The Province of Transvaal (), commonly referred to as the Transvaal (; ), was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end of apartheid. The name Transvaal is from the Latin prefix , which means across from, or on the other side. Hence, Transvaal refers to the province's geographical location to the north of the Vaal River. Its capital was Pretoria, which was also the country's executive capital.
History The area has been inhabited since at least the 8th century by the Venda and Sesotho people. From 1817 onwards the region was invaded, as part of the Mfecane, by several Nguni tribes, such as the Matabele, who have been expelled from Natal by the Zulus.
The borders of the Transvaal Province coincided with those of the South African Republic, an independent country ruled by the Dutch-speaking Boers from 1852 to 1902.
At the end of the 1830s, the Boers left with the Great Trek into the interior of South Africa, where the South African Republic was founded. Major cities such as Pretoria and Johannesburg emerged during this period. In 1902, the republic was conquered by the United Kingdom and became part of the British Empire as the Transvaal Colony.
In 1910, four British colonies united to form the Union of South Africa. The Transvaal Colony, which had been formed out of the bulk of the old South African Republic after the Second Boer War, became the Transvaal Province in the new union. Half a century later, in 1961, the union ceased to be part of the Commonwealth of Nations and became the Republic of South Africa. The PWV (Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeniging) conurbation in the Transvaal, centred on Pretoria and Johannesburg, became South Africa's economic powerhouse, a position it still holds today as Gauteng Province.
In 1994, after the fall of apartheid, the former provinces were abolished, and the Transvaal ceased to exist. The south-central portion (including the PWV) became Gauteng, the northern portion became Limpopo and the southeastern portion became Mpumalanga. Most of the North West came from the southwestern portion of the old Transvaal, and a tiny segment of the Transvaal joined KwaZulu-Natal.
Even before 1994, the Transvaal Province was subdivided into regions for a number of purposes (such as municipal and district courts, and sporting divisions). These divisions included Northern Transvaal (present-day Limpopo and Pretoria), Eastern Transvaal (currently Mpumalanga), Western Transvaal (currently part of North West Province) and Southern Transvaal (now Gauteng Province, but which also includes Pretoria).
Geography The Transvaal province lay between the Vaal River in the south, and the Limpopo River in the north, roughly between and S, and 25 and 32 E. To its south it bordered with the Orange Free State and Natal provinces, to its west were the Cape Province and the Bechuanaland Protectorate (later Botswana), to its north Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe), and to its east Portuguese East Africa (later Mozambique) and Swaziland. Except on the south-west, these borders were mostly well defined by natural features.
Several Bantustans were entirely inside the Transvaal: Venda, KwaNdebele, Gazankulu, KaNgwane and Lebowa. Parts of Bophuthatswana were also in the Transvaal, with other parts in Cape Province and Orange Free State.
Within the Transvaal lies the Waterberg Massif, a prominent ancient geological feature of the South African landscape.
Regions
PWV region (later Gauteng province) consisting of the Witwatersrand, which in turn consists of the West Rand and the East Rand, as well as Johannesburg; the Vaal Triangle and Pretoria. The North West Limpopo Mpumalanga
Districts in 1991
Districts of the province and population at the 1991 census.
DistrictPopulation Johannesburg 1,574,631 Alberton 367,929 Germiston 171,541 Boksburg 195,905 Benoni 288,629 Kempton Park 354,787 Randburg 341,430 Roodepoort 219,149 Westonaria 160,531 Oberholzer 177,768 Randfontein 116,405 Krugersdorp 196,213 Brakpan 130,463 Springs 157,702 Nigel 92,881 Delmas 48,614 Pretoria 667,700 Wonderboom 266,153 Soshanguve 146,334 Cullinan 32,006 Vanderbijlpark 434,004 Vereeniging 250,511 Heidelberg 77,055 Balfour 38,311 Standerton 85,893 Hoëveldrif (main town Secunda) 155,881 Bethal 77,780 Volksrust 29,924 Amersfoort 33,461 Wakkerstroom 33,246 Piet Retief 64,052 Ermelo 111,082 Carolina 30,438 Bronkhorstspruit 38,605 Witbank 173,281 Middelburg 140,015 Belfast 28,973 Waterval-Boven 9,300 Groblersdal 57,742 Moutse (main town Dennilton) 102,179 Nelspruit 61,921 Barberton 72,165 Witrivier 30,235 Pelgrimsrus (main town Sabie) 29,063 Lydenburg 36,976 Letaba (main town Tzaneen) 59,900 Phalaborwa 30,126 Soutpansberg (main town Louis Trichardt) 35,839 Messina 22,959 Pietersburg 64,207 Potgietersrus 69,571 Waterberg (main town Nylstroom) 48,991 Ellisras 24,530 Thabazimbi 48,844 Warmbad 41,692 Brits 111,798 Rustenburg 125,307 Swartruggens 12,607 Marico 38,983 Koster 29,228 Ventersdorp 36,315 Coligny 22,154 Lichtenburg 79,013 Delareyville 36,036 Potchefstroom 185,552 Klerksdorp 321,478 Wolmaransstad 61,497 Schweizer-Reneke 46,893 Bloemhof 15,291 Christiana 13,596
Administrators
Sports The province was divided into a number of sporting teams. These teams were renamed after the Transvaal became defunct, however their traditional territories have remained unchanged in many cases, even though they overlap the boundaries of the Transvaal's successor provinces.
Examples of this include the Blue Bulls (formerly Northern Transvaal), which governs rugby in Pretoria (now part of Gauteng) and Limpopo Province, and the Golden Lions (formerly Transvaal) formed in 1889.
The Orlando Pirates Football Club was founded in 1937 and was originally based in Orlando, Soweto and Kaizer Chiefs were founded in January 1970. In the same year, Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. originated from Marabastad, a cosmopolitan area north west of the Pretoria CBD in the early 1960s.
Cricket teams from the former Transvaal include Transvaal (later Gauteng) which represented the southern parts of the province, and Northern Transvaal (later Northerns) that represents the northern parts of Gauteng, including Pretoria, as well as areas further north. Politics The province was a stronghold of the National Party. Province National United/Progressive/Democratic Labor Other Total1943 South African general election114760641948 South African general election3226441953 South African general election432230681958 South African general election482000681961 South African general election491702181966 South African general election621001731974 South African general election621500761981 South African general election67900761989 South African general election341103176
References