Northmead (G 9)

Name: Northmead

Northmead, Benoni.


The City of Benoni is located on the East Rand, east of Johannesburg, in Gauteng province. The area forms part of Greater Johannesburg and since 2000, has been part of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. Benoni became a city in 1981 and owes its existence to gold-mining and industry.

The first inhabitants of this area were Stone Age hunter-gatherers who roamed here some 50 000 years ago. Remnants of their weapons were found in the Rynfield area and near Cranbourne Station many years ago.

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.

The Discovery of Gold

In September 1887, gold was discovered and the Chimes mine was established by Cornishmen. For a time the village was known as ‘Little Cornwall’. Sir George Farrar, the Chairman of a mining Company, undertook the beautification of the rapidly growing mining town in 1904.

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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 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 this 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.

http://www.benonicentenary.co.za/centenaryhistory.htm
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