South African family history, genealogy, heritage and interesting places, past and present. All articles researched and written by Anne Lehmkuhl. COPYRIGHT ANNE LEHMKUHL, no article can be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission. EMAIL ME
Gold Route for East Rand
Almost all the East Rand towns were founded thanks to the gold rush. Now there are efforts under way to bring this heritage to the general public. A Gold Route is planned, stretching from the Rand Refinery in Germiston through Boksburg and Benoni to the New Kleinfontein Mine outside Brakpan. Visitors will be able to see the refinery where all the gold nuggets are melted and processed into pure gold. A visit to the ERPM mining village in Boksburg is also on the cards, as is the mine strikers' route of 1912, 1913, 1922 and 1946. The first general miners' strike was in 1912. A year later, 4 500 Black miners surrounded the Benoni police station, demanding the release of their 3 spokesmen. In 1922 White and Black miners went on strike about working conditions. In 1946 about 40 000 miners went on strike. Modderfontein, the first dynamite factory founded in 1896 as the Dynamite Company, is also to be part of the Gold Route. For more information about the Gold Route, call (011) 452 7392.