Laudium, Gauteng
Encyclopedia
Laudium is an Indian
township
southwest of central Pretoria
, in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.
.
Laudium was created by the Apartheid government as part of their policy aimed at moving ethnic groups out of Marabastad and central Pretoria
, which were zoned as 'White Areas' following the passage if the Group Areas Act
. Laudium was proclaimed an Indian township in 1961. As for its former inhabitants, older aerial photographs still show remains of circular type dwellings to the west of Laudium.
The eastern portion of the original Claudius retained its name and white population for a time, but the white population of Claudius has long since been displaced by Indians (it was eventually also declared an Indian area by the Apartheid government, to reduce housing shortages in Laudium), and Claudius has effectively become an extension of Laudium.
The boundary between Laudium and Claudius is not widely known, even by residents of the two areas.
During 1981, an Umkhonto weSizwe rocket
attack on the Voortrekkerhoogte (now Thaba Tshwane
) military base was launched from Laudium. The homes of local politicians who supported Apartheid were also bombed in the 1980s.
Although Laudium was initially part of Pretoria, it was incorporated into Centurion following the end of apartheid. Centurion, including Laudium, was incorporated into the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in 2000.
Dolomitic sinkhole
s occasionally cause significant property damage in Laudium.
and Muslim residents, with a large number of mosques and temples, the largest and oldest mosque being the PMT Jumma Masjid in Jewel Street. Many of the Muslim residents are Memons
or Surtis. There are also many recent South Asia
n (India
n and Pakistani) residents, who immigrated to South Africa after the end of Apartheid.
Laudium is a relatively wealthy area (which is unusual for a township), with very large mansion
s visible from the R55
road (although technically many of these homes are in Claudius, not Laudium).
An economically deprivedhttp://regenesys.co.za/18570/cas-coovadio area of Laudium (described in an academic paper as a "ghetto
"http://www.ajol.info/index.php/asr/article/viewFile/23261/19941), informally called White Blocks (named after their paint colour), with single and multi-family government-built dwelling units is situated in the western part of Laudium. However, the Indian township of Lotus Gardens was established in the early 1990s, north of Church Street, and many Indian families from White Blocks were relocated there, and some units were torn down (Lotus Gardens developed into a multiracial suburb). White Blocks continues to exist though the units are no longer exclusively painted white. The Laudium Police Station
is in White Blocks, in a converted unit.
Another public housing development, in Extension 2, consisting of council flats, was later sold to residents, and is called Himalaya Heights.
After the end of Apartheid, many residents of Laudium moved to the neighbouring (formerly whites-only) suburbs of Erasmia and Christoburg which lie directly south of Laudium, and, eventually, a link road was constructed, and later tarred, allowing for direct travel between the suburbs (previously, the only way to travel between Laudium and Erasmia was a circuitious route via the R55), and by the time of the 2001 Census, Indians made up almost 66% of the population of Erasmia and Christoburg, having largely displaced their white residentshttp://census.adrianfrith.com/place/77603025 in the preceding ten years.
Significant numbers of more affluent Indian residents began relocating out of Laudium, to newly established nearby security estates in Centurion in the late 2000s.
The black township of Atteridgeville
lies directly north of Laudium, although the two areas are separated by a series of hills, and no direct tarred road link exists between the two.
Laudium has 3 extensions which were completed in 1976, 1978 and 1983, respectively.
A squatter camp, established post-apartheid, called Itireleng lies to the west of Laudium.
There is also an Islamic educational institute which specialises in teaching Islamic Sciences called the Sunni Darul Uloom Pretoria
The Transvaal College of Education, which trained Indian teachers in the former Transvaal
province was moved to a large campus in Laudium. However, after the end of apartheid, the college was deemed redundant and closed down (Indian teachers were no longer barred from colleges formerly used by white teachers). The college campus is now used by the Rosina Sedibane Sports School.
Laudium has a number of private medical practitioners and pharmacies.
road, which links Laudium to central Pretoria as well as Centurion. A dual carriageway links Laudium with central Pretoria, while the deteriorated single-carriageway link to Centurion was being upgraded as of 2011. Direct freeway access is limited.
Road links to the economically important eastern suburbs of Pretoria are poor, usually requiring drivers to traverse the city centre or rat run
across the Thaba Tshwane
military base.
Indian South Africans
Indian South Africans are people of Indian descent living in South Africa and mostly live in and around the city of Durban, making it 'the largest 'Indian' city outside India'. Most Indians in South Africa are descendents of migrants from colonial India during late 19th-century through early...
township
Township (South Africa)
In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...
southwest of central Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.
History
The original name for Laudium was Claudius, (originally reserved for White residents), named after Claudius Marais de Vries who owned a farm called Mooiplats and was a former mayor of PretoriaPretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
.
Laudium was created by the Apartheid government as part of their policy aimed at moving ethnic groups out of Marabastad and central Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, which were zoned as 'White Areas' following the passage if the Group Areas Act
Group Areas Act
The Group Areas Act of 1950 was an act of parliament created under the apartheid government of South Africa on 27th April 1950. The act assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a system of urban apartheid...
. Laudium was proclaimed an Indian township in 1961. As for its former inhabitants, older aerial photographs still show remains of circular type dwellings to the west of Laudium.
The eastern portion of the original Claudius retained its name and white population for a time, but the white population of Claudius has long since been displaced by Indians (it was eventually also declared an Indian area by the Apartheid government, to reduce housing shortages in Laudium), and Claudius has effectively become an extension of Laudium.
The boundary between Laudium and Claudius is not widely known, even by residents of the two areas.
During 1981, an Umkhonto weSizwe rocket
Rocket
A rocket is a missile, spacecraft, aircraft or other vehicle which obtains thrust from a rocket engine. In all rockets, the exhaust is formed entirely from propellants carried within the rocket before use. Rocket engines work by action and reaction...
attack on the Voortrekkerhoogte (now Thaba Tshwane
Thaba Tshwane
Thaba Tshwane is a military base , in Pretoria, South Africa. Founded around 1905 by the British Army, and called Roberts Heights after Lord Roberts...
) military base was launched from Laudium. The homes of local politicians who supported Apartheid were also bombed in the 1980s.
Although Laudium was initially part of Pretoria, it was incorporated into Centurion following the end of apartheid. Centurion, including Laudium, was incorporated into the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in 2000.
Dolomitic sinkhole
Sinkhole
A sinkhole, also known as a sink, shake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes — the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone...
s occasionally cause significant property damage in Laudium.
Demographics
Laudium has roughly equal numbers of HinduHinduism in South Africa
Hinduism in South Africa has a following primarily in KwaZulu-Natal, due to historical patterns of migration to the region from India. But now a significant population exists also in Gauteng, especially around Lenasia...
and Muslim residents, with a large number of mosques and temples, the largest and oldest mosque being the PMT Jumma Masjid in Jewel Street. Many of the Muslim residents are Memons
Memons in South Africa
Memons in South Africa form a prosperous Muslim subgroup in that country's Indian community, and are largely descended from Memons from Kathiawar who immigrated as traders, early in the 20th century from India...
or Surtis. There are also many recent South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
n (India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n and Pakistani) residents, who immigrated to South Africa after the end of Apartheid.
Laudium is a relatively wealthy area (which is unusual for a township), with very large mansion
Mansion
A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...
s visible from the R55
R55 (Gauteng)
The R55 is a north-south Regional Route in South Africa that connects Pretoria with Sandton, and is also designated as the P66-1 and K71 by the Gauteng Provincial Government ....
road (although technically many of these homes are in Claudius, not Laudium).
An economically deprivedhttp://regenesys.co.za/18570/cas-coovadio area of Laudium (described in an academic paper as a "ghetto
Ghetto
A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...
"http://www.ajol.info/index.php/asr/article/viewFile/23261/19941), informally called White Blocks (named after their paint colour), with single and multi-family government-built dwelling units is situated in the western part of Laudium. However, the Indian township of Lotus Gardens was established in the early 1990s, north of Church Street, and many Indian families from White Blocks were relocated there, and some units were torn down (Lotus Gardens developed into a multiracial suburb). White Blocks continues to exist though the units are no longer exclusively painted white. The Laudium Police Station
South African Police Service
The South African Police Service is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1116 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in each province...
is in White Blocks, in a converted unit.
Another public housing development, in Extension 2, consisting of council flats, was later sold to residents, and is called Himalaya Heights.
After the end of Apartheid, many residents of Laudium moved to the neighbouring (formerly whites-only) suburbs of Erasmia and Christoburg which lie directly south of Laudium, and, eventually, a link road was constructed, and later tarred, allowing for direct travel between the suburbs (previously, the only way to travel between Laudium and Erasmia was a circuitious route via the R55), and by the time of the 2001 Census, Indians made up almost 66% of the population of Erasmia and Christoburg, having largely displaced their white residentshttp://census.adrianfrith.com/place/77603025 in the preceding ten years.
Significant numbers of more affluent Indian residents began relocating out of Laudium, to newly established nearby security estates in Centurion in the late 2000s.
The black township of Atteridgeville
Atteridgeville
Atteridgeville, part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, is a township located on the west of Pretoria, South Africa. It is bordered to the west by Saulsville, to the east by Proclamation Hill; to the south by Laudium and to the north by Lotus Gardens.-History:Atteridgeville was...
lies directly north of Laudium, although the two areas are separated by a series of hills, and no direct tarred road link exists between the two.
Laudium has 3 extensions which were completed in 1976, 1978 and 1983, respectively.
A squatter camp, established post-apartheid, called Itireleng lies to the west of Laudium.
Education
Laudium has a large number of government schools. However, since the end of Apartheid, most Indian children from Laudium have begun attending private religious schools, or schools in formerly white areas. While the government schools continue to be staffed mostly by Indian teachers, most of the pupils in these schools are black and commute daily from black townships.Public Schools
- Andrew Anthony Primary School
- Hillside Primary School
- Himalaya Secondary School
- Jacaranda Primary School
- Laudium Heights Primary School
- Laudium Primary School
- Laudium Secondary School
- Rosina Sedibane Sports School
- Sunrise School
Private Schools
- PMT Sunni School
- Central Islamic School
- Pretoria Hindu School
- Pretoria Muslim SchoolPretoria Muslim SchoolThe Pretoria Muslim School also now known as the Tshwane Muslim School has been ranked in the top 100 schools in Gauteng. It is located in Laudium...
- Al Ghazali College
- Al-Asr Educational Institute
There is also an Islamic educational institute which specialises in teaching Islamic Sciences called the Sunni Darul Uloom Pretoria
The Transvaal College of Education, which trained Indian teachers in the former Transvaal
Transvaal Province
Transvaal Province was a province of the Union of South Africa from 1910 to 1961, and of its successor, the Republic of South Africa, from 1961 until the end of apartheid in 1994 when a new constitution subdivided it.-History:...
province was moved to a large campus in Laudium. However, after the end of apartheid, the college was deemed redundant and closed down (Indian teachers were no longer barred from colleges formerly used by white teachers). The college campus is now used by the Rosina Sedibane Sports School.
Healthcare
The Laudium Hospital, a state hospital created under apartheid for Indians from Laudium and surrounding areas, closed down, and is now the Laudium Community Health Centre.Laudium has a number of private medical practitioners and pharmacies.
Roads
Laudium lies west of the R55R55 (Gauteng)
The R55 is a north-south Regional Route in South Africa that connects Pretoria with Sandton, and is also designated as the P66-1 and K71 by the Gauteng Provincial Government ....
road, which links Laudium to central Pretoria as well as Centurion. A dual carriageway links Laudium with central Pretoria, while the deteriorated single-carriageway link to Centurion was being upgraded as of 2011. Direct freeway access is limited.
Road links to the economically important eastern suburbs of Pretoria are poor, usually requiring drivers to traverse the city centre or rat run
Rat run
Rat running or cut-through driving refers to the use of secondary roads or residential side streets instead of the intended main roads in urban or suburban areas. People do it to avoid heavy traffic, lengthy traffic signals or other obstacles, even where there are traffic calming measures to...
across the Thaba Tshwane
Thaba Tshwane
Thaba Tshwane is a military base , in Pretoria, South Africa. Founded around 1905 by the British Army, and called Roberts Heights after Lord Roberts...
military base.