Vereeniging, Gauteng
| Vereeniging | ||
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Dutch Reformed Church, Vereeniging
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| Motto: Per Pacem Ad Industriam ("From peace to industry") |
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 Vereeniging
Vereeniging
Vereeniging
Vereeniging shown within Gauteng
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| Coordinates: 26°40′25″S 27°55′55″E / 26.67361°S 27.93194°ECoordinates: 26°40′25″S 27°55′55″E / 26.67361°S 27.93194°E | ||
| Country | South Africa | |
| Province | Gauteng | |
| District | Sedibeng | |
| Municipality | Emfuleni | |
| Established | 1892 | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 188.19 km2 (72.66 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 1,479 m (4,852 ft) | |
| Population (2011) | ||
| • Total | 99,787 | |
| • Density | 530/km2 (1,400/sq mi) | |
| Racial makeup (2011) | ||
| • Black African | 55.0% | |
| • Coloured | 5.1% | |
| • Indian/Asian | 5.8% | |
| • White | 33.1% | |
| • Other | 1.0% | |
| First languages (2011) | ||
| • Afrikaans | 34.9% | |
| • Sotho | 26.2% | |
| • English | 15.5% | |
| • Zulu | 8.3% | |
| • Other | 15.2% | |
| Postal code (street) | 1930 | |
| PO box | 1939 | |
| Area code | 016 | |
Vereeniging (Afrikaans pronunciation: [fəˈrɪənəχəŋ]) is a city in Gauteng province, South Africa, situated where the Klip River empties into the northern loop of the Vaal River. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was formerly situated in the Transvaal province. The name Vereeniging is derived from the Dutch word meaning "association" or "union".
Vereeniging is situated in the southern part of Gauteng Province, and its neighbors are Vanderbijlpark (to the west), Three Rivers (east), Meyerton (north) and Sasolburg (south). The city is currently one of the most important industrial manufacturing centres in South Africa, with its chief products being iron, steel, pipes, bricks, tiles and processed lime.
The predominant language in Vereeniging is Afrikaans, followed closely by English and Sesotho.
In 1879, George William Stow was commissioned by the Orange Free State government to look for coal deposits in the Bethlehem district With no deposits found he moved northwards to Maccauvlei on the Vaal River and then crossed the river to the Transvaal side. On the farm Leeuwkuil, he found a coal deposits twelve feet thick. But the Orange Free State government believed that it was too far away and there was a lack of transport so turned down the idea of mining. Stow settled in Kimberley in order to find a job where he met Samuel Marks who realized after hearing the formers story, the opportunity for coal at the Kimberley diamond fields for energy generation. Marks formed the De Zuid Afrikaanshe en Oranje Vrystaatsche Kolen and Mineralen Vereeniging (South African and Orange Free State Coal and Mineral Association) and sent Stow to purchase the farms where the coal was found. On the 25 November 1880 he purchased the farm Leeuwkuil for £5,000 and 12,000 acres. Marks' agent J.G. Fraser would purchase the farm Klipplaatdrift of 6,000 acres from Karl August Pretorius in October 1881 for ₤15,500. This was opposite the farm Maccauvlei. From 1881, coal was taken by ox-wagon to Kimberley and by 1882 there was so much development that there was a need to survey a village on the two farms and the Volksraad agreed naming it after the company's shortened name Vereeniging.
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