On 6 April 1874, Gerhardus Cornelis Oosthuizen bought a section of the farm Langlaagte for £100. This farm would later be declared a part of the Witwatersrand gold reef, when gold was discovered on the property. When the main gold reef was discovered in the Roodepoort area of Johannesburg in 1886, Langlaagte was incorporated into a group of nine farms which were declared "public gold diggings". Almost immediately people arrived at the goldfields and digger's camps were set up. These digger's camps led to the formation of Johannesburg, which is also known as "Egoli" or "Place of Gold". The Witwatersrand area was to become a source of great mineral wealth for South Africa, and allowed South Africa to settle a large sum of state debt. The discovery of gold also helped to establish South Africa as the largest provider of minerals in the world, a position it held for over a century
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Gerhardus Cornelis Oosthuizen buys a section of land, which is later declared part of the Witwatersrand gold reef
- Date
- 6 Apr 1874
- Updated
- 27 Jun 2025
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- 01"Mining and Minerals in South Africa" [online] Available at: southafrica.info [Accessed 31 March 2009]Muller, C.F.J. (ed) (1981) 500 years: A History of South Africa. Third, Revised and Illustrated Edition. Published by UNISA Press: Pretoria. p. 284Wallis, F. (2000) Nuusdagboek: feite en fratse oor 1000 jaar. Kaapstad: Human & Rousseau.)
Last updated · 27 Jun 2025
South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Gerhardus Cornelis Oosthuizen buys a section of land, which is later declared part of the Witwatersrand gold reef. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011048
South African History Online (2011) 'Gerhardus Cornelis Oosthuizen buys a section of land, which is later declared part of the Witwatersrand gold reef', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011048 (Accessed: 29 August 2026).
South African History Online, Gerhardus Cornelis Oosthuizen buys a section of land, which is later declared part of the Witwatersrand gold reef [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011048, (accessed 29 August 2026).
"Gerhardus Cornelis Oosthuizen buys a section of land, which is later declared part of the Witwatersrand gold reef." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011048. Accessed 29 Aug. 2026.
South African History Online. "Gerhardus Cornelis Oosthuizen buys a section of land, which is later declared part of the Witwatersrand gold reef." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011048.
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