The Slangkop Point Lighthouse in Kommetjie has a long history dating back to 1914 when it was scheduled to be completed. When World War 1 broke out, the completion of the lighthouse was pushed back and it was only completed in 1919. The circular lighthouse is made of cast iron and is 33 meters in circumference. It is painted white to stand out against the green backdrop of the mountain. The focal plane of the light is 41 meters above high water so as to be visible below dense mist, flashing four times per 30 seconds. This Lighthouse has been burning brightly since 1914, becoming fully automated in 1979. The tower's light shimmers 33 nautical miles out to sea from its 33 Meter mast!
The lighthouse was established as the result of a commission appointed in 1906 by the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, His Excellency, the Honorable Sir Francis Hely-Hutchinson, but was commissioned in 1919 only. It became fully automated in 1979. From an original three-man station it has been manned by a Senior Light keeper since then.
The Slangkop lighthouse draws its power from the Cape Municipality and has a standby diesel alternator that takes over in the event of a break in the mains supply!

Named after Lewis Peter Ford of the Jeppe and Ford Estate Company, Fordsburg was built on the outskirts of the Johannesburg gold reef to house miners. The multi-ethnic suburb has a fascinating and turbulent history. “Fordsburg was always a working class suburb,” Rich in History and bearing the scars of its past with pride, Fordsburg today is a collision of bold colour, spicy streets, enticing flavours and bargains galore. It was once part of the Farm on which gold was first discovered, and for years attempts were made to regulate the Area into a Whites-only District. A strong spirit of activism prevented this. Fordsburg is a mix of Indian, Pakistani, Somali, Turkish, Ethiopian and Syrian cultures. Fordsburg’s history dates back to the 1800's, when gold miners were housed there. It was also the site of the 1922 Red Revolt, when armed white miners went on strike against lower wages so that more and cheaper black miners could be employed at a cheaper rate. The strike grew to a rebellion against the Government. It was suppressed by bomber aircraft, guns and tanks, and 200 people were killed. From the 1920's on wards, Fordsburg was multicultural — mostly Chinese, Indian, coloured people and a few whites lived there! In the 1950's it was declared a “Whites Only” Suburb but people resisted and forced removals of communities, to Indian-only Lenasia occurred! This was a destruction of a vibrant multicultural community in the adjoining Pageview, then known as Fietas. Because of the predominantly Muslim Population most Restaurants do not serve alcohol and shops are closed on Friday during prayer times. ORIENTAL PLAZA- What began as a tragic incident in the mid-1970's, with the forced removal of Indian traders from 14th Street in Pageview, Johannesburg’s ‘Petticoat Lane’! Now has become a thriving Shopping Centre with 360 Stores, in the heart of Fordsburg. Offering an array of fabrics, haberdashery, bridal outfits and accessories and thousands of pairs of shoes are just some of the items that draw droves of people to the Oriental Plaza each month from all over South Africa and neighbouring Countries. Silk flowers, jewellery, brass ware, children’s toys and an extraordinary range of sari fabrics are also on offer, along with fabrics that match any specification. Shops offer tailoring services on-site, and will make up curtains or other household items. On August 16, 1908, Mahatma Gandhi led 3 000 supporters to Hamidia Mosque, in Fordsburg. Among them Muslims, Hindus and Christians! Where they burned their ‘pass’ documents. (These were the identity documents that all people classified ‘non-white’ by the Government of the day were forced to carry in order to travel across the City, or face being imprisoned!) The bonfire was lit in a cauldron and this event was the first recorded burning of pass documents in South Africa, an action that would later be emulated by the anti-Apartheid resistance movement. It was also the beginning of Satyagraha, the passive resistance campaign Gandhi formulated. In 2007 artist Usha Seejarim, commissioned by the Sunday Times Heritage Project, marked the spot with a sculpture of a potjie (a three-legged cast-iron pot) beneath which is placed a wheel, that when spun produces an image of a pass document burning.

Fordsburg Thesis by Yasmin Mayet

The Songimvelo Game Reserve is located South of Barberton in the South-Eastern part of the Mpumalanga Province on the South African-Swaziland Border. The diversity of living things that occur in the Barberton Area today form a stark contrast to the ancient, single-celled organisms that are captured in the rocks here. It took more than 3 billion Years before multi-cellular life evolved and only about 425 million Years ago, vegetation Colonised Land followed by the first land animals. And since then Mother Earth went full throttle with a variety of species arising and disappearing over time. According to science, humans are late comers to the Planet with anatomically modern man appearing a mere 100 000 Years ago! Singimvelo is a plural word that means: 'we are conserving nature' in the siSwati language of the Nguni People.
The Reserve is approximately 490 km squared, in size. Which makes it the largest Provincial Reserve in South Africa. The broken landscape, several Waterfalls and spectacular Gorges of the Komati, Msoli and Lomati Rivers makes this Reserve one of the most diverse and aesthetically attractive wilderness Areas in the Country. Since it was proclaimed in 1983, more than 20 species of large herbivores have been re-introduced to Songimvelo. The Reserve provides an extensive Habitat for Elephant, White Rhino and the largest population of Buffalo! In addition to the above, 23 fish species, 50 reptile and amphibians and 330 bird species have been recorded in the Reserve, including some Endangered species!
Songimvelo Game Reserve is considered to be the Area with the highest recorded plant diversity in Mpumulanga with more than 1440 species already identified. Since 1991 at least four species new to science have been collected from the reserve. In addition, 15 rare and endangered plant species have been found, including the occurrence of the only remaining wild population of the Woolly Cycad.
The Archaeological, Historical and Cultural value of Songimvelo Game Reserve enjoys International acclaim amongst scientists! The preservation of some Rock Exposures in the reserve yield key information on the origin and Evolution of the earth’s crust, the nature of early life as well as the character and development of the Ancient Ocean and atmosphere. The Geology includes the best preserved truly ancient rocks on earth. Despite the rock being 3.5 billion Years old, they are so well preserved that their fossils record the earliest life forms on the Planet! It is therefore not surprising that this Region is referred to as the “Genesis of Life”. This feature, together with the Early Stone Age artifacts dating back to 1 million Years which have been found on the Reserve, attracts World-wide attention to Songimvelo. Of further great Archaeological importance are the numerous walled, Village-type ruins which are considered to date back more than 1000 Years and indicate the presence of earlier inhabitants. These vary from San paintings to the theories on temples of Dravidian and Phoenician merchants and even Egyptian slave traders.

Hundreds of people braved the cold weather to attend the Eidgah. The Eidgah was hosted next to the Mohammadiyya Qadriyya Majid at the Nirvana Drive, open field. The event marked the end of the fasting Month of Ramadan. Members of the Community were encouraged to continue assisting needy people even after Ramadan. President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa also conveyed his well wishes to the Muslim Community.
From the very beginning, settlement in Lenasia was a contentious issue, driven with debates about race, class, collaboration with and resistance to Apartheid. Calls were made by the Indian Congress to reject the plans of the newly elected Nationalist Government, but the drastic shortage of Housing for Indians in Areas close to the Johannesburg City Centre meant that some, especially the very poor workers, welcomed the offer of a place to stay and conditions which, although minimal, were a vast improvement on their previous lot. Indians had been living in various Suburbs in and around Johannesburg, in varying numbers, for decades. The Nat's at first proposed an alternative to re-housing the Indians, because of the Group Areas Act, offering them a free passage back to India, but very few took up this offer. So the plan was for the Indians to be moved to a Suburb populated only by Indians! Mohammed Jajbhay, Rev Sigamoney, Mohammed Abed, Ebrahim Dadabhai and Advocate Minty formed the Transvaal Indian Organisation, which was tasked to persuade Indians to move to Lenasia. Indians living in Sophiatown were the first to move to Lenasia, as housing had been the biggest issue for all the people living there. Entire families lived in tiny rooms because space was in such short supply. Rents were extremely high, and to secure living space tenants were also required to pay other costs, such as goodwill, a sum to guarantee the right to rent the lodgings in the first place. The Reverend Sigamany, a prominent figure in the Indian community, arranged for these desperate people to take up accommodation at a Military Barracks, in Lenasia. Many of the newcomers to Lenasia were waiters at Hotels and Restaurants in the City centre who could not afford even moderate rentals, and found the lodgings at the Military Base, 35 km South-West of Johannesburg, affordable!
The surrounding property was owned by a German National by the name of Lenz, (hence the name- Lenasia came forth!) He had acquired the Property and settled there much earlier but he eventually sold the property to the Government for Housing Developments. Later the Government sold plots for around R 60 each, in the first extension to be established. The plots were purchased by families eligible for Government loans to build private Homes, according to strict specifications. By 1955, the first School was established, the Lenasia High School, which was also meant to cater to Indian pupils living in Fordsburg and other Areas of Johannesburg. Indeed, infrastructure in Lenasia, in 1955, was nonexistent. Until the later 1950's, houses in Extension 1 had no piped water, electricity or sewage, except for a bucket system. In 1958 Lenasia was proclaimed an Indian Township under the Group Areas. The creation of Lenasia meant that Indians were sent off into a separate Area, and if Africans had a presence in the Town, it was as workers: domestics or labourers.
The Hindu community has also set up a series of temples, one of the first being the Siva Soobramanian Temple on the corner of Primary and Heron Streets. Others include the Lakshmi Narayan Temple (Crane Street), the Sanathan Ved Dharma Sabha (Penguin Avenue).
The Saaberie Jumma Mosque was constructed in the early 1960's. Many other Mosques emerged, including the Saaberie Chistie Mosque, Nur-u Islam Mosque, Jaamia Mosque, Kuwait-ul Islam, Omar Farouk Mosque, among others.
The demise of Apartheid meant that, theoretically at least, Lenasia was no longer an Indian Group Area, but it has continued to be an Indian Residential Area. Lenasia, like Soweto, has come to be counted as a Regional economy, and developers have stepped in to tap this market. Thus Lenasia now has its own Mall; the Trade Route Mall which is a huge Shopping Centre, that make it unnecessary for residents to travel to the City centre to do their shopping!
The Thembelihle Informal Settlement was formed, since a large percentage of the population of Lenasia has always included domestic workers, there has always been an African presence in the Town. Many of these workers prefer to have their own homes rather than live on the premises of their employers, and have set up shacks or small buildings in an Area between Extensions 9 and 10, now known as Thembelihle.
Businesses in Lenasia are reliant on shoppers from Soweto and Eldorado Park, as well as Areas such as Ennerdale, South of Lenasia.

The District located in the Province of Gauteng, near Johannesburg. Since 1973 there has been extensive expansion of the Area! In 1965, the land was declared an Area for the exclusive settlement of the Coloured South Africans, under the Group Areas Act. It became part of Johannesburg in 1970. According to Census 2011, there are 4%, more females living in the District, speaking Afrikaans.