'Centurion' (previously known as Verwoerdburg) is a town in
Gauteng Province,
South Africa, located between
Pretoria and
Midrand (
Johannesburg), and part of the
City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. It is located at the intersection of the
N1 and
N14 highways. The
R21 also passes through Centurion.
The
Waterkloof Air Force Base, as well as the
Swartkops Air Force Base (which includes the
South African Air Force Museum) are located in the town.
History
Pre-Historic
Fossils discovered at the
Sterkfontein Caves show that homonids lived in the vicinity of Centurion between 2 to 3 million years ago. The Sterkfontein Caves, a
World Heritage Site, is less than 50 km from Centurion, near the town of
Krugersdorp.
However, the earliest evidence of modern human habitation in the Centurion area does not go this far back. It dates back to 1200 AD when black African communities settled in this area. They cultivated lands, grazed their cattle, made earthenware containers and smelted iron.
19th Century
From 1825 to 1826 the
Matabele peoples defeated the
Bakwena tribe and settled along the banks of the
Magalies River under the leadership of
Mzilikazi.
In 1841 the Erasmus family arrived and settled in the area that would later become Centurion. Daniel Jacobus Erasmus settled on the farm
Zwartkop, Daniel Elardus Erasmus on the farm
Doornkloof and Rasmus Elardus Erasmus developed the farm
Brakfontein. Several of the suburbs like
Erasmia,
Elardus Park,
Zwartkop and
Doornkloof were named after these 19th century owners of the land and their properties.
In 1849 Rev
Andrew Murray visited the farm
Doornkloof and christened 129 babies, heard the confession of their faith of 29 new members of the
Reformed Church and the next day, 29 December 1849, celebrated
communion.
In 1889 Alois Hugo Nelmapius bought the northern and north-eastern portions of the farm
Doorkloof and named it after his daughter Irene (who died 1961).
First Anglo-Boer War
As part of the
First Boer War, the battle for
Rooihuiskraal (Afrikaans for "Red House
Kraal") took place in 1881 here. A Boer commando under the leadership of D.J. Erasmus Jr defeated Colonel Gildea, or "The Blasted Colonel" as they called him, the British Officer Commanding of the
Pretoria Garrison. After the cornered British garrison tried to escape to
Natal to join General
George Pomeroy Colley, the
Boers entrenched themselves behind a stone wall surrounding the animal stockade, and wounded the colonel in the backside, who was standing upright in his stirrups. This was no doubt a serious blow to British morale!
Second Anglo-Boer War
During the
Second Boer War the
Irene Concentration Camp was established in 1901 on the farm
Doornkloof, as part of the British
scorched earth policy, where
Boer women and children were housed under extremely poor conditions. At its peak the camp had 5,500 inhabitants, mostly women and children. Between February 1901 and the end of the war in 1902, 1249 lost their lives here, about 1000 of them children. The
Irene Camp Cemetery is well preserved and contains 576 of the original slate tombstones that was carved by hand in the camp.
20th Century
The town of
Irene was established in 1902 when 337 plots were laid out on the farm
Doornkloof.
Jan Smuts later owned this farm, and died there in 1950. The
Smuts House is a museum today, and regularly hosts open air fleamarkets on its grounds.
Centurion developed from the initial Lyttelton Township that was marked out on the farm Droogegrond in 1904. Lyttelton Manor Extension 1 was established in 1942. These two townships initially resorted under the Peri Urban Board in Pretoria.
Centurion was granted City Council status in
1962 as 'Lyttelton'. It was formed by combining the areas of
Doornkloof,
Irene and
Lyttelton.
In
2000, the Centurion local government became part of the newly-created
City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, which also includes
Pretoria, and the town ceased to have its own Town Council.
Name Change
'Lyttelton' was renamed 'Verwoerdburg' in
1967, after
Hendrik Verwoerd, the socalled "architect of
apartheid". The surrounding areas, as they grew, came under the same name and Lyttelton became known as one of the suburbs of Verwoerdburg. Others included Clubview, Eldoraigne, Wierda Park, Zwartkops and their extensions.
The politically neutral name ''Centurion'' has no significance, and was presumably chosen by residents in 1995 to match the name of the Centurion Park (now called
SuperSport Park)
cricket ground, located in the area after the end of
apartheid. Following the end of Apartheid, the
Indian township of
Laudium and surrounding suburbs including
Erasmia and
Claudius, which were formerly a part of Pretoria, were made part of Centurion. A black township, called
Olievenhoutbosch was created in Centurion at around the same time.
Rapid Growth
Centurion has come a long way from being a sleepy southern suburb of
Pretoria, with smallholdings and large open spaces. Having experienced stupendous growth since 1994, like the rest of urban
South Africa, many businesses have relocated there, and property development is boosting the ever expanding city limits. This development has meant there is now little break between the outskirts of
Pretoria to the north, and
Midrand and
Johannesburg to the south. The Gauteng Provincial Government envisages that, according to current growth trends, much of the
Gauteng province will be city by 2015.
Infrastructure
Today Centurion features modern shopping malls (
Centurion Mall), several entertainment spots, a theatre, golf courses and a driving range. The
Unitas hospital is the largest private hospital on the African continent (including helipad) and is part of the
Netcare group. Technology companies like
DENEL,
Siemens,
SAAB Grintek Technologies,
Telkom and others are located here.
Climate
Centurion is located on the
Highveld like
Johannesburg and
Pretoria and has a similar climate, with dry, sunny winters (max daytime temperature around 20°C dropping to a crisp average minimum of 5°C) , and warm to hot summers (October - April) tempered by late-afternoon showers often accompanied by spectacular thunder and lightning. Hailstorms are not uncommon either. Summer temperatures range from the mid 20's to the mid 30's (°Celsius). Centurion's weather tends to follow the slightly warmer
Pretoria, when compared to that of
Johannesburg.
The
Hennops River flows through the heart of Centurion, and causes occasional flooding when heavy rainfall has occurred.
Suburbs of Centurion include
Lyttelton,
Clubview,
Irene,
Raslouw,
Sunderland Ridge,
Rooihuiskraal,
Wierda Park and
Zwartkop.
External links
★
Google Map
★
History of Centurion
★
CenturioNet
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