Marshalltown is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. If you're looking for a way to explore the historic and vibrant suburb of Marshalltown, Johannesburg, South Africa, why not try a self-guided walking tour? You can discover the history, architecture and stories of this area at your own pace and convenience. All you need is a smartphone, a map and a sense of adventure. This self-guided walking tour is a great way to experience Marshalltown at your own pace. You can start and stop whenever you like, take detours and breaks, and enjoy the sights and sounds of this fascinating suburb.
Marshalltown is one of Johannesburg's oldest suburbs, dating back to the late 19th century. Marshalltown as seen from the top of the Carlton Centre.
The area, together with Ferreirasdorp was previously home to a large concentration of Eastern European Jewish immigrants. At the time, the township's name was known as Marshall's Dorp. In the late nineteenth century, a significant number of Eastern European Jewish immigrants settled in the area and neighbouring Ferreirasdorp.
I recently spent a few weeks in Johannesburg and had the great privilege and pleasure of participating in two walking tours that were hosted by Charlie. I absolutely loved the experience and truly enjoyed being part of a very small group walking through different neighborhoods in Johannesburg that I would otherwise not have visited by myself. I especially enjoyed all the knowledge and historical background that Charlie shared with us and the opportunity to ask questions along the way about not only the city, but also overall South African culture, history and customs. I felt safe and in good company at all times.
The Origins of Marshalltown
The suburb has its origin as farmland owned by Frederick Bezuidenhout Junior. This small strip of land on the farm Turffontein, was adjacent to the South African Republic-owned land of Rantjeslaagte which was soon to be proclaimed as the township of Johannesburg on 8 November 1886. The land was purchased by two businessmen, Henry Brown Marshall and his brother-in-law William M'Laren, in September 1886.
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The land would eventually be quickly surveyed with 553 stands and one market square which would later be known as Marshall Square. By 26 November 1887, the township's boundaries were incorporated into Johannesburg. They would establish a brewery on eight stands in Marshalltown but sold it in 1894.
Historic Marshalltown home under renovation by next generation of owners
Johannesburg's Early Days
Johannesburg is a large city in Gauteng Province of South Africa. It was established as a small village controlled by a Health Committee in 1886 with the discovery of an outcrop of a gold reef on the farm Langlaagte. September 20 1886 was when President Paul Kruger declared the area (now known as Johannesburg), open for public diggings.
The population of the city grew rapidly, becoming a municipality in 1898. In 1928 it became a city making Johannesburg the largest city in South Africa. In 2002 it joined ten other municipalities to form the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Today, it is a centre for learning and entertainment for all of South Africa.
The region surrounding Johannesburg was originally inhabited by hunter-gatherers who used stone tools. The Magaliesberg valley north of Johannesburg was ideal for farming, and farmers settled there by the 6th century. By the 13th century, stone-walled ruins of Sotho-Tswana towns (e.g. Kweneng) and villages are scattered around the parts of the former Transvaal in which Johannesburg is situated. Many of these sites contain the ruins of Sotho-Tswana mines and iron smelting furnaces, suggesting that the area was being exploited for its mineral wealth before the arrival of Europeans or the discovery of gold.
After the Great Trek European pastoralists also started settling in the Transvaal. Some of them chose to farm where Johannesburg was to rise later. Each burgher (citizen) was entitled to at least one farm, measuring 1500 morgen or about 3100 acres.
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The Discovery of Gold
The first recorded discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand was made by Jan Gerrit Bantjes in June 1884, on the farm Vogelstruisfontein. Other farms to become famous later included Langlaagte, Turffontein, Doornfontein and Braamfontein. George Harrison is today credited as the man who discovered an outcrop of the Main Reef of gold on the farm Langlaagte in February 1886.
On 12 May 1886 Harrison and his partner, George Walker, entered into a prospecting agreement with the owner of Langlaagte, one G.C. Oosthuizen. Two days later Colonel Ignatius Ferreira staked out his camp on Turffontein to serve as a centre for diggers. Louwrens Geldenhuys found the Main Reef on Turffontein and Henry Nourse located it on Doornfontein.
On 8 September 1886 nine farms, extending from Driefontein in the east to Roodepoort in the west, were declared public diggings. Carl von Brandis was appointed as the mining commissioner for the area. The earliest mining activities were concentrated along and adjacent to the outcrops of the main reef.
Initially the diggers could perform the work themselves, using relatively little equipment. As the pits grew deeper, they needed additional labourers and machinery. Black Africans were recruited to perform the unskilled work. Machinery had to be imported from Europe and fuel had to be found to power the machinery.
The discovery of coal on the far east Rand at Springs and Boksburg, as well as the construction of the Rand Steam Tram from the colliery to the gold fields and into Johannesburg facilitated the growth of the industry in its early years. Soon, too, the railway arrived from the coast: in September 1892 the Cape railway reached the Rand.
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The Rise of Mining Companies
It soon became apparent that individual diggers were not equal to the task of mining gold in Johannesburg. Wealth could only be recovered by means of deep-shaft working and by capital-intensive companies having the necessary technical skills. Individual claims were soon joined into small mining groups.
The amalgamation of smaller mining groups became a common occurrence and by 1895 the scene was dominated by a limited number of large monopolistic companies. These companies were: the Wernher-Beit-Eckstein group, Consolidated Goldfields, the J B Robinson group, the S. Neumann group, the Albu group, the A Goerz group, the Anglo-French group and the Lewis-Marks group.
In 1893 Johannesburg's first stock exchange was opened. From then until today Johannesburg has been the seat of the South African stock exchange and the country's financial heartland.
Laying Out the Township
The fledgling town of Johannesburg was laid out on a triangular wedge of "uitvalgrond" (area excluded when the farms were surveyed) named Randjeslaagte, situated between the farms Doornfontein to the east, Braamfontein to the west and Turffontein to the south. The property belonged to the government.
The Surveyor-General of the ZAR issued an instruction that the farm be surveyed as a township, consisting of 600 stands measuring fifty feet by fifty feet. The first auction of stands took place on 8 December 1886. The settlement was named after two officials of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR), Christiaan Johannes Joubert and Johannes Rissik, who both worked in land surveying and mapping.
Early Governance
Early in 1887 the inhabitants started petitioning the government to proclaim a town council for the area. Eventually in November 1887 a proclamation was issued instituting a health committee. Its area was defined as "the place Johannesburg, including the stands known as Marshall Town and Ferreira's Town". The committee's authority extended for a radius of three miles from the market square.
The mining commissioner and the district surgeon were to be ex-officio members of the committee. The area of the committee's jurisdiction was to be divided into five wards. Each ward could elect one committee member. All adult male inhabitants had the vote.
It was only in 1897 that the government approved, in terms of Act 9 of 1897, a town council for Johannesburg. In terms of the Act the area was divided into 12 wards.
The Rissik Street Post Office
The Rissik Street Post Office was built in 1897, having been designed by the architect Sytze Wierda. The Post Office was at one time the tallest building in Johannesburg. The Post Office became a national monument in 1978, and it remained in operation until 1996 when the South African Post Office vacated the building. The monument was gutted by a fire in 2009.
Population Growth and Diversity
Within ten years of the discovery of gold in Johannesburg by Jan Gerrit Bantjes, 100 000 people flocked to this part of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republic in search of riches. Colonials, escaping the boredom of small-town life, joined Indians trekking from the sugar fields of Natal. Cape Coloureds and Chinese shopkeepers mixed with Africans, eager to experience the fast pace of urban life.
Artisans and miners from the gold and silver fields of the Americas and Australia, from coal and tin mines of Europe, joined the wagon loads of men who had learnt their craft in the pits of Kimberley. Jews in search of freedom and employment, headed south to Africa from Eastern Europe and Russia. Mine managers and businessmen, solicitors and engineers, men with skills, education and contacts, confident of their expertise and frequently arrogant in their manner, took up positions in the burgeoning city of Johannesburg and in the new mines along the reef.
Census Data
In January 1890 the Health Committee conducted its first census of the town. They found that Johannesburg had 26 303 inhabitants. There were 13 820 buildings, of which 772 were shops and stores and 261 hotels and bars. The following suburbs were recorded: Booysens, Fordsburg, Langlaagte, Braamfontein, Auckland Park, Marshall's Town, Ferreira's Town, Prospect and Jeppe's Town.
Another census was conducted in January 1896. It was recorded that Johannesburg then had 102 078 inhabitants, of whom 61 292 lived within the three mile radius of Market Square and 40 786 outside. There were 50 907 Europeans or Whites, 952 Malays, 4 807 Asiatics, 2 879 mixed or other races and 42 533 Natives of whom 14 195 lived within the three mile radius and 28 838 outside.
Of the 24 489 Whites born in Europe, 12 389 were from England and Wales, 997 from Ireland and 2 879 from Scotland. Of the 24 500 Europeans born in Africa, 6 205 were born in the Transvaal and 15 162 in the Cape Colony.
New suburbs included: Klipfontein, Forest Town, Hillbrow, Berea, Yeoville, Bellevue, Houghton, Vrededorp, Paarl's Hoop, Robinson, Ophirton, La Rochelle, Rosettenville, Klipriviersberg, City & Suburban, Doornfontein, Bertrams, Lorentzville and Troyeville.
Spatial Segregation
From the start the city segregated itself spatially in terms of class and, to a lesser extent, race. Julius Jeppe and his partner, Lewis Peter Ford, bought a portion of the farm Turffontein. They had two townships surveyed and called them Fordsburg and Jeppestown. Both were next to the mines along the Main Reef.
The stands in Fordsburg were auctioned is May 1887, but the prices were very low because the soil was marshy. Just north of Jeppestown is Doornfontein, then known as a 'classy' suburb, where professional and commercial men lived. Many Jews lived there as well. Their children attended school. The first English language school in Johannesburg was started by the Holy Family Sisters.
Braamfontein and Brickfields
In October 1887 the government of the ZAR bought the south-eastern portion of the farm Braamfontein. Quite a big stream flowed along the farm and they intended selling the water to the residents of Johannesburg. But there were also large quantities of clay, suitable for brickmaking, along the stream.
The government decided that more money was to be made from issuing brick maker's licences at five shillings per month. The result was that many landless Dutch-speaking burghers (citizens) of the ZAR settled on the property and started making bricks. They also erected their shacks there. Soon the area was known either as Brickfields or Veldschoendorp. Soon other working poor, "Malays, Coolies and Kaffirs" also settled there.
Dynamite Explosion
The railway line and goods yards were just north of these slum areas. On 19 February 1896 there was a great dynamite explosion in the railway goods yard at Braamfontein. 55 tons of dynamite had been left in the blazing sun and was detonated by the impact of a shunting engine.
The explosion left a crater 250 feet long, 60 feet wide and 30 feet deep. At least 78 people were killed and 1500 injured. The government made another effort to separate the burghers from the non-whites by allowing them to become tenants in the newer suburb called Vrededorp. The suburbs was opened to white who could acquire the stands on leasehold for a mere two shillings and sixpence a month.
Living Conditions
On the mines living conditions were harsh and alienating, particularly for the Africans who lived in large compounds. They were placed in bunk houses, which were overcrowded and cold in winter, where food was tedious and not abundant and where pulmonary disease was rife. Meanwhile, at the northern extremity of the town was Parktown, already known for its exclusivity and extreme wealth.
Sir Lionel Phillips was the first Randlord to build a mansion in Parktown. "Hohenheim" was built in 1894 and demolished in 1972 to make way for the Johannesburg Academic Hospital. Sunny Side Park was designed by Frank Emley for Hennen Jennings and completed in 1896. "The View" was completed in 1897.
| Suburb | Description |
|---|---|
| Fordsburg | Auctioned in May 1887, prices were low due to marshy soil. |
| Jeppestown | Next to the mines along the Main Reef. |
| Doornfontein | Known as a 'classy' suburb, where professional and commercial men lived. |
| Parktown | Known for its exclusivity and extreme wealth. |
Political Tensions
The law of the land provided that every White (European) male who had resided in the Transvaal for five years, could be naturalized and become entitled to vote for a representative in the Volksraad (house of assembly). As more and more foreigners (called Uitlanders) arrived in the country to dig for gold, the government realized as early as 1890 that these Uitlanders could easily gain control of the country.
The solution was to create a Second Volksraad. Uitlanders who had been naturalized for two years were granted the right to vote for candidates for the Second Volksraad. The Second Volksraad only had a say in regard to specific matters relating to Johannesburg and the mines. The bills of this body only became law after ratification by the First Volksraad.
The residential qualification enabling Uitlanders to vote for the First Volksraad was extended from five to fourteen years and the voting age increased to forty years. Uitlander dissatisfaction persisted. Some of their main complaints were nepotism and corruption of officials.
What upset them most was that the prices and quality of essential goods for the mining industry were adversely affected by the government's system of concessions. These included the supply of water to Johannesburg, the manufacture and distribution of liquor and dynamite and the construction of railway lines. Then too the republican machinery of state was primarily geared to meeting the needs of a pastoral-agricultural community and it did not have the skills to administer a rapidly growing industrial state.
The time was ripe for rebellion. In Johannesburg a Reform Committee was formed, while Cecil John Rhodes, the prime minister of the Cape Colony, arranged for Leander Starr Jameson to invade the republic from the west. Afterwards the British Colonial Secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, took up the cause of the Uitlanders in their fight for the franchise.
The Onset of War
By May 1899 it began to look as though war was a real possibility. First to leave were the wives and children of middle and upper-class families. By June white miners joined the flight. Shop assistants and others in the urban economy were notified by their employers that their services would not be required after the end of the month. Between May and mid-October nearly 100,000 white people fled the district.
Thus, at the onset of war, there were only about 10,000 whites in the city. The task of transporting this number of people - as well as the more than 100,000 non-whites who left - was an enormous one. At first only third-class passengers were consigned to trucks which normally carried coal, livestock or Africans.
John Sidney Marwick
John Sidney Marwick was a civil servant in the employ of the Department of the Secretary for Native Affairs in the colony of Natal. In 1896 he was transferred to Johannesburg and appointed as Native Agent for Zululand. He was only twenty years old. His function was to look after the Zulu men working in the mines on the Witwatersrand.
In 1897 alone, 20,615 Zulus from Zululand and Natal had registered at the pass office in Johannesburg. By the end of September 1899 some 5,000 Zulus were stranded in Johannesburg and Marwick obtained permission for them to walk back to Natal. They were to walk to the border at Volksrust, some 150 miles from Johannesburg.
The march started on 6 October. On 11 October they reached the town of Standerton, where Marwick learnt that the Boers had delivered an ultimatum to the British and it would expire at five o'clock that afternoon. The Boer commandos, numbering some 8,000 men, had been assembling at Sandspruit on the road between Standerton and Volksrust.
Marwick rode ahead to see General Joubert at Sandspruit, but found that the Boer forces had advanced to Volksrust. On 12 October the Zulus marched to within three miles of Sandspruit. That night a heavy downpour of...
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