Alberton is a city situated on the southern part of the East Rand, of the Gauteng Province in South Africa. It was incorporated into the Ekurhuleni metropolitan municipality in the year 2000 and celebrated its centenary year in 2005. According to the 2011 census conducted by Statistics South Africa, it has a population of 121,536; but this figure excludes the black township of Thokoza, which has a population of 105,827. Alberton is described as a typical bedroom community, one which is primarily residential in character, with most of its workers commuting to work in nearby suburbs or cities. The city has multiple access roads to all major freeways in Gauteng and is situated on the banks of the Natal Spruit close to the major urban centres of Johannesburg, which lies to the northwest - and Pretoria - which is to the north. Alberton has an elevation of approximately above sea level.
History
In the early 1840s, the Voortrekkers Johan Georg Meyer and Hester Catharina Elizabeth arrived in the Transvaal after moving from their home in Prince Albert, in what was then the Cape Colony. Org sourced land and selected three farms, namely Klipriviersberg, Elandsfontein and Swartkoppies. In 1856, Johannes Petrus Meyer acquired of his father's Elandsfontein farm and built a house next to the Natalspruit, close to where the civic centre stands today. In 1890, he built a new farmhouse mansion on the opposite end of the farm that was miraculously left unharmed during the Anglo Boer War of 1899–1902. The homestead can still be seen today from the bypassing N12 freeway. Jan's brother, also Johan Georg Meyer, took over the farm after Jan's death. General Hendrik Abraham Alberts, a veteran of the Anglo Boer War, purchased a part of the farm from Org in 1904 and named it Alberton. The Afrikaans medium primary school Jan Meyer was named for the original owner of the farm, and the affluent suburb Meyersdal also refers to the family whose original farmhouse mansion still stands on the land behind the Meyersdal koppie. The primary school Generaal Alberts, and Hennie Alberts Avenue in the suburb of Brackenhurst, are named after the town founder. The first official post office was opened in 1926, and in 1938 building work started on a town hall. In the same year, street names in the Alberton North suburb were renamed after Voortrekker leaders to coincide with the 100 year commemoration of the Great Trek. A well-known landmark of the city, ABC STORE, was established in 1943 on Pieter Uys Avenue, Alberton North, and is still trading today as a general store specializing in school uniforms.
Geography
Cityscape
The city's initial centre of development was in the area now known as Alberton North or ‘Old’ Alberton. The original black settlement in Alberton was in the area of the Alberton Dam. During the apartheid era, inhabitants were moved to the surrounding black townships and a 'white' suburb was established around the dam and named Verwoerdpark, after former prime minister Hendrik Verwoerd. Over the years, development sprawled out into adjacent areas, and today Alberton is made up of 19 suburbs stretching over an area of 77 km2. The city, as per South African in whole, is no longer segregated although surrounding black townships still remain.
Alrode, which is Alberton's industrial suburb, was established in 1943. One of the most notable industries to be established in the town during this time was CJ Fuchs Ltd. Venturing into the production of domestic electrical appliances under licence from the American company Westing House Electric International, the business was relocated from central Johnnesburg to a newly built, modern factory in Alrode in 1948. Until the mid-seventies, CJ Fuchs Ltd would continue to grow into a multi-million Rand operation, employing thousands of people in several subsidiary companies within the group. After Carl Fuchs' death in April 1976, the company was sold to the then Barlow Rand. In 1973, he was also the first to be admitted as a Freeman of the Town of Alberton. The construction of the Alberton Boulevard was a major development started in the late 1980s with the aim of converting a section of Voortrekker Road that runs past the Alberton City Shopping Mall into a pedestrian-friendly zone.
Sports
There are many well-established sports facilities and clubs for tennis, rugby, road running, boxing, wrestling, cricket, jukskei, netball, hockey, soccer, bowls, korfball and ring tennis in Alberton. It is also home to the Reading Country Club and Golf Course. Alberton was also home to the now defunct New Market Race Course, which is now a shopping mall.
