Vanderbijlpark

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Vanderbijlpark
Vanderbijlpark is located in Gauteng
Vanderbijlpark
Location of the town in Gauteng
Vanderbijlpark is located in South Africa
Vanderbijlpark
Location of the town in South Africa
Coordinates: 26°41′57″S 27°50′8″E / 26.69917°S 27.83556°E / -26.69917; 27.83556Coordinates: 26°41′57″S 27°50′8″E / 26.69917°S 27.83556°E / -26.69917; 27.83556
Country South Africa
Province Gauteng
District Sedibeng
Municipality Emfuleni
Area[1]
 • Total 207.69 km2 (80.19 sq mi)
Population (2001)[1]
 • Total 80,205
 • Density Bad rounding here390/km2 (Bad rounding here1,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2001)[1]
 • Black African 28.8%
 • Coloured 0.9%
 • Indian/Asian 0.4%
 • White 69.9%
First languages (2001)[1]
 • Afrikaans 62.5%
 • Sotho 16.2%
 • English 9.0%
 • Zulu 3.8%
 • Other 8.5%
Time zone SAST (UTC+2)
The steel mill at Vanderbijlpark, owned by ArcelorMittal.

Vanderbijlpark (Afrikaans pronunciation: [fʌndɪɹbeɪl'pɑːɹk])[Stress?] is an industrial city with 80,205[2] inhabitants on the Vaal River in the south of the Gauteng province of South Africa.

Named after Hendrik van der Bijl, an electrical engineer and industrialist, Vanderbijlpark is home to Vanderbijlpark Steel (previously part of ISCOR (South African Iron and Steel Corporation), now part of the global company ArcelorMittal). With neighbouring towns Vereeniging and Sasolburg it forms the Vaal Triangle, a major industrial region of South Africa. Located in the district municipality of Sedibeng and the local municipality of Emfuleni.

The historical black townships Boipatong, Bophelong, Sebokeng, Evaton and Sharpeville are close to the city.

VECOR, the largest comprehensive heavy engineering works in the Southern Hemisphere used to be located in Vanderbijlpark.

Vanderbijlpark is also home to Cape Gate (Pty) Ltd, a major market share holder in the wire industry.

Contents

History [edit]

In 1920, Dr HJ van der Bijl, a young South African electrical engineer working in the United States at the time, was called back to South Africa by the then Prime Minister Jan Smuts to advise the government in the planning of South Africa's industrial development.[3] Van der Bijl oversaw the Iron and Steel Corporation's first plant at Pretoria, but with the increased demand after World War II, 100 km² was bought to build a large steel works and model town. The steel works began operating in 1947 and the town was proclaimed in 1949. The town attained municipal status in 1952 when Governor General Dr EG Jansen opened ISCOR's second steel works. The Founder of the town, Hendrik van der Bijl, has his old house situated in Beethoven street, in the affluent SW 5 proper suburb

Economy [edit]

About 60% of the towns working force are busy in the towns factories. The rest work for:The Government, Private businesses, Shops or in the service sector. Rossini Boulevard use to be a residential area,but in recent years most of the homes have been turned into businesses

Climate [edit]

Climate data for Vanderbijlpark
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 40.2
(104.4)		 35.2
(95.4)		 30.3
(86.5)		 29.6
(85.3)		 19.3
(66.7)		 12.5
(54.5)		 9.0
(48.2)		 14.2
(57.6)		 19.8
(67.6)		 24.4
(75.9)		 27.6
(81.7)		 34.1
(93.4)		 24.2
(75.6)
Daily mean °C (°F) 30.2
(86.4)		 29.1
(84.4)		 23.2
(73.8)		 18.9
(66)		 12.5
(54.5)		 2.7
(36.9)		 −3.9
(25)		 4.2
(39.6)		 9.2
(48.6)		 15.8
(60.4)		 24.2
(75.6)		 29.4
(84.9)		 19.4
(66.9)
Average low °C (°F) 23.1
(73.6)		 23.1
(73.6)		 20.1
(68.2)		 13.0
(55.4)		 7.4
(45.3)		 −3.6
(25.5)		 −6.8
(19.8)		 −1.4
(29.5)		 8.9
(48)		 15.5
(59.9)		 18.7
(65.7)		 25.6
(78.1)		 14.5
(58.1)
Precipitation mm (inches) 65
(2.56)		 60
(2.36)		 74
(2.91)		 74
(2.91)		 108
(4.25)		 110
(4.33)		 115
(4.53)		 108
(4.25)		 90
(3.54)		 87
(3.43)		 76
(2.99)		 81
(3.19)		 1,048
(41.26)
Snowfall cm (inches) 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 2.0
(0.79)		 5.0
(1.97)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 0.0
(0)		 2.9
(1.14)
Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 9.9 8.6 10.7 10.4 11.7 11.7 11.3 11.0 9.5 9.8 10.1 10.5 125.2
Avg. snowy days (≥ 1.0 cm) 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.3 5.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.5
Source #1: Hong Kong Observatory[4]
Source #2: South African Weather Service[5]

Suburbs [edit]

Vanderbijlpark has been designed in a circular design, which differs from the traditional grid design of towns. The town is divided into four distinct residential blocks, namely:

  • CE (Central East)
  • CW (Central West)
  • SE (South East)
  • SW (South West)

Vanderbijlpark CBD on Wikimapia

A map showing the suburbs of Vanderbijlpark.

The different suburbs are then named as follows:

  • CE1
  • CE2
  • CE3
  • CE4
  • CW1
  • CW2
  • CW3
  • CW4
  • CW5
  • CW6
  • SE1
  • SE2
  • SE3
  • SE4
  • SE6
  • SE7
  • SE8
  • SW1
  • SW2
  • SW5

The other suburbs of Vanderbijlpark are:

  • Boipatong
  • Bophelong
  • Bonnane
  • Flora Gardens

There are also a number of areas with small holdings in Vanderbijlpark:

  • Theoville
  • Lamont Park

Architecture [edit]

Most of the towns homes were built by ISCOR during the 1947-1964 period, these homes are all built in the same format and way. About 60% of the town's population lie in these homes. The suburbs close to the Vaal river are modern and wealthy areas. There are large and modern buildings and Apartment buildings in the open areas around the CBD.[citation needed]

The suburb area SW5 houses some of the most extravagant and sought after houses in the Vaal triangle. Dr HJ van der Bijl and Aldridge had built their private estates in this area during the 1920s, and these homes are now privately owned and still reserved in the area. Some of the stands in the area range between 1-3 acres. The stands used to be much bigger in the day of Dr van der Bijl, however further development of the town increased the use of subdivided stands and further development.[citation needed]

Another part of the Vaal's wealth lies on the Marlbank of the Vaal river towards Loch Vaal, West of the CBD. Some of these houses sized up to 2000 square meters and more. The area is often also referred to as "millionaires bend" and houses some of the most expensive homes in South-Africa, ranging into the R100 millions for an estate.[citation needed]

Education [edit]

There are over 60 primary and secondary schools within the Vaal Triangle area. Of these, 20 primary and 8 secondary schools are located in Vanderbijlpark. There are about 4 Private Schools in Vanderbijpark, Namely: El Shaddai School, Emmanuel Christian School, Vaal Primary School and Sancta Maria Junior School.

Secondary Education

Secondary Schools located in Vanderbijlpark is Vaal High School, Hoërskool Suiderlig (formally Hoërskool Lettie Fouche), Hoërskool Vanderbijlpark, Hoërskool Transvalia, Hoërskool Driehoek and Hoër Techniese Skool Carel de Wet.

Tertiary Education

The Vaal Triangle Campus of the North-West University is located in Vanderbijlpark. This campus is situated on the banks of the Vaal River and has student numbers exceeding 3000.

The main campus of Vaal University of Technology is located in Vanderbijlpark, about 1 km from the North West University.

The Computer Training institute (CTI) has just built a new satellite campus in central Vanderbijlpark.

Sedibeng College is famous for attracting many students from as far as the former Quaqua (a big township north of the Lesotho border) to do N-Level engineering courses and matric upgrades.

A big part of the Vanderbijlpark residential area is rented by students studying at the above mentioned institutions.

Entertainment [edit]

Vanderbijlpark is home to the Emerald Casino Resort, Emfuleni Golf Course and the recently constructed Vaal Mall. There are public swimming facilities in the suburbs of SE 2 and CW 6. The Vaal Horse Race Course is about 3 km from the city.

Demographics [edit]

According to the 2001 Census, Vanderbijlpark occupies an area of 233 km². The population is 80,205, which can be broken down as follows: 69.95% White, 28.81% Black, 0.89% Coloured and 0.35% Asian. The population density is 344 persons per km² (888 persons per mi²).[6]

As of the 2011 Census results,Vanderbijlpark is the 3rd fastest growing city in the country with a 21,1% increase in popultaion from 80 205 people in 2001, to 97 800 people in 2011.

Notable residents [edit]

Ray Jennings, former coach of the South African cricket team, was born in Vanderbijlpark. Shaun Sowerby, former Springbok rugby and Natal Sharks captain, was from Vanderbijlpark. He attended Oliver Lodge Primary school from 1985–1991, then attended Sasol High from 1992-1996.

Town twinning [edit]

Vanderbijlpark is town twinned with:

Netherlands Eindhoven, Netherlands

Industrial [edit]

Vanderbijlpark is one of South Africa's leading industrial cities.[7] There are many factories, warehouses and businesses in CE6.[citation needed] There are many public parks in the town, but most have been in decline in recent years.[citation needed]

References [edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Main Place Vanderbijlpark". Census 2001. 
  2. ^ http://mapserver.statssa.gov.za/GeographyWebsite/AdvancedReporting/stats_index.html
  3. ^ Rosenthal, E: Southern African Dictionary of National Biography, Frederick Warne and Co. Ltd, 1966, pp. 389–390, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 66-15690
  4. ^ "Climatological Normals of Johannesburg". Hong Kong Observatory. Retrieved 9 May 2010. 
  5. ^ "Climate data for Johannesburg". South African Weather Service. Retrieved 6 March 2010. 
  6. ^ http://mapserver.statssa.gov.za/GeographyWebsite/AdvancedReporting/stats_index.html
  7. ^ "http://www.arcelormittalsa.com/Operations/VanderbijlparkWorks/Overview.aspx". Retrieved 24 February 2013. 

External links [edit]

Municipal seats in Gauteng
Metropolitan
Municipalities
District
and Local
Municipalities
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