Roodepoort

Roodepoort

Roodepoort, means "red valley" in Afrikaans. It is a residential area whichgets its name from the red soil in the area. It dates back to 1884, when Fred Struben discovered the first payable gold in the area at what he called the Confidence Reef, a large rocky outcrop in the centre of Roodepoort. At the time the area was settled by scattered Boer farmers on nine farms. Four of the farms - Roodepoort, Vogelstruisfontein, Paardekraal and Wilgrespruit - were soon declared public diggings.

Jan Bantjies secured the prospecting rights on the farm Roodepoort and the next year, gold was discovered. The farm was opened for public diggings. The diggers needed a place to pitch their tents and so the farm Roodepoort opened up its land. A shantytown sprang up. Four mining towns, Roodepoort, Florida, Hamberg and Maraisburg, were proclaimed between 1886 and 1888. In1886 the main reef at Langlaagte in Johannesburg was discovered. The gold at Confidence Reef, mostly surface gold in quartz rock, soon ran out, but by then a settled community was established in Roodepoort.

In 1963 the Roodepoort-Maraisburg municipality was changed to Roodepoort and city status was granted in 1977 (at which time Maraisburg was dropped from the name). Roodepoort is a gold-mining center in the West Rand area.