In the early pioneering days of Benoni, before it was proclaimed a municipality, stands were being sold by public auction in 1904.

A young Jewish fellow named Joseph Jacob Fine arrived in Benoni in 1903, and by 1912, he had built and owned two lovely buildings that still exist today.

The first building he owned was built in 1909 on stand No. 1335 in Benoni Township, at the corner of Market Avenue and Fort Street (today Prince’s Ave and Voortrekker Street).

He leased it to various shop merchants, one of whom was Ernest Frederick Prankerd, in November 1915 for five years, with the lease terminating on October 31, 1920.

Prankerd traded as an ironmonger, hardware, fancy goods, toys and news agency merchant and paid 35 pounds sterling per month to the offices of Messrs Kuper and Reid, Benoni.

On June 30, 1919, Fine signed an Agreement with Laurence Birch, a building contractor in Benoni, to alter and extend the building from a single storey to a double storey (still exists today).

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Saidee Fine, JJ Fine’s wife, was a classical pianist who provided music for silent movies. She also had a ballet school and was actively involved in eisteddfods, with her studio located on the second floor of the JJ Fine building.

The other merchants on this floor were Emporium and a photographic studio.

The second building owned by JJ Fine was on the corner of Prince’s Avenue and Wilstead Street, which was built in 1912 on stands 2629, 2630 and 2631 in Benoni Township.

The business that operated here was a produce merchant, which opened in February 1917. It was one of the first of its kind to open in Benoni.

Run by Joseph Jacob Fine and Susman Fine, the business traded under the names Fine Bros Produce and Agricultural Implement Merchants.

In 1921, N Jacobson, a shareholder of The Farmers’ Supply Limited (a company duly registered with limited liability under the laws of the Transvaal province), signed a lease with JJ Fine to occupy the property for three years, from April 1, 1921, until March 31, 1924.

The rental was 30 pounds sterling per month, payable at the offices of Benoni, Brakpan and Springs Board of Executors Building Society and Trust Company Limited, Benoni Arcade.

Its founders were PC Gordon and AJ Levy, with a few shareholders at different times.

Their main products were oat and potato seed and they went on to supply agricultural implements, mining supplies, horse-drawn implements and wagon provisions to the early Benoni settlers.

They were also one of the first companies in the area to supply tractors and tractor-drawn machinery.

During that time, Fine enlarged the arches in the building, strengthened the surrounding fence and extended the stables to the boundary of stand number 2630.

Kusiel Jankelowitz, a farmer in the Benoni district of Cloverdene and Bronkhorstspruit, sold his two farms and bought shares in The Farmers’ Supply Limited company in the early 1950s.

In about 1971, Jankelowitz bought all shares and the company changed its name to Benoni Farmers’ Supply (Pty) Ltd.

Over the years, this household name was very proud of the service it provided to its customers, and every deal was different, especially at auctions.

A very successful part of the business was buying used tractors, fixing them and selling them again.

After 104 years of operating as a premier supplier of agricultural machinery, tractor equipment and general hardware, Benoni Farmers’ Supply (Pty) Ltd closed its doors in 2016.

(Source: The late Ronnie Jankelowitz from Farmers Supply/document info: Lenore Schwenk/story by Glynis Cox Millett-Clay, February 5, 2026).

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