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Greater No 2, Galeshewe township
Galeshewe is a township in Kimberley, South Africa. Within the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality in the Northern Cape Province, it is named after Kgosi Galeshewe.
Galeshewe is a township in Kimberley, South Africa. Within the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality in the Northern Cape Province, it is named after Kgosi Galeshewe.
The township of Galeshewe was founded in 1878 after diamonds were discovered at kopje (hill) near Colesberg in 1871. The diamond rush which followed the discovery of diamonds saw an influx of people from all over, seeking fortune in the sprawling town of Kimberley. In 1873 Kimberley's population had grown to 40,000. The first parts of Galeshewe sprung up in the early 1870s to accommodate the migrant labour population in Kimberley. In 1886, the first large compounds for workers known as the Greater No 2 were introduced at the De Beers Mine. Galeshewe started to grow west from the Greater No 2 in the 1930s. The central part of the present Galeshewe was built between 1950s and 1970s. [1]
In 1952 the Native Advisory Committee of Kimberley approved a recommendation from residents to name the township Galeshewe after Kgosi (Chief) Galeshewe of the Batlhaping tribe. [1] On 1 August 1973, the Kimberley Council granted control of Galeshewe township to the Bantu Administration Board of the Diamond Fields. A May 5, 1976 edition of the Kimberley newspaper "The Diamond Fields Advertiser" reported that “slums” in the township were a problem with at least 9 or 10 people living in a four-roomed house. This problem was because of the lack of suitable housing and the ongoing problem of unemployment. On 2 January 1978, the Community Board took over the control of the township. [2]
Galeshewe Municipality was inaugurated on 30 November 1983 making the township the first Black-controlled municipality in South Africa. According to a report by the Galeshewe town council, the population of the township was 81202, and made up of 10110 families. There were 10327 residential sites, of which 9525 were still being developed. The township had 10 creche sites, 68 parks, 71 business sites (64 developed), 54 church sites (12 developed) and 30 school sites. In 1988 there were several new suburbs making up Greater Galeshewe. No 2 was still there, but there was also Ikageng (Redirile, and referred to as Stocks and Stocks), Ikageleng, Retswele, KwaNobantu, Zone Six (Extension Six), Ipeleng, and Vergenoeg. In 1994, after the election of South Africa's first democratic government, Galeshewe became part of the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality. [2]
On 7 November 1952, Greater No 2, Galeshewe ANC, leader Dr Arthur Letele organised a group of volunteers to defy the segregation laws by sitting on the 'Europeans Only' benches at the Kimberley Station in support of the ANC's Defiance Campaign. They were arrested and fined £3 or 10 days imprisonment. They all opted for the latter. [3] A day later on 8 November, a group of men shouted political slogans, giving the Defiance Campaign salute and were ordered out of the Municipal African Beer Hall in No. 2 Location, Galeshewe because they were doing the salutes in the beer hall. This led to a riot and the destruction of six buildings in the township, including the police station, two nearby clinics, a power station and a crèche. Kimberley police fired at the rioters as they approached the city centre. Thirteen people were killed and 78 others wounded. At dawn the following morning the police detained Dr Arthur Letele, Sam Phakedi, Pepys Madibane, Olehile Sehume, Alexander Nkoane, Daniel Chabalala and David Mpiwa, who were regarded as the ringleaders. On 12 November 1952, a mass funeral was held at the field next to the Methodist Church at the corners of Mzikinya, Rhabe and Sanduza Streets in Galeshewe. The deceased were all buried at the Kimberley West End Cemetery. The uprising and massacre came to be known as the Mayibuye Uprising. In November 2002, a sculpture of a clenched fist with a raised thumb was unveiled in Galeshewe in honour of the Mayibuye Uprising.
According to Census 2011, Galeshewe has a population of 107, 920 people, half of Sol Plaatje Local Municipality. 92.2 of the township's population is Black African, 7.28% is Coloured, 0.22% Indian Asian, 0.07% White and 0.30% is identified as "other". 56,8% of the population speaks Setswana with Afrikaans being the second-most spoken language at 24,9%. Out of the 25,429 households in Galeshewe, 54,6% have access to clean drinking water and 78,1% have electricity for lighting. [4] The Sol Plaatje Local Municipality: Integrated Development Plan - IDP (2017 – 2022), which also includes Galeshewe, states that 31.9% of the population in the area is unemployed. The youth make up 41.7% of the unemployed population in the municipality. [5] 14,8% of the households in the township do not have a source of income while 20,4% (highest percentage) has an income between R19,601 and R38,200. The township's formal housing sits at 74,3%. [4]
There are three main health facilities in Galeshewe; the Galeshewe Day Hospital, MaDoyle Clinic and the Galeshewe Clinic. The township has a central police station known as the Galeshewe Police Station. The key points for sports and entertainment in the township are Galeshewe Stadium and the Galeshewe Open Air Arena.
Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje was a South African intellectual, journalist, linguist, politician, translator and writer. Plaatje was a founding member and first General Secretary of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), which became the African National Congress (ANC). The Sol Plaatje Local Municipality, which includes the city of Kimberley, is named after him, as is the Sol Plaatje University in that city, which opened its doors in 2014.
Kimberley is the capital and largest city of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city has considerable historical significance due to its diamond mining past and the siege during the Second Anglo-Boer war. British businessmen Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato made their fortunes in Kimberley, and Rhodes established the De Beers diamond company in the early days of the mining town.
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and an international park shared with Botswana. It also includes the Augrabies Falls and the diamond mining regions in Kimberley and Alexander Bay.
The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, which consisted of the African National Congress (ANC) and its allies: the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats and the Coloured People's Congress. It is characterised by its opening demand, "The People Shall Govern!"
Kgosi (Chief) Galeshewe,, was a chief of the Batlhaping group in South Africa. He was an anti-colonial revolutionary and orchestrated rebellions against the Cape Colony government. The Galeshewe Township in the Sol Plaatje Municipality, Kimberley, has been named after him. A South African Navy fast attack craft has also been named after him. Galeshewe was born in 1835 near Taung, South Africa.
Kagiso is a township situated at the southern end of the Mogale City Local Municipality, just south of Krugersdorp in Gauteng Province, South Africa. The word kagiso means peace in Tswana. Kagiso's administration comprises five wards, each headed by a councillor.
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The McGregor Museum in Kimberley, South Africa, originally known as the Alexander McGregor Memorial Museum, is a multidisciplinary museum which serves Kimberley and the Northern Cape, established in 1907.
Phakamile Mabija was an African anti-Apartheid activist who died while in police custody in 1977.
The Malay Camp in Kimberley, South Africa, was a cosmopolitan suburb which was subject to forced removals prior to the Group Areas Act.
Sol Plaatje Municipality is a local municipality within the Frances Baard District Municipality, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is named after Sol T. Plaatje. It includes the diamond mining city of Kimberley.
This is a list of the famous and notable people from Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa.
Ritchie is a small town situated 40 kilometres (20 mi) south of Kimberley on the north bank of the Riet River in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The town, with a population of approximately 15,000, is in the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality, which forms part of the Frances Baard District Municipality.
Sol Plaatje University is a public university located in Kimberley, South Africa. Established in 2014, it is the first and only university located in the Northern Cape province.
The apartheid regime in South Africa began in 1948 and lasted until 1994. It involved a system of institutionalized racial segregation and white supremacy, and placed all political power in the hands of a white minority. Opposition to apartheid manifested in a variety of ways, including boycotts, non-violent protests, and armed resistance. Music played a large role in the movement against apartheid within South Africa, as well as in international opposition to apartheid. The impacts of songs opposing apartheid included raising awareness, generating support for the movement against apartheid, building unity within this movement, and "presenting an alternative vision of culture in a future democratic South Africa."
The Mayibuye Uprising was a sequence of protests and demonstrations, led by the African National Congress, South African Indian Congress and the African People's Organisation that took place around No.2 Location Galeshewe, in Kimberley, on 7–8 November 1952. The uprising was not an isolated event, but part of the Defiance Campaign which started in June 1952. The aim of the campaign was to peacefully defy the laws of the apartheid government across the country.
Kgosi (Chief) Luka Jantjie was a hunter, trader, diamond prospector, and farmer. He was a chief of the Batlhaping ba Manyeding group of the Batswana in Kuruman. He was born in general area of what is now Kimberley, South Africa in about 1835 and was the son of a Christian convert. Jantjie spent most of his life protecting the rights to land of his people and is considered a struggle hero for his battle against British colonialism. He was the cousin of Kgosi Galeshewe.
Arthur Elias Letele was a politician and physician in South Africa and Basutoland.
Solomon Patrick Mabilo is a South African politician from the Northern Cape who served as the Executive Mayor of the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality from 2018 to 2021. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), he served as a Member of the National Assembly from 2014 to 2017. He was a Member of Northern Cape Provincial Legislature from 2009 to 2014 and again in 2018. Within the Northern Cape provincial government, he served as the MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison from 2009 to 2013, and was the MEC for Environment and Nature Conservation between 2013 and 2014.
Reinette Liebenberg is a South African politician, who was elected to the Northern Cape Provincial Legislature in the 2019 general election. She is one of eight Democratic Alliance representatives in the provincial legislature. Liebenberg was a councillor of the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality before she was elected to the provincial legislature.
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