Post on 16-Dec-2015
A Sightseeing Tour Around the Earth : Gauteng South Africa
By Salvatore and GabriellaHomeschooled in Johannesburg South Africa by
PennyiLearn ppm1- Places and Perspectives
January – May 2008
GAUTENG SOUTH AFRICA
We live in Bedfordview, which falls into Ekurhuleni. Click on the link below:http://www.youtube.com/visitgauteng?target=
GAUTENG FACTSCapital: Johannesburg
Languages: 21.5% isiZulu, 14.4% Afrikaans, 13.1% Sesotho, 12.5% EnglishPopulation: 9 525 571 (2006)
Share of SA population: 20.1%
Area: 16 548 square kilometers
Share of total SA area: 1.4%
Population density: 576 people per square kilometers
Gross regional product: R413.6-billion
Share of total SA GDP: 33.3%
History of Gauteng
Click on these links for a history of Gauteng:
http://www.xtimeline.com/events.aspx?q=Bif200804260253058128281&p=1
http://www.southafrica.co.za/history_28.html
Views of Johannesburg skyline
Historic Buildings of Johannesburg
Johannesburg was founded in 1886 and
is the largest and most populous city in South Africa. It is the provincial capital of
Gauteng, the wealthiest province
in South Africa, having the largest economy of any
metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan
Africa. The city is one of the 40 largest
metropolitan areas in the world, it is Africa's most
advanced city, and one of Africa's only
two global cities, the other being Cairo.
Arial view of the city centre
Anglo-American HO Barbican Building
Ansteys Tower, located at 59
Joubert Street is now a national
monument. This building was once the home of Cecil Williams (actor, playwright, and
member of Umkhonto we Sizwe). Nelson Mandela was
disguised as Cecil Williams' driver when he was captured on 5 August 1962.
Johannesburg City Hallnow houses the Gauteng provinciallegislature
While Johannesburg does not form one of South Africa's three capital cities, it does house the Constitutional Court- South
Africa's highest court.
Johannesburg is the source of a large-scale gold and diamond trade, due to its location on the mineral –rich Witwatersrand
range of hills.
Johannesburg is also served by O.R Tambo , the largest and busiest airport in Africa and a gateway for international air
travel to and from the rest of southern Africa.
Soweto is situate in the south west of Johannesburg. Soweto is a township that the apartheid government established to
accommodate the large number of migrant workers who came to Johannesburg from their villages and towns to work
on the mines of Witwatersrand.
The Hillbrow Tower is the highest structure in Johannesburg, and is probably the city's
most recognisable landmark. The Hillbrow Tower (previously known as the JG
Strijdom Tower) was built over three years, between June 1968 and April 1971, and is 269m high. It is owned by Telkom
(previously by the Post Office) and is used as a microwave tower. It used to boast a revolving restaurant, but was closed in January 1981 for security reasons. The
tower had a blue illuminated Telkom sign installed on 31 May 2005, and was
renamed as the Telkom Joburg Tower. It is interesting to note that the height of the Hillbrow Tower is virtually the same as
the length of the Titanic (269m).
The Standard Bank building is unique in Johannesburg, in that it was built from
the top down. After the central core was built, the floors were suspended from three cantilevered arms, with the top floors added first, followed by each
lower floor. The building is organised into three hanging volumes of nine
office floors each, with air conditioning plants housed between the sections. Photograph on right courtesy of
www.joburg.org.za
Since 2007 with all the new investments into the city centre, the money is being poured into restoring
Joburg's CBD.
Johannesburg Art Gallery, Astor Building and WLD High Court Witwatersrand
For more on the restoration of Johannesburg inner city click onto these interesting links:
http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/1902/203/http://www.joburgnews.co.za/nov_2002/nov22_heritage.stm
http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/126/58/
Sir Herbert Baker buildings
Stone House, Sir Herbert Baker’s home in Parktown Johannesburg
http://www.southafricaholiday.org.uk/culture/fp_herbert_baker.htm
Rodean Girls School, Johannesburg
St John’s College for Boys, Johannesburg
Northwards,Johannesburg
GOLD REEF CITY
Built around the No. 14 shaft of Crown Mines, this city is an authentic
reproduction of Johannesburg at the beginning of the 1900s.
There are fully furnished miner's houses with original furniture and fittings,
including pressed ceilings.
The museum exhibits include antique clothing and children's toys, which take
the visitor back 100 years to the city that was. A train encircles the park and
many shops offer interesting curios.
You can also visit the original gold mine in a lift that goes down to 220 meters below the surface. An on site casino is open 24
hours daily.
http://www.goldreefcity-mint.co.za/
http://www.goldreefcity.co.za/theme_park/index.asp
Authentic mining equipment in
museum
APARTHEID MUSEUM,Johannesburg
The Apartheid Museum was built to celebrate the triumph of the human spirit over adversity, inequality and
humiliation.
Beginning in 1948, the white elected National Party government implemented the policy of apartheid which turned 20 million people into second class citizens,
damning them to a life of servitude, humiliation and abuse.
Their liberation in 1994 with the election of Nelson Mandela, the prisoner who
became president, is a climax in the saga of a nation's resistance, courage
and fortitude.
The Apartheid Museum , the first of its kind, illustrates the rise and fall of
apartheid.
Click on this link to a video introduction to the museum:
http://www.nowmediawebcasting.co.za/
clients/apartheid/
MANDELA FAMILY MUSEUM, Soweto Johannesburg
With FW de Klerk, with whom he was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
Nelson Mandela's humble little house in Orlando West, Soweto, now called the Mandela Family Museum, is an
interesting stopover for those who want to peep into the life of the “Black Pimpernel”, the world's most famous former
prisoner.
http://www.sa-venues.com/attractionsga/mandela-museum.htm
NEWTOWN CULTURAL PRECINCT,
Johannesburg
Newtown is central to all-year Jozi culture and the annual highlight, Arts Alive International Festival, held every September – decidedly, a high point on Johannesburg’s arts and culture calendar, when patrons
of the arts spill in and out of every available venue.
For a map of Newtown click on this link:www.joburg-archive.co.za/maps/IMS_NEWTOWN.pdf
Market theatrehttp://www.markettheatre.co.za/
The indelible Kippies Café celebrating the
contributions of musicians to African
Jazz. It is named after jazz legend Kippie
MoeketsiMoyo (the Swahili word for soul... )
Restaurant at the Market Theatrehttp://www.moyo.co.za/
NEWTOWN CULTURAL PRECINCT,
Johannesburg
Brenda Fassie, South Africa's undisputed queen
of pop, Dubbed the "Madonna of the Townships" in a 2001 Time Magazine interview,
Fassie emerged at the height of the anti-
apartheid struggle in the 1980s to
give a voice to marginalised black South
Africans. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrinswnda3Q&feature=related
A bronze statue of Brenda Fassie outside Bassline
Jazz Club
NELSON MANDELA BRIDGE
Paris has its Eiffel Tower, New York its Statue of Liberty, Sydney its Harbour
Bridge. On 20 July, Johannesburg opened the largest cable-stayed bridge in southern Africa. Who else to name it after but Nelson Mandela, the man who led South Africa across the apartheid
divide?
Together, the Newtown and Braamfontein developments form a "cultural arc" linking the Newtown
Cultural Precinct with the Constitution Hill precinct.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela_Bridge
SOPHIATOWN,Johannesburg
Originally called Sophiatown, it was destroyed, and a white
suburb called Triomf (Triumph) was established in
its place by the apartheid government, before the name Sophiatown was
officially restored in 2006.
Sophiatown became the symbolic center of black
culture around Johannesburg in the 1940s and ‘50s. It was a focus of arts, politics, religion, and
entertainment.
In the early hours, heavily armed police entered Sophiatown to force
residents out of their homes and load their belongings onto government
trucks. The residents were taken to a large tract of land, thirteen miles from
the city centre, to the aptly-named empty fields of Meadowlands (now
part of Soweto) Resistance was only peaceful.
The government bulldozed Sophiatown by the end of 1963(except for the
Anglican Church of Christ the King and rebuilt it as a white only suburb
named Triomf (Afrikaans for triumph). The ANC government restored the
name Sophiatown in the late 1990s, although the name change was only
completed in February 2006.
OLD FORT, CONSTITUTION HILL Johannesburg
The Constitutional Court is a
groundbreaking building that not only houses the 11 judges
who guard South Africa's Constitution
but also which stands as an icon of our new culture of democracy and human rights.
It is fitting that the Court, a symbol of the democracy that replaced apartheid, has been built on the site of
the Old Fort, Johannesburg's notorious prison - symbolising the triumph of hope over a troubled
past.The building, which reflects the values of our new
culture of constitutionalism, needed a court chamber, public areas, a library, public reading
space and rooms for 11 judges and other staff. Few modern South African buildings have inspired as
much awe and excitement as this one.
http://www.constitutionalcourt.org.za/site/home.htm
http://www.concourt.gov.za/text/tour/main.html
http://www.doj.gov.za/trc/media/1997/9707/
s970714b.htm
http://www.jhbzoo.org.za/
The main purpose of the Johannesburg Zoo is the accommodation,
enrichment, husbandry and medical care of wild animals. The
Johannesburg Zoo contributes to the quality of life of the citizens of Joburg through education, conservation, research and recreation of wild animals.
JOHANNESBURG BOTANICAL GARDENSAs Joburg started as a fast growing, rough
and raw mining camp little attention was paid to the provision of parks for its
residents. Joubert Park, the first established park in the city and later
home of the Johannesburg Art Gallery. A parks department was established only after the Anglo-Boer South African War (1899 – 1902) when a start was made
with the development of parks and recreational spaces.
As land along the main Witwatersrand gold reef was being mined for gold, it was hard to find land for recreational purposes. ‘The Wilds’ – a reserve for
indigenous shrubs and flowers in Houghton – was established in 1938. Bezuidenhout Park, on the eastern
outskirts, was developed in 1945. The homestead and cemetery of the original
owners, the Bezuidenhout family, still exists. Many other parks and
sanctuaries followed all over the city and its suburbs.
The Botannical Gardens opened in 1968.
The Crocodile Ramble, Magaliesburghttp://www.theramble.co.za/
Croc City Crocodile Farm provides the
opportunity to observe one of the world's most spectacular predators at close range. You are also given the chance to HOLD a
hatchling. On display we have croc hatchlings to large adults of up to
five meters in length.
The maze is now 30%
larger and the beautiful Garden of Reflection is filled with poetry and roses and things
spinning and dancing in the
wind!
The Lion Park offers terrific close-up views and other experiences with lions, as well as rare white lions.
Other large predators at the Lion Park include cheetahs, brown and spotted hyenas, wild dogs and jackals. Superb
filming and photographic opportunities are also possible.
http://www.lion-park.com/
“Dangerous Liasons “A story about dangerous
companionshttp://www.lion-park.com/c
ompanions2.htm
The colourfully painted homes of the Ndebele villagers are an irresistible photo opportunity, and
you must buya beautiful Ndebele doll!
The sensational handcraft beadwork of the Ndebele woman folk make for a special addition to you curio
collection.
http://www.lesedi.com/
This is a charming, authentic and earthy African
experience in the heart of the bush, a cultural village with exciting traditional dance display, craft market, pub, restaurant, junction venue
and conference centre.
Lesedi Ndebele VillageMAPOCH VILLAGE
This living cultural village (a “kraal”) offers fascinating
history and an environment where modern cultures blend naturally with the values and norms of the Ndebele people.
CONCLUSION
There are many more fascinating and beautiful places to visit in South Africa, but we have
chosen places which we really enjoy visiting, and which are of historical importance for us.
Visit this blog and have a look at the tour you are taken of around Johannesburg.
http://johannesburgdailyphoto.blogspot.com/
http://gardkarlsen.com/johannesburg_south_africa_2004.htm Bruma Craft Market
Beautiful art and crafts in Newtown Cultural Precinct
We hope that you have not only enjoyed our tour of Gauteng, but that you have learnt about of interesting, beautiful country and in particular, the province where we live.