Rookdale

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Rookdale
South Africa KwaZulu-Natal location map.svg
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Rookdale
South Africa adm location map.svg
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Rookdale
Coordinates: 28°42′58″S29°13′48″E / 28.716°S 29.230°E / -28.716; 29.230 Coordinates: 28°42′58″S29°13′48″E / 28.716°S 29.230°E / -28.716; 29.230
Country South Africa
Province KwaZulu-Natal
District uThukela
Municipality Okhahlamba
Area
[1]
  Total11.03 km2 (4.26 sq mi)
Population
 (2011) [1]
  Total4,644
  Density420/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
[1]
   Black African 99.5%
   Coloured 0.1%
   Indian/Asian 0.2%
  Other0.2%
First languages (2011)
[1]
   Zulu 93.6%
   Sotho 3.9%
  Other2.6%
Time zone UTC+2 (SAST)
PO box
3351

Rookdale is a rural settlement, near Bergville, in Okhahlamba Local Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.

Okhahlamba Local Municipality Local municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Okhahlamba Local Municipality is a municipality in the Uthukela District Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa

KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, enjoying a long shoreline beside the Indian Ocean and sharing borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg and its largest city is Durban. It is the 2nd most populous province in South Africa, with slightly fewer residents than Gauteng.

South Africa Republic in the southernmost part of Africa

South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini (Swaziland); and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho. South Africa is the largest country in Southern Africa and the 24th-largest country in the world by land area and, with over 58 million people, is also the world's 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. About 80 percent of South Africans are of Bantu ancestry, divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different African languages, nine of which have official status. The remaining population consists of Africa's largest communities of European, Asian (Indian), and multiracial (Coloured) ancestry.

The lone standing eNdanyana Hill or Mountain is a landmark of Rookdale ENdanyana of Rookdale.jpg
The lone standing eNdanyana Hill or Mountain is a landmark of Rookdale
The Woodstock Dam and Drakensberg Mountains as seen from Rookdale Mountainview from Rookdale.jpg
The Woodstock Dam and Drakensberg Mountains as seen from Rookdale
Sunset views from the middle of the hill Endanyana. Sunset on eNdanyana of Rookdale.jpg
Sunset views from the middle of the hill Endanyana.

History

A group of 12 Black and 4 Coloured men purchased the farm Rookdale and received titledeeds after 1915. The area of Rookdale spanned nearly 4000 acres and was bordered on the west by the Tugela River, across from which was the Upper Tugela Location, the traditional land of the Ngwane people.

Rookdale fell within the 13 percent of land in South Africa that was set aside for “Native” occupation and as such none of the land was expropriated under the Native Land Act of 1913. However due to the implementation of that Act in the surrounding countryside and the resultant black landlessness, many Rookdale land owners sold off portions of their own land or took on tenants. The community had a committee composed of Mr. Josiah Tshangana Gumede, former ANC President, a Mr. Applegreen and a Mr. Du Plooy who ensured that land was allocated for a cattle dip site, a cemetery, churches, and several schools.

This community has always been one in which many people are impoverished. In the late 1970s to early 1980s large swathes of Rookdale were expropriated to make way for the Woodstock Dam and many families lost their land and were moved away.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Main Place Rookdale". Census 2011.