Benoni, South Africa

Benoni is a town on the East Rand in the South African province of Gauteng. The area forms part of the Greater Johannesburg, and since 2000 has been part of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.

History

Benoni's inauspicious beginnings were in 1881 when then surveyor-general Johan Rissik found it difficult to assign title deeds to all unclaimed state property. He named the area Benoni (son of my sorrows), after the name given by Rachel to her son in the biblical Book of Genesis. In September 1887, gold was discovered and the Chimes Mine was established by Cornishmen. The village became known as "Little Cornwall" for a time.

Sir George Farrar, the chairman of a mining company, undertook the beautification of the rapidly growing mining town in 1904. Minewater was channelled into a band of marshland, and reservoirs stocked with fish were created. Today these reservoirs remain and the area is dotted with many lakes where people fish, boat and relax.

Thousands of trees were also planted in the new suburbia and it achieved municipal status in 1907.

In 1922 the Rand Revolt (or 1922 Strike) broke out throughout the mines on the Witwatersrand and thousands of white miners went on strike. The strike was partly led by the South African Communist Party and was not well received by the South African Government so soon after the Russian Communist Revolution of 1917.

The strike quickly degenerated into open revolt, with armed miners fighting the South African police and army in the streets. The revolt lasted for about a year and the miners were bombed by the newly formed South African Air Force (SAAF) during this time. Some of the SAAF aeroplanes were shot down by the miners by groundfire. During the revolt, Benoni was used as one of the headquarters of the miners and much fighting took place in and around the area. The Benoni Museum details this episode in the town's history.

During the Apartheid Era designated townships for Blacks were established outside Benoni, namely Daveyton and Wattville. The township of Actonville was established for the habitation of Indians, whilst Benoni proper was reserved for 'whites only'. These various suburbs remain although the town is today relatively well integrated and all race-groups may live anywhere they please.

Benoni Today

Benoni is one of the friendlier cities on the East Rand, and if you go there you can expect a warm reception from most of the people who live there. It's also very diverse, with people of every colour and denomination. There are over ten schools in Benoni and in some areas there is a concentration of up to 6000 students within a 5km radius.

Over time gold mining has decreased in importance. Today the town is focused more on industry and services, rather than mining, and is used as a service hub for other East Rand towns such as Brakpan, Nigel and Springs. Benoni is also the site of the Benoni Heliport, for the use of helicopters.

Visitors to the town may visit the local museum, the many lakes, the Lakeside Shopping Mall (built in the shape of a Mississippi Steamboat on one of the lakes) or Northmead Square (known as the first shopping centre to bring cinemas back to Benoni) located in the suburbs. Near to Northmead Square is the Bunny Park which contains hundreds of rabbits and other small animals and is aimed at children.

During the 1990's Benoni was the site for the WOMAD Festival (the World of Music, Arts and Dance), an international cultural festival held annually around the world and used to showcase various artists.

World famous Oscar winning actress Charlize Theron was born in Benoni. She then moved to become a star in Hollywood, but was seen in Benoni again promoting her movie Monster.

Benoni was also the setting for the MTV-inspired, popular cult move Crazy Monkey: Straight Outta Benoni, released internationally in 2005.

The town is currently run by the African National Congress (ANC), with the liberal- democratic Democratic Alliance being the official local opposition.

Suburbs of Benoni

Benoni contains numerous attractive and tree-lined suburbs, and has a strong suburban character, quite unlike many other East Rand towns, which tend to be more industrialized. The main suburbs are:

• Airfield
• Benoni West
• Brentwood Park
• Crystal Park
• Cloverdene
• Fairleads
• Farrarmere
• Lakefield
• Lakeside
• Morehill
• Norton Estates
• Northmead
• Northvilla
• Rynfield
• Westdene

People from Benoni

• Charlize Theron, actress
• Bryan Habana, current Springboks rugby player
• Brian Mitchell, boxing champion,
• Pollen Ndanya, soccer player
• Glen Elder, geographer
• Mark Killian, Musician and Academy award nominee for a movie sountrack
• Gavin Williams, co-creator of Crazy Monkey
• Stewart Laird, Founder of the Bene Elim [1]

External links

• AllRefer Encyclopedia - Benoni, South Africa
• An estate agency's description of Benoni's early history
• Google Map