Heidelberg was a constituency in the Transvaal Province of South Africa, which existed from 1910 to 1974. Named after the town of Heidelberg, it covered a rural area in the southern Transvaal. Throughout its existence it elected one member to the House of Assembly and one to the Transvaal Provincial Council.

Franchise notes When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910, the electoral qualifications in use in each pre-existing colony were kept in place. In the Transvaal Colony, and its predecessor the South African Republic, the vote was restricted to white men, and as such, elections in the Transvaal Province were held on a whites-only franchise from the beginning. The franchise was also restricted by property and education qualifications until the 1933 general election, following the passage of the Women's Enfranchisement Act, 1930 and the Franchise Laws Amendment Act, 1931. From then on, the franchise was given to all white citizens aged 21 or over. Non-whites remained disenfranchised until the end of apartheid and the introduction of universal suffrage in 1994.

History Like most of the rural Transvaal, Heidelberg had a largely Afrikaans-speaking electorate. It was a marginal seat early in its history, but as with most of rural South Africa, it became more and more safe for the National Party over time. Its most famous MP by far, representing the seat from 1958 until his assassination in 1966, was Hendrik Verwoerd, "architect of apartheid" and Prime Minister for nearly his entire time representing the constituency. His replacement, Willem Lodewicus van der Merwe, only represented Heidelberg for two terms before it was abolished, moving to the new seat of Meyerton in 1974.

Members ElectionMemberParty 1910 Andries Stockenström Het Volk 1912 by W. W. J. J. Bezuidenhout South African 1915 1920 1921 1924 S. D. de Wet National 1929 1933 1934 United 1937 by D. A. S. de Bruyn 1938 1943 H. J. L. van Niekerk 1948 S. H. Eyssen HNP 1953 National 1958 Hendrik Verwoerd 1961 1966 1966 by W. L. van der Merwe 1970 1974 Constituency abolished Schoeman, B.M. (1977). Parlementêre verkiesings in Suid-Afrika 1910-1976. Pretoria: Aktuele Publikasies. Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa (1972). "House of Assembly" (vol. 5, pp. 617–636). Cape Town: Nasionale Opvoedkundige Uitgewery (Nasou). South Africa 1980/81: Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa. Johannesburg: Chris van Rensburg Publications. South Africa 1983: Official Yearbook of the Republic of South Africa. Johannesburg: Chris van Rensburg Publications. Government Gazette of South Africa, No. 10751. 22 May 1987. Pretoria: Government of South Africa. Government Gazette of South Africa, No. 12109. 20 September 1989. Pretoria: Government of South Africa.

Detailed results Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

References