Brakpan 100: Independence from Benoni

The Benoni township was established in 1904, but because neither the Boksburg or Springs municipalities wanted to assume responsibility for the area, it could not develop because of a lack of effective sanitary arrangements and purified water.

The first election was in November 1907, and Brakpan was classified as Ward 4 of Benoni.

Brakpan residents elected to serve on the board were C Brodigan (Brakpan Mines), J Thom (Apex Collieries) and J Stevenson.

With the establishment of Benoni, all postal matters in Brakpan were referred to Benoni, and the banks also traded in the Benoni area.

The inconvenience convinced the residents of Brakpan to establish their own town.

The first step in this direction was made in 1908.

The plan was initially to lay out the area near the Johannesburg-Witbank railway line, but it was rejected by Benoni councillors.

Their opinion was that the ground was undermined by Brakpan Mines shaft No 1 and would therefore be dangerous (at this stage the shaft was already about 1 000m deep).

In their opinion, the area would also be too close to Benoni.

It was soon clear that more gold would be found in the area, and by allowing the establishment of a town near Benoni would help set up a possible future competitor.

In 1911, the developers took steps to overcome disputes raised by Benoni, and in April that year, Ewan Currey, a surveyor, arrived to lay out the new township.

Currey completed his work in September 1911.

He laid out a town of 3 123 plots, a park, a market square, two squares, a recreation area, a railway station and a reserved railway site.

This plan was submitted to the Benoni Town Council in January 1912, where a small delegation led by Mr Edgecombe again opposed the proposal.

However, the council approved the establishment of Brakpan – as a suburb of Benoni.

Brakpan continued to grow during the First World War (1914 – 1918), and Benoni found it difficult to keep up with the demands.

Businesses were set up in Brakpan and a police station was built, but the nearest post office was still in Benoni.

There were 2 450 stands in Benoni while there were 3 123 in Brakpan.

Virtually nothing was done about the provision of sanitary services, and very few houses had tap water and had to rely on a well or windmill in their backyard.

Already in 1915, a taxpayer association was formed in Brakpan with the aim of fighting for independence from Benoni.

In December 1917, a formal petition was drafted by a young lawyer, Alf Trollip.

It was signed by the chairman of the Taxpayers Association, BJ Milne, and 402 residents.

The petition calling for municipal status for Brakpan was submitted to George Hills.

As a result of the petition, the administrator of Transvaal appointed a commission of three, consisting of AW Satem (chairman), PC Dalmahoy (Benoni magistrate) and AE Williamson (accountant) to investigate the matter.

After hearing the testimony, the commission submitted a majority vote against the breakaway, with only Williamson in favour of Brakpan becoming a municipality in its own right.

The administrator and his executive committee member visited Brakpan in January 1919 to interview people to make their own decision.

Early in March, a gathering of 2 600 people was held in the market square, and independence was demanded.

Later that month, the administrator decided that Brakpan would be allowed to have its own municipality and look after its own interests.

Mr Dalmahoy was appointed to divide the town into wards and draw up a voters roll in preparation for the first election.

The same announcement also named R Acton (chairman), H Tinker, J Lapping, J Salters, A van Belkum, H Bokhout and T Chalmers, as an interim committee to lead the town to the first election.

To celebrate the news, the taxpayers’ association immediately arranged an impromptu dance in the Masonic Hall.

The committee met for the first time on July 30, 1919, in Mr Tinker’s house.

Brakpan Town Council dissolved

Brakpan became part of the City of Ekurhuleni when the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (EMM) was established in 2000.

The previous administration of Brakpan was dis-established, along with those of Alberton, Benoni, Boksburg, Edenvale, Germiston, Kempton Park, Nigel and Springs.

The name Ekurhuleni means place of peace in XiTsonga.