Western Area Township

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As Western Area Township or Western Areas , districts on the then furthest western outskirts of Johannesburg within and beyond the urban area were referred to in the 20th century , which mainly served as residential areas for non-European urban populations . The peculiarity here was the fact that many residents owned land, mainly in the form of the small plots they used themselves.

description

The areas known as Western Areas mainly comprised the settlements of Sophiatown , Martindale and Newclare, which were originally separated from the urban area and were later incorporated. According to the preliminary report of the 1946 census, officially 52,879 people lived here. In addition, there was a settlement belonging to Johannesburg called Western Native with 13,221 inhabitants. The spatial delimitation for the application of the term Western Areas remained blurred; The former Pageview district, which is close to the center (near Vrededorp ), was also included, because it made a distinction between white residents and other residents.

The suburb of Sophiatown was flanked on its western and eastern fringes, originally undeveloped strips, on which colored population later settled. This population group also lived in neighboring Coronationville. The living conditions in Newclare were particularly poor, the dwellings consisted of corrugated iron buildings that had been erected in a disorderly manner . Newclare was intended as a residential area for coloreds. Around 1956, however, 1,500 Indians and Chinese , 1,000 Coloreds, 100 Malay and 14,000 Black lived here .

history

These districts suffered from overpopulation with complex social and health concomitants. The urban condition was extremely bad, consisting of worn out small houses and barracks. In view of these conditions, a commission made up of representatives of the government, the provincial administration ( Transvaal ) and the Johannesburg city council was convened at the instigation of public authorities to investigate the situation in detail. This led to the proposal to move the majority of the residents to newly built township units of Meadowlands and Diepkloof (both now part of Soweto), which would be adjacent to existing similar settlements in the southwest of the city. Johannesburg pleaded for compensation for the previous landowners, but the government officials remained adamant and only wanted to grant a lease for a period of 30 years. These different positions ultimately caused the negotiations to fail and Johannesburg withdrew from further progress. As a result, there were public protests calling for the elimination of the slum area and taking a stand against the threat of mass resettlement.

In November 1953, the Johannesburg City Council made a move to the responsible minister ( Department of Native Affairs ) to reduce the conflict before the planned resettlement of around 57,000 people, which demanded an investigation of the ownership structure in the western areas. The city saw the resettlement plans ( Western Areas Removal Scheme ) as the last resort to be taken and advocated measures with significantly less interference with the established population structure. In the event of an unavoidable resettlement campaign, all landowners should be adequately compensated and at least equivalent facilities should be set up in the new residential areas for the medical, educational and religious needs as well as the residents' recreational needs and practical local transport facilities. The government found such conditions unacceptable. Against this, there were renewed public protests, which became increasingly loud. There was an organized movement ( African Anti-Expropriation and Proper Housing Movement ) and public declarations of intent from property owners not to want to sell their land. Petitions were made to the South African National Assembly and support committees were formed across Johannesburg to deliver protest notes to their city ​​councils . The Johannesburg city council finally turned to the parliament in order to persuade the minister to transfer the resettlement measures to the city according to its hitherto favored conditions in local self-responsibility. None of these efforts could change the government's mind.

Due to the withdrawal of the city, a difficult legal situation arose. This prompted the government to enact the Natives' Resettlement Act ( Act No. 19/1954 , for example: Native Resettlement Act ). The law legalized the planned violent resettlement and provided for the establishment of a resettlement board ( Natives Resettlement Board ), which should coordinate the measures and account to the government. For the landowners, the procedure meant expropriation without compensation.

In the course of 1956, larger parts of the western areas were declared areas for whites ( white group areas ) and a smaller part were declared controlled areas , which meant that these areas were controlled by government agencies. These measures are among the striking developments in apartheid policy under the government of Daniel François Malan and his successor Johannes Gerhardus Strijdom .

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c d Muriel Horrell: Laws Affecting Race Relations in South Africa, 1948–1976 . Johannesburg 1978, pp. 86-87.
  2. ↑ Ellen Hellmann : Urban Areas . In: Ellen Hellmann, Leah Abrahams (Ed.): Handbook on Race Relations in South Africa . Cape Town, London, New York, Oxford University Press, 1949, p. 254.
  3. ^ SAIRR : A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1955–56 . Johannesburg [1956], pp. 108-109.
  4. ↑ Survey 1956–57 , Johannesburg [1957], pp. 102-105.
  5. ↑ a b Survey 1953–54 , Johannesburg 1954, pp. 60–61.
  6. ^ Union of South Africa: Natives Resettlement Act, Act No 19 of 1954 . online at www.sahistory.org.za (English)