The Group Areas Act and Community Destruction in South Africa - The Struggle for Cato Manor in Durban

Origin date: 1994
Updated: 29 Mar 2023

Document Preview

Summary

In South Africa, attention has been drawn to the destruction of Sophiatown in Johannesburg (Lodge 1983) and the razing of District Six in Cape Town (Hart 1988). In Durban, the implementation of the Group Areas Act (GAA) of 1950 in Cato Manor similarly reflected, at the micro-level, the conflicts and tensions which were evident in the broader society. The GAA was one of the key instruments used to enforce the ideology of apartheid. It served as a powerful tool for state intervention in controlling the use, occupation, and ownership of land and buildings on a racial basis. In terms of the GAA, separate residential areas, educational services, and other amenities had to be provided for the different race groups. The overriding goal was racial residential segregation (Maharaj 1992c). This paper examines the struggle to save Cato Manor from the GAA and its consequences.

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2023, March 29). The Group Areas Act and Community Destruction in South Africa - The Struggle for Cato Manor in Durban . South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/R-0151975

South African History Online (2023) 'The Group Areas Act and Community Destruction in South Africa - The Struggle for Cato Manor in Durban ', South African History Online, 29 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/R-0151975 (Accessed: 28 August 2026).

South African History Online, The Group Areas Act and Community Destruction in South Africa - The Struggle for Cato Manor in Durban [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/R-0151975, (accessed 28 August 2026).

"The Group Areas Act and Community Destruction in South Africa - The Struggle for Cato Manor in Durban ." South African History Online, 29 Mar. 2023, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/R-0151975. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "The Group Areas Act and Community Destruction in South Africa - The Struggle for Cato Manor in Durban ." South African History Online. March 29, 2023. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/R-0151975.