Reservation of Separate Amenities Act No 49 commences

Date: 9 Oct 1953
Updated: 9 Oct 2023

The National Party (NP) government developed the concept of allocation of resources such as general infrastructure, education and jobs and formalised this into law. The Amenities Act provided that there should be separate amenities such as toilets, parks and beaches for different racial groups. Subsequently, apartheid signs indicating which people were permitted to enter or use the facilities, were displayed throughout the country. The standard of amenities for non-Whites were generally lower than those for Whites.

Search events by date

What happened on your birthday?

How we know this

01O' Malley The Heart of Hope, 1953. Reservation of Separate Amenities Act No 49, [online], Available at www.nelsonmandela.org [Accessed:8 October 2013]
02South African History Online, General South African History Timeline: 1950s , [online], Available at www.sahistory.org.za [Accessed: 8 October 2013]

Last updated · 9 Oct 2023

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Reservation of Separate Amenities Act No 49 commences. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011799

South African History Online (2011) 'Reservation of Separate Amenities Act No 49 commences', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011799 (Accessed: 26 July 2026).

South African History Online, Reservation of Separate Amenities Act No 49 commences [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011799, (accessed 26 July 2026).

"Reservation of Separate Amenities Act No 49 commences." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011799. Accessed 26 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Reservation of Separate Amenities Act No 49 commences." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011799.