Bekkersdal

Bekkersdal
Mounted police in Bekkersdal, ahead of the 2014 election
Bekkersdal Show map of Gauteng Bekkersdal Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 26°16′S27°42′E / 26.267°S 27.700°E / -26.267; 27.700
Country	South Africa
Province	Gauteng
District	West Rand
Municipality	Rand West City
Area [1]
• Total	27.90 km2 (10.77 sq mi)
Population  (2011) [1]
• Total	47,213
• Density	1,692/km2 (4,383/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
•  Black African	98.2%
•  Coloured	0.4%
•  Indian/Asian	0.2%
•  White	0.1%
• Other	1.1%
First languages (2011) [1]
•  Xhosa	30.5%
•  Sotho	19.3%
•  Tswana	16.0%
•  Tsonga	13.9%
• Other	20.3%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	1779
PO box	1772

Bekkersdal is a township situated 7 km east of Westonaria and 14 km south of Randfontein in the Gauteng province. It was established in 1945, ^[2] to house Africans who worked in town and at the surrounding gold mines. In 1983 the township was granted municipal status. The township was the site of violent protests ahead of the general elections on 7 May 2014. ^{[3] [4]}

References

1. "Main Place Bekkersdal". Census 2011.
2. "History of Council". Westonaria Local Municipality. Archived from the original on 2 February 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
3. "Bekkersdal votes under heavy police presence". News 24. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
4. "Violence in Bekkersdal on eve of election". News 24. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.