas in South Africa, such as District Six
District Six, Cape Town
District Six is the name of a former inner-city residential area in Cape Town, South Africa. It is best known for the forced removal of over 60,000 of its inhabitants during the 1970s by the apartheid regime....
, "Fietas
Pageview, Gauteng
Pageview is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Region 8.Originally populated by non-whites including Cape Malays and Indians, it was commonly known as Fietas....
" and Sophiatown
Sophiatown, Gauteng
Sophiatown is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa.Sophiatown was a legendary black cultural hub that was destroyed under Apartheid, rebuilt under the name by Triomf, and in 2006 officially returned to its original name.Sophiatown was one of the oldest black areas in Johannesburg and its...
, the inhabitants of Marabastad were relocated to single-race townships
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...
further away from the city centre. These removals were due to Apartheid laws like the Group Areas Act
Group Areas Act
The Group Areas Act of 1950 was an act of parliament created under the apartheid government of South Africa on 27th April 1950. The act assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a system of urban apartheid...
. Unlike Sophiatown, Fietas and District Six, it was not bulldozed, but it retained many of its original buildings, and became primarily a business district, with most shops still owned by the Indians
Asians in South Africa
The majority of the Asian South African population is Indian in origin, most of them descended from indentured workers transported to work in the 19th century on the sugar plantations of the eastern coastal area, then known as Natal. They are largely English speaking, although many also retain the...
who had also lived there previously. Some property was however owned by the city council and the government, resulting in limited development taking place there. In addition, a large shopping complex was built to house Indian-owned shops.
The black residents of Marabastad were relocated to Atteridgeville
Atteridgeville
Atteridgeville, part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is a township located on the west of Pretoria, South Africa. It is bordered to the west by Saulsville, to the east by Proclamation Hill; to the south by Laudium and to the north by Lotus Gardens.-History:Atteridgeville was...
(1945), the Coloured
Coloured
In the South African, Namibian, Zambian, Botswana and Zimbabwean context, the term Coloured refers to an heterogenous ethnic group who possess ancestry from Europe, various Khoisan and Bantu tribes of Southern Africa, West Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaya, India, Mozambique,...
residents to Eersterus (1963), and the Indian residents to Laudium
Laudium, Gauteng
Laudium is an Indian township southwest of central Pretoria, in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.-History:The original name for Laudium was Claudius, , named after Claudius Marais de Vries who owned a farm called Mooiplats and was a former mayor of Pretoria.Laudium was created by the...
(1968). There are plans to revive once-picturesque Marabastad, and to reverse years of urban decay
Urban decay
Urban decay is the process whereby a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude...
and neglect, although few seem to have been implemented as of 2005.
History
Marabastad was named after the local headman of a village to the west of Steenhoven Spruit. During the 1880s he lived in Schoolplaats and acted as an interpreter. During this period some Africans lived on the farms where they were being employed and also chose to live on other, undeveloped land. Schoolplaats could also not accommodate all the migrantMigrant
Migrant may refer to:*Immigration and emigration, the migration of humans*Bird migration*Migrant worker*Migrant literature...
s and this resulted in squatting.
An overflow from Schoolplaats to the north-west and Maraba’s village occurred and in August 1888 the land was surveyed by the government. The location Marabastad was established and was situated between the Apies River in the north, Skinner Spruit in the west, Steenhoven Spruit in the east and De Korte Street in the south. There were 67 stands varying between 1400 and 2500 square meters each. Residents were not allowed to own stands, but had to rent them from the government at 4 pounds a year. They were allowed to build their own houses and to plant crops on empty plots. Water was acquired from the various bordering rivers and 58 wells situated in the area.
The township
Township
The word township is used to refer to different kinds of settlements in different countries. Township is generally associated with an urban area. However there are many exceptions to this rule. In Australia, the United States, and Canada, they may be settlements too small to be considered urban...
was not private owned and was managed by the Transvaal Boer Republic. At the outbreak of the Anglo-Boer War in 1899 there were no rules and regulations with regard to Marabastad. Africans who streamed to Pretoria during the war were living in squatter camps near the artillery barracks, the brickworks and the railway stations at Prinshof
Prinshof
Prinshof is an area in Pretoria. It is the home of the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of Pretoria and the Steve Biko Hospital...
. This resulted in the development of ‘New Marabastad’ in the area between Marabastad and the Asiatic Bazaar in 1900 by the British military authorities. They had been occupying the city since June 1900 and resettled refugees in the area. By 1901 there were 392 occupied stands in the New Marabastad and there was no real segregation between Africans, Asians and Coloured people.
Although New Marabastad was intended as a temporary settlement the military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
authorities granted permission for in their employ to erect brick houses. This resulted in the erection of other permanent structures like schools and churches. The new Town Council was established in 1902 and it was accepted that the residents of New Marabastad would be moved to other, planned townships. In 1903 New Marabastad had grown to 412 stands while Old Marabastad still only had 67. Along with the Cape Location, which was situated in the southern part of the Asiatic Bazaar, it fell under the jurisdiction of the City Council of that year. The greatest problem was the provision of water and this was only addressed after the war. Due to the fear of epidemic all wells in the area had been filled during the war, and a single public tap had replaced the entire system. New Marabastad didn’t have any wells or taps. There was an attempt to rectify this in 1903 by providing more taps, but the number was still inadequate.
In 1906 New and Old Marabastad became one location. Rates were determined and sanitary and building regulations came into effect. These regulations didn’t achieve their objections as a result of municipal maladministration and the fact that Africans could not own land and afford well-built permanent houses. Streets remained unpaved, the water supply was inadequate and there were no sanitary facilities worth mentioning. More and more shacks appeared. By 1907 conditions improved marginally, but the streets were left in their unkempt state and by 1910 this had still not been addressed. The Native Affairs Department accused the Pretoria Town Council of inefficient administration, which had led directly to this situation.
Removals
The relocation of residents of Old Marabastad had been on the agenda of the town council since 1903 and in 1907, when the council decided to build a new sewage farmSewage farm
Sewage farms comprise agricultural land irrigated and fertilised with sewage.A precursor to modern sewage treatment systems, household sewage was collected from towns and cities and transported to nearby farm lands. During the middle ages this was accomplished with hand-carried buckets, but as...
, it became a reality. It was decided to remove all residents of the area to a new location further away from the city centre and to demolish the old township. Now followed the struggle of finding a suitable site. The site on the southern slope of Daspoortrand was decided on in 1912 and in January planning for the ‘New Location’ started. It would include a number of brick houses that could be rented from the municipality. By September of the same year the first relocations were taking place and demolishing of old structures commenced. It was a slow process and Old Marabastad was only completely destroyed by 1920.
The lack of space remained a problem and New Marabastad was experiencing severe overcrowding. By 1923 the last houses of the second municipal project was completed in New Location and Marabastad residents who had been exposed to the worst conditions were allowed to move in first. In 1934 part of the Schoolplaats population was moved to Marabastad and the squatter problem became more severe. There was no room for expansion due to a lack of space.
An attempt to solve these problems manifested itself in the establishment of Atteridgeville
Atteridgeville
Atteridgeville, part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is a township located on the west of Pretoria, South Africa. It is bordered to the west by Saulsville, to the east by Proclamation Hill; to the south by Laudium and to the north by Lotus Gardens.-History:Atteridgeville was...
in 1939. The Marabastad community would be moved here and compensation was offered to previous owners of property in the form of new houses they could rent, but not own. The war slowed down the process considerably, but 1949 had moved three quarters of the population of Marabastad to Atteridgeville, and by 1950 the transition was complete.