Salt River, Cape Town

Salt River
Street map of Salt River
Salt River Show map of Western Cape Salt River Show map of South Africa Salt River Show map of Africa  Salt River shown within Western Cape
Location within Cape Town  Salt River
Coordinates: 33°55′58″S 18°27′27″E / 33.93278°S 18.45750°E / -33.93278; 18.45750Coordinates: 33°55′58″S 18°27′27″E / 33.93278°S 18.45750°E / -33.93278; 18.45750
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
Municipality	City of Cape Town
Main Place	Cape Town
Government
• Councillor	Bernadette Le Roux (DA)
Area
• Total	2.75 km2 (1.06 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	6,577
• Density	2,400/km2 (6,200/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	39.5%
• Coloured	45.0%
• Indian/Asian	3.8%
• White	6.6%
• Other	5.1%
First languages (2011)
• English	56.5%
• Afrikaans	15.9%
• Xhosa	10.1%
• Zulu	1.8%
• Other	15.7%
Postal code (street)	7925

Salt River is a suburb of Cape Town located near Table Bay to the east of Cape Town's central business district. Salt River is served by a railway station of the same name has the postcode 7925. It is noted for its association with the clothing and textiles industry. The name Salt River is a translation of the Dutch "Soutrivier".

Once a booming part of Cape Town because of its close proximity to the CBD, Salt River was the industrial heart of Cape Town.

The steel and locomotive industries were important in the suburbs' early development due to the expansion of the rail network in the early 1900s.

Up until the late 1980s prominent industries also included textile and clothing manufacturing. However, due to the influx of cheaper, imported clothing many of the clothing factories closed and are being redeveloped.

Due to Salt River's proximity to central Cape Town and large manufacturing plants, the suburb became popular with Cape Malays and the so-called coloured working class. Most of the Cape Malays and "coloureds" moved here from District 6 in the late 1950s and early 1960s, even before the "forced removals" from District 6, c. 1967. Cape Malays and "coloureds" could buy houses in Salt River but Indians could not. However Indians were allowed to live in Salt River provided they buy or rent a house attached to a corner grocer shop. On almost every corner in Salt River there used to be grocer shops where people could buy daily necessities over the counter. Today Salt River is still largely populated by second and third generations of Cape Malay and "Coloured" families. "Coloured" people are mostly of the Christian faith. Salt River is known to be one of the most religiously tolerant suburbs in the Cape, with Cape Malays, who are of the Muslim faith and "coloured" Christians getting along very well. There are several churches in the area and two mosques (Masjids)- one in Tennyson Street (Muhammadiyah Masjid) and one in Addison Road.

For such a small town Salt River has many primary schools, merely a road or two apart from each other, and two high schools. Dryden Street Primary School has been there since c. 1960. There is also Cecil Road Primary School. In the past there was also Kipling Street Primary School but because it was a Muslim school and not subsidized by the government, it could not survive financially and closed its doors c. 2010. Other primary schools were St. Mary's and Wesley Training College which had grades from Sub A through to Std. 10 (Matric) - today it is referred to as Grade 12. The other high school is Salt River High School. At one point (c. 1976) this high school became too small to accommodate the pupils of, not only the area (Salt River), but also from further afield, Woodstock, Maitland and Kensington. An annex was found in the old school (previous called Wolraad Woltemade - a whites only school) in Kent Street, with its front on Albert Road, Salt River. Several Std 6 and Std 7 classes were sent there while only one each English and Afrikaans Std 6 & Std 7 were still at Salt River High School in Rochester Road, together with the rest of the school which now comprised Std 8 to 10. When the Kent Street pupils finished Std 6 and Std 7, they returned to Rochester Road to complete high school there.