125
 Chapter Two: ?The Church on the Rock?: the Making of a Stable, Settled 
Krugersdorp, 1887 to 1905 
 
Introduction 
 
This Chapter traces and critically examines the factors that helped to transform the 
violent and ephemeral mining town of Krugersdorp into a stable, law-abiding ?settler 
town? over the period 1887 to 1905. During this transformation, the nature of 
Krugersdorp's population became dramatically altered from one dominated by single 
young males into a more balanced demographic mix of both genders. By the late 
1890s, and especially after the South African War of 1899?1902, a steadily increasing 
percentage of white male miners started to marry and establish families.1 At the same 
time, those who were already married began to bring their wives and children over to 
live with them in Krugersdorp. The Milner government also supported various 
immigration schemes that raised the percentage of marriageable women on the Rand.2  
 
While the increasing numbers of women and children in the town had the effect of 
civilising the rough-neck miners, this changing demography should be seen more as a 
symptom or as proof of a change in the attitudes of the white working class towards 
their town, rather than as the cause of the transformation. Miners brought their wives 
over and got married because they wanted to settle in Krugersdorp. This Chapter will 
explore the factors that influenced the miners to change their minds about a place that 
they had clearly seen previously (throughout most of the 1890s) as a temporary 
stopover that was violent, dangerous and exceptionally unpleasant in which to live (see 
Chapter One).  It will be argued here that the most important single factor was the role 
played by the local English-speaking white middle professionals and shopkeepers who 
acted in such a way that could have persuaded the miners to commit to the town and to 
strike down roots.   
                         
1 See L. Lange, ?White Working Class Families in Johannesburg, 1890?1906?, Occasional paper, Centre  
  for Advanced Social Research, University of the Witwatersrand, 1997.  
2 See C. Headlam (ed.), The Milner Papers, 1931?1933, Castells and Co., London, 1933. 
 
  
 
 
 
 
126
  
The middle class married, set up families and established permanent homes for 
themselves during the 1890s and especially after the South African War, and so served 
as an example to the transient miners. They built large, permanent, stone structures, 
notably churches and a Freemasons Hall, sanctified the ground and held elaborate 
public ceremonies around the ?laying of foundation? stones that were frequently 
witnessed by large numbers of these footloose workers. These permanent structures 
were located strategically at important crossroads on the daily paths of miners moving 
to and from the mines to work so that the ambulant miners would ?read? the ?message? 
of permanency that was so powerfully inscribed onto the built environment. In short, this 
Chapter will argue that the middle class, either intentionally or unintentionally 
constructed and conveyed a semiotic message of permanence that encouraged miners 
to settle down in the town.  
 
Of course the miners had also to believe that it would be economically feasible for them 
to live with their families in this town. Improvements in the local mining industry, growing 
job security, increased wages and a lowering of the cost of living all played a crucial role 
in persuading the white miners that they could settle in the town, but the possibility of 
being able to live in a particular space does not explain probability that these miners 
would commit to this particular place. Krugersdorp had to be seen as a safe, secure 
and pleasant place in which to live.  
 
It was the English-speaking white middle class (with some help from the local Dutch-
 speaking middle class and the ?respectable? elements of the white working class) that 
ensured that, particularly after the South African War, streets were paved, water 
supplies were laid on and an electric lighting system was provided for the town. This 
middle class replaced a working-class miners? culture of gambling and drinking with 
temperance, church-going and wholesome entertainments such as the theatre, a library 
and a swimming pool. Criminal violence appears to have been sharply reduced through 
the lobbying efforts of the middle class who secured a larger, more professional police 
  
 
 
 
 
127
 force for the town and a more efficient court system. Parks were laid out, trees planted 
and the town became more aesthetically appealing to its dwellers as attractive, 
sumptuous buildings were erected with ornate facades and visually pleasing 
architectural designs. Miners, in short, were seduced by the middle class to settle in this 
town, once it became clear that it was feasible to do so.  
 
The middle class acted in its own interest when it tried to persuade the white working 
class to settle in Krugersdorp. They had invested considerable sums of money into their 
businesses and feared that the ephemeral town was at risk of collapse into a ghost 
town unless a more permanent and settled population could be created that looked to 
the future with confidence. With their capital locked up in physical assets like shops, the 
middle class did not have the liquidity to move around the Rand should the town?s 
population decline. Furthermore the middle class also wanted to live a place that was 
safe, clean and pleasant.3  This class ensured that considerable powers were granted 
to the town in the form of a municipality, and then used these powers to transform this 
town into a permanent, attractive and settled place. 
 
While this Chapter will focus mainly on the white middle class's efforts to persuade 
white miners to settle in the town, many black miners left the mines and began to settle 
in the location and backyards of shops and found work in the town itself. A number also 
either married or brought wives to join them there. Mine married quarters developed in 
Krugersdorp mines in an effort on the part of the mines to retain experienced black 
miners who wanted a more normal and settled urban family life.4  Black middle class 
elements also appeared in the town's location and fought a battle to establish stability, 
                         
3 A plethora of studies have been conducted on the Victorian and Edwardian middle class and their  
  values that stress their concern for sanitation, hygiene, attractive surroundings and personal safety.  
  See, for example, G. Crossick, (ed.), The Lower Middle Class in Britain, 1870?1914, Croom Helm,  
  London, 1977. See also G. Crossick and H.-G Haupt (eds.), Shopkeepers and Master Artisans in  
  Nineteenth Century Europe, Methuen, London, 1984. 
4 See S. Moroney, ?Mine Married Quarters: the differential stabilisation of the Witwatersrand?s workforce,  
  1900?1920? (?Mine Married Quarters?), in S. Marks and R. Rathbone (eds.), Industrialisation and Social  
  Change in South Africa: African Class Formation, Culture and Consciousness, 1870?1930, Longman,  
  Essex, 1982.  
 
  
 
 
 
 
128
 law and order over this residential space.  They were supported, at times, in their efforts 
by the white middle class and, other times, neglected for reasons that will be further 
explored in Chapter Six.   
 
Indians and Coloureds also began to settle in the town with their families in small 
numbers by the turn of the century. Although the white middle class clashed frequently 
with the Indian shopkeepers during the first two decades of the twentieth century (see 
Chapters Five and Nine), they shared many of the same desires to settle in a pleasant, 
secure and safe place.  This Chapter does not look at the attitudes of African, 
Coloured and Indian residents of Krugersdorp, as they are the subjects of later 
Chapters. Yet, clearly, they too were influenced by the transformation of the town 
from an ephemeral space to a permanent place, and consequently many decided to 
make their homes there. 
 
This Chapter serves as a case study that explores the role played by local white 
shopkeepers and professionals in the stabilisation of Krugersdorp, as one of the several 
mining towns on the Rand that underwent these important changes. The role of the 
white, English-speaking urban middle class in transforming the Rand into a relatively 
settled, safe and pleasant urban space has been ignored by urban historians who have 
tended to focus on macro-level processes like the stabilisation of the gold-mining 
industry and Milner?s social engineering experiments.5  
 
These approaches take a ?top down? perspective and focus on the ?big picture? of 
macro-economic and national political developments while ignoring the role of the local 
economy, municipal politics and the psychological, ideological and cultural pressures 
that the local middle class applied to the working-class inhabitants of these towns. This 
Chapter is intended as a corrective to this genre of urban history and seeks rather to 
emphasise local agency in the transformation of a violent, transient town into a 
                         
5 See, for example, C. van Onselen, Studies in the Social and Economic History of the  
  Witwatersrand, vol 1, New Babylon vol 2, New Nineveh, Ravan, Johannesburg, 1982.  
 
  
 
 
 
 
129
 peaceful, stable, urban entity. 
 
This Chapter is organised into four sections. The first section draws on secondary 
literature to identify key attributes of the middle class and the roles it played in urban 
society in a general, comparative sense. The second section examines the 
phenomenon of the ?ghost town? and explores why the English-speaking middle class of 
Krugersdorp dreaded this fate for their town. This Chapter also introduces the 
neologism of the ?phantom town? to describe planned towns that remain blueprints in 
order to analyse how the middle class prevented the building of the ?Robinson 
Township? and held back Randfontein Village?s development. 
 
This section also looks in detail at how the middle class set about building churches and 
other structures. It explores why they were built, the significance of their location, and 
public ceremonies of sanctifying ?holy ground? and ?laying the foundation stone?. This 
section further develops the theoretical insights of cognitive mapping, environmental 
behavioural systems and urban semiotics to assess how the built environment may 
have been ?read? by passing white miners as a ?message? of permanence that 
influenced them to decide to settle in the town. The deliberate transformation of the 
townscape to a ?legible? text that conveyed the middle class?s aspirations and values will 
form the heart of this Chapter?s argument.   
 
Finally, in the third section, this chapter looks at how the middle class campaigned for a 
Town Council and then deployed their new powers to make the town habitable by 
improving water and electricity supplies and by building new roads. The middle class?s 
aim, it is argued, was to lay the ?foundation stone for a town?, by trying to attract 
investors, industrialists and labour to Krugersdorp to ensure the future of the town.  
 
Krugersdorp's White, English-speaking Middle Class 
 
The middle class constituted a distinct group in Krugersdorp and a contemporary 
  
 
 
 
 
130
 observer would have no difficulty in pointing out members of this class. The middle 
class was more prosperous, better dressed, carried themselves with an affected 
decorum, attended more refined entertainments such as music recitals, were nearly 
always church-going, mostly abstained from alcohol, owned their own property, built 
solid, attractive homes, raised families and spent their disposable income on displays of 
conspicuous consumption.6  
 
This class, furthermore, had its own professional and business societies like the 
Chamber of Commerce, for example. Its members were active in local politics, often 
standing as municipal candidates (see Appendix Two for a brief biography of the 
majority of Krugersdorp?s Town Councillors) and many belonged to Ratepayers' 
Associations and similar bodies. Members of this class took the initiative in the 
formation of sporting societies, charities and social clubs in the town including 
temperance societies (see Chapter Seven), the Freemasons and the Krugersdorp Club. 
Needless to say, its members dominated these societies, holding all or most of the 
executive positions. The more refined and visible social and cultural life of the town, 
(outside the bars, music halls and gambling dens, that is), was in the hands of the 
middle class. 
 
Krugersdorp?s middle class was overwhelming English-speaking. The earliest trade 
directories reveal a preponderance of English-speaking surnames in the titles of 
commercial establishments. Many of these businesses were owned by individuals who 
re-appeared each year throughout the 1890s in the same directories, suggesting that 
they enjoyed prolonged professional and business success and were committed to 
Krugersdorp as their place of business and residence.  
 
There were, however, also indications of occasional hardship. For example, many of 
the early entrepreneurs diversified across a number of different businesses to keep 
                         
 6 There are a number of useful studies that further explore middle-class behaviour and values.  
   See, for example, E. Banfield, The Unheavenly City, Little Brown and Company, Boston, 1968. 
  
 
 
 
 
131
 themselves solvent. J. Varley owned a well-known Hotel7 but he also appears as a ?cab 
proprietor? in one directory.8 P. S. May appears in 1892 as a ?baker?9 but he had his 
fingers in other pies as well, as he practised as a butcher, confectioner, fruiterer, grocer, 
provision merchant and ?produce buyer?.10 While none of these men seems to have 
been the proverbial ?butcher, baker and candlestick maker?, W. Andreka, a Greek 
entrepreneur, came the closest as a butcher, a baker and a blacksmith!11 
 
The biographical details of some of the members of the English-speaking middle class 
can shed some light on its composition. It appears, for example, that many of them 
were born and educated in Great Britain and spent time in South African coastal towns 
before making their way to Krugersdorp.   William Ramsay MacNab, for example, was 
educated at Inverness High School and the renowned Bell's Academy.12 He was a 
pioneer at Barberton in 1886, then moved to Krugersdorp in 1894 and made his living 
as an ?Auctioneer, Sworn Government Appraiser and Real Estate Agent?.13   
 
Alphaeus Snell was born and educated in Devonshire, England.14 He then travelled to 
South Africa where he obtained a B.A. at the University of the Cape of Good Hope 
before moving to Krugersdorp in the mid-1890s.15 There he served, sequentially, as 
Editor of Ons Volk, De Voortrekker and, briefly, of The Standard, Krugersdorp.16  
 
                         
 7 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 20 June 1906, ?Mr. and Mrs. Varley?. 
8  The Argus Annual and South African Directory, The Argus Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd., Cape  
   Town, 1894, p. 854. 
9  ibid, 1892, p. 966. 
10 ibid, pp. 966?7. 
11 ibid. 
12 The South African Who?s Who, an Illustrated Biography and Sketch book of South Africa, (SA?s  
    Who?s Who), South African Who?s Who Publishers Company, Durban, 1908, Second Issue, pp.  
    77?8. 
13 Ons Volk, 7 December 1897, untitled; The Standard, Krugersdorp, 31 October 
   1908, untitled; and Krugersdorp Public Library (KPL) Mayor?s Minute,  (Mayor?s Minute), Mayor?s  
   Report, 1916?17, p. 3. 
14 SA?s Who?s Who, 1908, p. 377. 
15 ibid. 
16 ibid. 
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
132
 Membership of the retail trade was often risky and the sources are replete with the sad 
evidence of local bankruptcies.17 Nonetheless it was a veritable ticket to affluence 
compared to the life-prospects of miners. Some examples from deceased estate files of 
select miners indicate that they had precious little disposable income at the point of their 
usually untimely deaths as relatively young men. For example, Jackson Laidlow, mine 
captain at Champ d' Or, was able to leave his heirs 12 pounds18 while only half that 
amount was left by John Owen, a miner at the York mine.19 These figures contrast 
sharply with the merchants. W.D. Smith owned the popular Hardware Merchants store 
of ?W.D. Smith and Co.? and left 2 028 pounds to his heir in excess of liabilities.20 E. 
Hompes of ?Hompes and Seehoff? general dealers left an estate worth 5 520 pounds.21  
 
With wealth came the ability to marry or to bring families to the Rand. The middle class 
tended to marry one another rather than ?beneath their station?. For example, a certain 
Miss Henderson, a music teacher in Krugersdorp, married Andrew Eschel, the publisher 
of The Press, in Pretoria. Miss Gertrude Thomas, daughter of R. F. Thomas, Mine 
Manager at the Windsor Mine, married Rev. E. Bottril of the Wesleyan Church in 
Krugersdorp.22 Edward Laurie of the local branch of the Standard Bank married Miss 
Page, a teacher at the local Government School.23 Local middle-class bachelors formed 
a committee and held weekly assembly dances in the Old Masonic Hall on Fridays,24 
                         
 
17  See, for example, Central Archives Depot (CAD), Government Gazette 679, General Notice 752,   
   p. 439: well-known tobacconist Adolf Seehoff, who served for a time as a Town Councillor, had to   
    liquidate his business. Professionals could also have their practices sequestered, for example see  
    Government Gazette 682, General Notice 788, pp. 534?49: Gerrit van Blommenstein who ran a   
    flourishing legal practice and served as a prominent mayor, had to close his practice in 1911. The  
    middle class was vulnerable to bankruptcy across the Rand, see D. Humphriss, Benoni, Son of My  
    Sorrow, (Benoni), Benoni Town Council, Benoni, 1968, p. 35: ?the commercial population was in  
    general better-off financially than the miners, but had to fend for themselves to a much greater  
    extent?. 
18 CAD, Deceased Estates (MHG) file no. 19066, Estate of Jackson Laidlow. 
19  MHG 21757, Estate of John Owen.     
20 MHG 12725, Estate of W.D. Smith. 
21 MHG 32804, Estate of E. Hompes. 
22 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 10 February 1898, ?Marriages  Notices?. 
23 The Standard, Krugersdorp,  8 July 1899, ?Of General Interest?. 
24 The Standard, Krugersdorp,  8 July 1899, ?Of General Interest?. 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
133
 while picnics at the Waterfalls soon produced engagements among the suitable young 
middle-class men and women.25  
 
Figure 2.1: Photographs of Select Members of Krugersdorp?s Middle Class.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   Abner Cohen                  Henry Tonkin                  Walter Greenacre 
    (Merchant)                         (Merchant )                         (Merchant) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Dr. Wouter v.d. Merwe     Charles Saner              Johannes Stegmann                     
 (Medical Doctor)               (Mining Engineer)              (Solicitor) 
 
Source: South African Who?s Who: An illustrated Sketch Book of South Africa, South African Who?s Who Publishing Company, 
Durban, 1908, pp.77, 414, 448, 489. 
 
The middle class also had the financial resources to raise families despite the high cost 
of living in Krugersdorp and the economic fluctuations during the tumultuous 1890s. R. 
                         
25 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 7 January 1899, ?Of General Interest?. 
  
 
 
 
 
134
 F. Wallis, owner of the Standard Printing Press, could announce the birth of his ?bouncy 
baby boy? in his own newspaper,26 while his editor, Harry, could similarly announce the 
birth of a ?wee lassie? to add to ?the clan of Stammers?.27 
 
As prominent professionals and commercial men who constituted the social elite of a 
small town, the local middle class could not avoid frequent interaction with the 
English-speaking miners. By their example, they must have inspired at least some of 
these miners to settle down themselves and raise families. Some miners 
intermingled with the middle class at church services while others got to know their 
middle class ?betters? by visiting or joining the local clubs and societies that were 
administered by the middle class. For example, the Krugersdorp Club had over 400 
members on its books up to 1910 and its visitor books had just as many names. This 
far exceeded the likely size of Krugersdorp?s middle class so it is quite plausible that 
many of these were working-class miners.28 It appears, for example, that the miners 
Hallowes and Thomas were visitors to the Club.29 Presidents of the club and office 
bearers are recognisably members of the middle class, for example a number of 
Presidents appear to have been local doctors including Dr van der Merwe, Dr 
Stewart and Dr Caldwell,30 but many of the ?guests? who visited this club were likely 
to have been members of the ?respectable? working class. 
 
Various associations helped to bring together middle- and working-class residents in 
Krugersdorp and promoted inter-class fraternisation on ethnic grounds. The Caledonian 
Society, for example, brought together those residents who had a Scottish background 
including W. Ramsay MacNab, Auctioneer, and R. Breckenridge, Engine Driver. The 
                         
26 The Standard, Krugersdorp, undated, ?Of General Interest?. 
27 The Standard Krugersdorp, 25 March1899, ?Of General Interest?. 
28  It is very difficult to discern the occupations of such visitors as the baptism and marriage registers  
    of Krugersdorp's churches do not record occupations as they did in Johannesburg. 
29 This was discerned by comparing the Krugersdorp Club Visitor's Book, 1902?1912, with the  
    Register of European Burials in Krugersdorp Cemetery, 1904?1929, and finally deceased estate  
    files, see MHG 16214, Estate of Hallowes and MHG 16786, Estate of Thomas.  
30 This is recorded on a wooden plaque affixed to the east wall of the Krugersdorp Club. 
  
 
 
 
 
135
 latter Scotsman, who served as the ?Chieftain? of the Krugersdorp Caledonian Society,31 
later became a member of the Town Council.32 
 
Middle-class elements also dominated sports clubs and interacted with working-class 
white residents as executive officers of these bodies. For example, H. S. Kingdon, a 
local merchant,33 served as the secretary of the Krugersdorp Wanderers Club, the 
Association Football Club, Rugby Club and Baseball Club.34 He was also a member of 
the Krugersdorp Chamber of Commerce and became a Town Councillor after the South 
African War.35 The West Rand Club, the Oddfellows League,36 the Freemasons, the 
Krugersdorp Debating and Literary Society and many more similar societies brought the 
transient English-speaking white workers into contact with a settled middle class and 
their families.   
 
It seems plausible that many of the ?respectable? members of the working class would 
mix with the middle class particularly if they had higher aspirations. It appears likely, 
furthermore, that they would have been influenced to consider marrying and setting up 
families themselves in Krugersdorp once economic conditions allowed for it. In this way, 
the local middle class may have convinced some members of the local working class to 
settle and establish homes in this mining town rather than elsewhere on the Rand.  
 
Many of these workers would also have interacted with the middle class at church 
services. The Anglican Church was the central institution of the English-speaking 
middle class. A number of middle class social gatherings were centred on the Church.37 
It was this sense of purpose and the Christian metaphor of building a house on rock that 
                         
31 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 24 February 1920, untitled. 
32 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 17 November 1917, untitled.  
33 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 22 October 1910, untitled. 
34 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 27 February 1909, untitled. 
35 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 22 October1910, untitled. 
36 The ?Odd Fellows? are referred to as a ?working man's club? in Worger's study of labour in  
    Kimberley which, like the Foresters, constituted a ?friendly society? that aided workers in hard times  
    and helped their families in the event of death. See Worger, City of Diamonds, pp. 156?7.  
37 See, for example, The Standard, Krugersdorp, 17 December 1898, ?English Church Bazaar?. 
 
  
 
 
 
 
136
 inspired the middle class with hope. It gave them the determination that was necessary 
to build a solid town that could resist those forces that threatened to collapse 
Krugersdorp into a ghost town. This will be the focus of the following section. 
 
Ghost Towns 
 
During its early years, Krugersdorp?s business elite was constantly afraid that 
Krugersdorp might collapse into a ghost town. As pointed out in the previous chapter, 
mine camps could be abandoned virtually overnight when the gold ran out. In the 
Western United States there are numerous ghost towns such as Bodie, California 
and Bullfrog, Nevada, where all that remains are a ?few wretched shacks?.38 Some of 
these towns had been large, established urban concentrations such as White Oaks 
in New Mexico, which reached its peak in 1893 with a main street 100 feet wide and 
half a mile long and a population of 4 000.39 In some cases towns have vanished 
without trace with even the sites forgotten by their former inhabitants. Silverberg, 
who conducted a detailed study of ghost towns, describes the process that 
transformed once vibrant, bustling towns into abandoned wrecks: 
 
 When the gold gave out, the town died?miners drifted away?until only  
the diehards remained.?Windows broke and never were repaired. Wild  
creatures moved into the abandoned cabins. The gravestones of heroes  
toppled in the town cemetery.?In time, the hard core of settlers also  
moved away, leaving just the dead husk of the town.40 
 
The names of many of the ghost towns are evocative of transience, hard drinking, 
chance and violence: ?Hangtown?, ?You Bet?, ?Cut Throat?, ?Boomo Flat?, ?Fleatown?, 
?Whisky Gulch?, ?Poison Switch? and ?Shirttail Canyon?.41 The Pacific Northwest had its 
share of such abandoned urban wastelands and one study found fifteen ghost towns in 
Oregon, ten in Washington twelve in Idaho, ten in Wyoming and  no less than fourteen 
                         
38 G. Malamud, Boomtown Communities (Boomtown), Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, New York,   
   1984, p. 44. 
39 ibid., p. 43. 
40 R. Silverberg, Ghost Towns of American West, Thomas Y. Cromwell Co., New York, 1968, p. 2.  
  
 
 
 
 
137
 in Montana.42 All mining towns had the potential to become ghost towns. It is more 
illuminating, indeed, to ask why some of these towns survived rather than why so many 
died. 
 
In trying to understand the making of Krugersdorp, it is these ?survivors? that have to be 
analysed. For example, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Denver all grew into mature, 
stable cities. Both San Francisco and Los Angeles were, however, port towns that 
boomed indirectly due to mineral discoveries in their hinterlands, as was the case with 
Melbourne in Australia and both Cape Town and Port Elizabeth on South Africa's coast. 
Denver, like Chicago, benefited as a market town and from its strategic, isolated 
position on the Rockies, just as Chicago dominated communication networks to the 
East coast. This suggests that a key factor that separates the mature, stable towns from 
the ephemeral ghost towns, is economic viability and this is illustrated in the example of 
Kocksoord, a neighbour of Krugersdorp that briefly promised to become a substantial 
town before collapsing into a ghost town. 
 
Kocksoord was the product of a petition for a town signed by local farmers and stage-
 managed by Mr Wolmarans, a member of the Volksraad in the late 1890s.43 A site was 
purchased for 12 000 pounds, a township was laid out, and at its centre was built ?a 
most pretentious public building of solid masonry?, which contained a Court House, a 
post and Telegraph Office and a Police Station, which cost 6000 pounds.44 The walls 
were 20 feet high and 18 inches thick (see Figure 2.2). Stands were put up for sale and 
the projected ?sign? of permanence inscribed into the built environment by the building of 
substantial, heavy buildings, had the intended effect on the public which ?read? this 
____________________________ 
41 Malamud, Boomtown, p. 44. 
42 N. Weis, Ghost Towns of the Northwest, Caxton Printers, Caldwell, Idaho, 1971 cited in Malamud,  
    Boomtown, p. 45. For Australian case studies see G. Farwell, Ghost Towns of Australia, Rigby,  
    Adelaide, revised and enlarged edition, 1976. For South African examples, see E. Rosenthal, Shovel  
    and Sieve, Howard Timmins for George Allen and Unwin, London, n.d., Chapter XVI, pp. 110?116.  
43 Randfontein Municipality, Randfontein 50 Years, 1929?79, 1979, p. 44. 
44 ibid. 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
138
 ?message? and were duped into believing that the little town had a future. An article in a 
local newspaper described the gullibility of those who bought stands in Kocksoord: 
 
? the public presumably judging that  the Government would not have  
gone to this expense were they not certain that considerable mining  
developments were immediately to be made in the district.45  
 
Figure 2.2: The Derelict Kocksoord Court House, a Post and Telegraph Office and 
a Police Station 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Source: Randfontein Public Library, Randfontein Municipal Library, Randfontein ? 50 Years, 1929?1979, Randfontein Municipality, 
Randfontein,  p. 28. 
 
The town, however, was never occupied and no mining developments took place in the 
area. It was far from the main Witwatersrand reef and it was unlikely that anything other 
than some alluvial gold would be found there. Stand holders were soon unable to pay 
their stand licences which then reverted to the Government. In 1905, the new Milner 
government tried to re-auction the stands to the public but were unable to attract a 
                         
45 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 29 April 1905, ?Township goes a-begging?. 
Formatted: Font: Italic
 Deleted: -
  
 
 
 
 
139
 single bidder, even at the low price of seven pounds a stand.46  
 
The site was too isolated and too far from centres of population for shopkeepers or 
industrialists to be interested. It was, after all, four miles from the Randfontein Village 
and ?an hour's gallop? from Krugersdorp.  Thus the semiotic ?weight? of a substantial built 
environment was not in itself sufficient to ?anchor? this town into a settled, permanent 
urban space. Economic viability was a pre-requisite. Kocksoord nevertheless stood as a 
grim reminder to Krugersdorp what could happen if any of its economic props were 
removed. 
 
?Phantom Towns? 
 
A second major threat to Krugersdorp?s viability was the proposed township near the 
Randfontein mines that was to be called ?Randfontein?. This remained on the blueprints 
throughout the 1890s. The proposed Randfontein or ?Robinson? Township, its 
alternative proposed name, enjoyed all the basic economic pre-requisites for a 
successful town: it was close to existing mines grounds, the Randfontein railway station 
and the Randfontein Village. The railway line provided a communication link to the rest 
of the Rand and ample good land was available to be laid out in stands (see Map One). 
Shopkeepers and professionals would find it easy to establish their businesses and 
practices there and this is precisely why the local middle class in Krugersdorp could not 
allow Robinson to turn his plans into reality. 
 
The proposed site for Randfontein on the far West Rand was known as Rietpan (?Reed 
water lands?) by the boers or Mhlangeni? (?place of Reeds?) by Africans who had long 
settled in the area.47 It was flat and well provided with water, the two key requirements 
for a township site.  It also had ample potential customers due to the proximity of the 
enormous Randfontein mines. For example, the South Randfontein mine had 1 798  
                         
46 ibid. 
47 Randfontein Public Library (RPL) J.J. Snyman,?Kort Geskiedenis van Randfontein en Distrik?,  
    Randfontein Stadsraad, Randfontein, 1952, Randfontein Municipal Library, p. 28. 
  
 
 
 
 
140
 Map One: Krugersdorp and Randfontein in the Context of the Witwatersrand and 
Surrounding Farms as it Appears Today. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Source: CD 1344, AG 4653, Map of Krugersdorp and surrounding farms, c.1906, adapted to a modern view. 
 
  
 
 
 
 
141
 black miners.48 The standard ratio of white to black mineworkers was at least 1:10 at 
this time, so there were probably about 300 to 400 white men working in the area, more 
than sufficient for the purposes of supporting a town. There were ample prospects for 
commercial and industrial development, for boarding houses, inns, taverns, general 
dealers, music houses to service the miners and for administrative buildings of all kinds. 
A town with its own bank, hospital and gaol could easily have been erected there in the 
late 1890s, particularly after the Randfontein railway station was built there in 1896.49  
 
J. B. Robinson, a wealthy local mining magnate, wanted to diversify his investments 
and the establishment of a town near his mines offered many appealing prospects. To 
achieve this goal, J.B. Robinson entrusted J.W.S. Langerman, his right hand man and 
well connected politically (he was later to serve as an M.P. for the Randfontein 
constituency), to secure the necessary permission.  
 
Langerman wrote to the State Secretary of the Transvaal Republic in February 1897 
and put in an application for a ?stand township?.50 Robinson added, in another letter, that 
the amount of work that was being carried out on Randfontein meant that the proposed 
township would be an ideal location for government offices.51 He also approached a 
certain Mr van Boeschoten and asked him to place this application before the President 
and his executive.52  
 
Robinson did his best to sell the idea of a township in the area. He proposed to use a 
portion of the farm Middelvlei, owned by his company, to erect a ?stand township? and 
declared himself willing to give the government stands on which they could erect 
Government buildings. He pointed out that the site at Randfontein was the ?centre of the 
mining industry on the West Rand' (?het middelpunt van de myn industrie op de West 
                         
48 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 16 April 1904, untitled. 
49 Ons Volk, 25 April 1896, ?Plaatselyk and Algemeen?, ?De NAZM ontwaakt?. 
50 CAD, SS 6183, R1707/97, letter: J.W. Langerman to the ?Staatspresident en leden van Uitvoerende  
    Raad?, 2 February 1897. 
51 ibid., R3390/97, letter: Staatssekretaris to J.B. Robinson, undated. 
52 ibid., J.B. Robinson to Mr. van Boeschoten, 8 March 1897. 
  
 
 
 
 
142
 Randt?) and that within eighteen months there would be twenty-one separate mining 
companies operating in the area with an output of over two hundred pounds sterling a 
month.53  
 
He claimed that it was vital that government buildings be placed nearby to make it easy 
for these companies to obtain licences and passes for black mineworkers. Robinson's 
Randfontein company directors had come to an understanding with the Republican 
railway company, the NZASM, whereby land was provided at the Randfontein station 
for the railway company to build necessary structures and already two stations and a 
number of houses had been laid out. Plans were made to build a large railway works 
near the station.54 When these overtures failed to yield the expected permission, 
Robinson appealed again in a telegram to Dr Leyds, the State Secretary in March.55 
By early April he had received no reply and expressed concern about this in a letter 
to van Boeschoten.56  
 
It is not difficult to see why he failed since the very reasons that made town 
economically viable and administratively desirable, were precisely the reasons why 
Krugersdorp?s middle class feared its establishment. The local English-speaking 
commercial and professional elite and their local Dutch-speaking counterparts as 
well as local Dutch officials were all threatened by the possibility of a new town being 
built close to Robinson?s mines as it would divert customers and clients, causing 
Krugersdorp to shrink, perhaps, to a point of becoming a ghost town. 
                         
53 ibid.  
54 ibid., letter: J.B. Robinson to State President and ?leden van de Uitvoerende Raad?, 8 March 1897. 
55 ibid., telegram: J.B. Robinson to Dr. Leyds, SS, 23 March 1897. Robinson pointed out that van  
    Boeschoten had been confined to bed due to an unfortunate accident and asked Leyds to place  
    the letter before the Executive. Again, he emphasised that he was ?willing to give them all the  
    necessary stands for  government purposes on Randfontein?.   
56 ibid, J.B. Robinson to C. van Boeschoten, 5 April 1897. Boeschoten appears to have served a  
    similar function as Alois H. Nellmapius who was close to members of the government and   
    especially President Kruger and who was often approached by those who ?wish to obtain some    
    privilege? who would ask Nellmapius ?to intercede for them?, see H. Kaye, The Tycoon and the  
    President: the life and the times of Alois H. Nellmapius, 1847?1893, MacMillan, Johannesburg,  
    1978, p. 60. The mining house of Eckstein made use of this back channel to the government and it  
    is something of a mystery why Robinson failed to use Nellmapius to get his township approved. 
  
 
 
 
 
143
  
The mining commissioner for Krugersdorp, Mr. J.A. Burger, wrote a strongly worded 
letter to his superior noting that there could ?not be two stand townships? (?niet twee 
standsdorpen kan hebben?) in the same vicinity.57 Burger also wrote to the State 
Secretary arguing that a Randfontein township would cause ??a flow of thousands 
of pounds? (?duizende ponden vloeien?) to the ?owner? (?Eigenaar?) of the town, J.B. 
Robinson at the expense of the state and ?hundreds of residents of Krugersdorp? 
(?honderde personen van Krugersdorp?).58  He insisted that Krugersdorp was ?the 
centre of the West Rand? (?centrale punt van die Weste Witwatersrandt Delwyren?) 
and that to establish another township would cause the ?businesses in a large part of 
Krugersdorp to close? (?de besigheden in Krugersdorp het grooter gedeelte moeten 
sluiten?). Krugersdorp already had 744 stands that had been sold for ?enormous 
sums? (?enorme somme?) to the public and recently a number of ?attractive and costly 
buildings? (?prachtige en kostbare gebouwen?) had been erected and a new township 
would cause ?enormous harm for the public? (?enorme schade die door het publiek?). 
59 
 
The Mining Commissioner was a leading figure in Krugersdorp. He was ex-officio chair 
of the Sanitary Committee and the equivalent of a mayor. Burger mixed freely with 
Krugersdorp's English- and Dutch-speaking middle classes and, like them, owned a 
number of stands in the town. Krugersdorp's shopkeepers and landlords would be 
ruined if a township was established at Randfontein. It would not be easy for them to 
simply move their businesses to the new township as they had considerable 
investments locked into the bricks and mortar of their shops and homes. 
 
Burger?s letter also points to another, perhaps even more important motive, behind the 
government's decision to reject Robinson?s plans. The official pointed out that there was 
                         
57 ibid., Burger, mynkommissaris, Krugersdorp na Hoofdmynwezen, 15 March 1899. 
58 CAD, Archives of the State Attorney, (SP) 83/88, R 1707/97, M.C. Krugerdorp to SS door Hoofd van  
    Mynwezen, Pretoria, 22 February 1897.  
59 ibid. 
 
  
 
 
 
 
144
 sufficient land for at least 2 000 stands to be erected at Krugersdorp on government 
land. Given rising land prices in the fast-growing town, the government could anticipate 
a substantial profit by selling these stands to the public, an attractive prospect for the 
cash-strapped state. Thus, although Robinson spoke Dutch fluently, donated money to 
causes dear to President Kruger and took the Boer Government's side in its clashes 
with Britain and the Chamber of Mines, he could not get his treasured Randfontein 
Township approved.   
 
 
Map Two: Distances, in Miles, between Krugersdorp, Randfontein and 
Kocksoord, c. 1924 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Source: CAD, GNLB 169, 647/14/102, Map attached to letter from Native Sub Commissioner, Krugersdorp to Director of Native 
Labour, Johannesburg, 9 May 1924. 
 
Robinson's ?Company Town? was prevented from ever being born and remained merely 
as a ?phantom town?, despite the inconvenience of hundreds of white miners who had to 
travel six or seven miles a day from Krugersdorp because of lack of appropriate housing  
 
  
 
 
 
 
145
 near the mines.60 The middle class had won a reprieve but the experience merely 
underlined the urgency with which they needed to find ways to ?anchor? the town. They 
began to look for ways to tame the ?Devil?s Dorp? into a settled, stable town that could 
attract secondary industry so it could endure when the gold ran out. The Church held 
the key to their plans. 
 
The Role Played by the Middle Class and the Church in ?Anchoring? Krugersdorp 
 
It will be argued, in this section, that Krugersdorp's middle class was determined to set 
down roots in their town and to convince the white working class to do the same. As 
deacons and other leading members of congregations, members of this class 
manoeuvred to erect large, well-built stone churches and a Freemasons Hall in 
prominent positions in the town where these buildings could be seen by the miners, 
artisans and travellers throughout the town. It will be argued here that these churches 
conveyed a message of permanency that may have persuaded the mobile miners to 
settle down and raise families. This would help to stabilise the town and end the 
lawlessness and violence that characterised the town?s early years (see Chapter One). 
A stable, law-abiding town with a settled, docile labour force would, in turn, be attractive 
to investors who could establish industries in the town that would provide alternative 
sources of employment, once the gold was ultimately and inevitably exhausted.   
 
Drawing from theories concerning cognitive mapping, environment behavioural systems 
and urban semiotics, it can be argued that an emotional commitment to Krugersdorp 
was invoked by the construction of key structures such as churches that conveyed a 
message of permanency. Of course, there were other large, permanent structures in 
Krugersdorp, but these lacked the semiotic power of the churches and related buildings 
like the Freemasons Halls built on sacred, consecrated ground.  
 
The government buildings, including the magistrate's court and the Police Station did 
                         
60 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 13 November 1909, ?Randfontein?. 
Comment [JE1]: Not sure 
about logic of 
capitalisation of some 
nouns in headings 
Comment [JE2]: I added 
?help to? here. Please 
delete if inappropriate 
  
 
 
 
 
146
 not have this effect. After all, large, sumptuous government buildings in Kocksoord 
failed to prevent this town from collapsing into a ghost town. In terms of urban 
semiotics, these structures were ?illegible? as signifiers of permanence. This can be 
partly explained by noting that these structures were erected by the Dutch-speaking 
Boer Republican government. This was the same government that denied English-
 speaking miners the vote. Moreover, these building were erected in the ?Transvaal 
Republic? architectural style which conveyed to the miners the ?message? that they were 
unwelcome aliens.  
 
Similarly, the large, permanent residences of mine managers (Figure 2.3) also failed 
utterly to convey permanence. Most miners were influenced by trade unionism, 
socialism and syndicalism to the point that they would have recoiled from any 
representation of a system that exploited them on a daily basis. Such structures would 
simply not ?work? to convey a message of permanency. 
 
Figure 2.3: The General Manager?s Residence, Homestead Avenue, Randfontein 
Estates and G.M. Co. Ltd., c.1890s. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Source: Randfontein Public Library, Randfontein ? 50 Years, Randfontein Municipality, Randfontein, 1979, p. 18.   
 
The churches were the only substantial structures left in the town, and it was these 
Comment [JE3]: This 
whole paragraph is a 
bit suspect. It sounds 
almost tongue in cheek. 
Comment [JE4]: may be 
unclear what ?they? 
refers to? 
Comment [JE5]: The way 
you phrase this is so 
definite ? perhaps it 
would help if you 
expressed it more 
tentatively, e.g. and 
may have conveyed a 
sense... 
Comment [JE6]: The 
figure here refers to 
Randfontein estates. 
This is confusing as I 
thought that this dealt 
with Krugersdorp. 
Comment [JE7]: Which 
town? Kocksoord? I am 
confused now. 
  
 
 
 
 
147
 buildings that constituted the best candidates as structures that could inspire a desire to 
settle down and raise families in the hearts and minds of the white working class. These 
buildings were built in the town itself, rather than on the margins like mine managers? 
houses. Churches were erected at the corners of major thoroughfares rather than in 
peripheral, minor streets. Their steeples were built so tall that they were visible at any 
point in the town. They were also located in the southern part of the town that was 
associated with working-class residences and which constituted a ?British? space given 
the concentration of English-speaking people who lived there (see Chapter Three). 
 
The location of churches in the southern part of the town conveyed a strong sense of a 
future for ?Britishness? in the town and served as an antidote to the ?message? of 
alienation that was conveyed by government buildings in the centre and in the north of 
the town (see Map Three). It seems plausible that churches were seen as relatively 
positive symbols by miners that powerfully conveyed a sense of permanence.  
Churches in Britain were frequently many centuries old. Miners who came from Britain 
or its dominions would have strongly associated these structures with permanence or, 
indeed, with eternity.  
 
Some recent research into working-class families suggests that churches were the sites 
of key working-class social events such as marriages, baptisms and funerals.61 While 
workers did not regularly attend church services, many must have been influenced by 
the constant proselytising efforts of a variety of evangelical ?missionaries? on the Rand. 
Many workers admired and respected the ?rescue work? of the Wesleyan Salvation 
Army, and some joined the various temperance campaigns of organisations such as the 
famous Independent Order of Good Templars or more specifically, the Transvaal 
Temperance Alliance that that operated among the workers of the Rand in 1892.62  
 
                         
61 See M.L. Lange, ?The Making of the White Working Class: Class Experience and Class Identity in  
   Johannesburg, 1890?1922?, (?White Working Class?), PhD thesis, University of the Witwatersrand,  
   Johannesburg, especially Chapter 2. 
62 C. van Onselen, Studies in the Social and Economic History of the Witwatersrand, 1886?1914,  
   vol. 1, New Babylon, (New Babylon) Ravan, Johannesburg, 1982, p. 59. 
Comment [JE8]: Steeples 
generally are tall. 
Comment [JE9]: This 
sentence again needs to 
be rephrased. Churches 
were associated with 
history and culture and 
tradition, particularly 
in the context of 
Europe and specifically 
Britain where several 
ancient churches are 
located.  
  
 
 
 
 
148
 The erection of a new church was a spectacular public event. Various stages of its 
building were accompanied by elaborate public spectacles that could not fail to have 
an impact upon those who witnessed these. The process of building a church, for 
example, began with the consecration of the ground. This involved a series of public 
rituals and prayers, sometimes accompanied by the sprinkling of holy water and, 
depending on the denomination, the burning of incense.  
 
Map Three: Map of Krugersdorp Depicting the Position of Major Business 
Establishments and Krugersdorp?s Churches c.1908 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                             
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
149
  
Source: J. Henning, ?The Evolution, Land Use and Land Use Patterns of Krugersdorp?, BA Honours dissertation, University of 
the Witwatersrand, 1963, p. 27. 
This deeply religious ceremony was accompanied by its secular counterpart, the ?laying 
the foundation stone?. This was a spectacle that often required the use of a crane or 
stout pulleys and chains that manoeuvred a large, heavy block of stone into position. A 
prominent member of the clergy or a local notable would be invited to spread a layer of 
cement over the top with a trowel made of solid silver. Speeches would be made and 
the inevitable crowd that gathered would frequently cheer and applaud when the 
foundation stone was declared to be firmly in place. Later, a plaque would be fixed in a 
prominent part of the structure to commemorate the event.  
 
Churches, of course, symbolised God's presence in a particular place and conveyed the 
sense that this spot was blessed. The consecration of land meant that it was rendered 
sacred. Legally it meant little, but symbolically it powerfully conveyed that this land was 
God's chosen space for eternity. On this holy land, high church walls would rise up 
steadily, witnessed by passing miners. Eventually the imposing structure would be 
completed, capped with a tall steeple that tilted the observer?s gaze skywards, up 
towards God. In Boer dorps, this principle was well-known and churches were among 
the first buildings built and they were always placed in the most prominent part of the 
town and were, by far, the tallest building.63 
 
Krugersdorp?s churches were erected close to the mines and railways so that miners 
who lived in the town would pass these impressive, heavy structures every day. Miners 
who lived in boarding houses further south or in workers? residences on the mines 
would pass these churches when they came to buy provisions from the general dealers 
situated around Market Square or when they had some need to visit the government 
offices in the centre of the town.  
                         
63 The early ?dorps? in the Cape ? like Swellendam, Paarl and Tulbagh ? all had ?central churches?, as 
    did the ?Voortrekker dorps?. See R. Haswell, ?Pieter Mauritz Burg, the genesis of a Voortrekker  
    Hoofdplaats?, in J. Laband and R. Haswell (eds.), Pietermartitzburg, 1838?1988,  
    (Pietermaritzburg),     University of Natal Press and Shuter & Shooter, Pietermaritzburg, 1988, pp.  
    26 and 28. 
 
Comment [JE10]: I assume 
this should be Haswell, 
not Hawell in fn ref. 
  
 
 
 
 
150
  
On Sundays, the small size of the town meant that most of its residents were in earshot 
of the hymns sung by the congregations or, at least, could hear the pealing of the 
church bells. This ?soundscape? would have been emotionally-charged for many 
working-class miners who would associate these sounds with profound social 
milestones like marriage, baptisms and funerals. It seems plausible that constant 
exposure to the sights and sound of the local churches could act as a mnemonic 
device, in the way that Rappaport described it, triggering responses of deep reflection 
and contemplation on one?s future. These churches could also have reminded the white 
expatriate miners of their childhood homes, their families and may have created a 
yearning for a more stable, settled life.  
 
The presence of the church among the daily sights and sounds of the town would also 
have had a stabilising effect on black migrant workers. Wesleyan Methodists 
deliberately targeted ?Africans who moved into towns in search for work?, following the 
?missionary method of William Shaw? that advocated that ?the first steps be taken in the 
towns?.64  Those Africans living in the Location would similarly be influenced by the 
church's impressive structures and many ?native? churches were built in the town?s 
location.65 It was the white working class that constituted the majority of Krugersdorp?s 
residents, however, and this study is concerned with the processes that led to their 
growing commitment to the town. 
 
From the white middle class? point of view, the church was the centre of their social life, 
and many attended church regularly and held positions such as deacons. The early 
mining towns were seen as ?Babylon? where prostitution, drunkenness and gambling 
was rife, so the church was considered as a sanctuary from surrounding evil for the 
                         
64 J.P. Brain, The Catholic Church in the Transvaal, (Catholic Church) Missionary Oblates of Mary  
     Immaculate, Johannesburg, 1991, p. 26. 
65 CAD, Archives of the Colonial Secretary (C.S.) 217, 81/03, Stands for Native Congregation  
    Church, 1902?3, letter, Mr. Richardson to Colonial Secretary, 8 November 1902. See also The  
    Standard, Krugersdorp, 29 October 1904, ?Closing up the year? and The Standard, Krugersdorp, 3  
    December 1904, Municipal Mixture?. 
Comment [JE11]: I assume 
you omitted the ?s? 
here as a typo. 
  
 
 
 
 
151
 middle class. It was also the launch pad for proselytising that could transform the City of 
Mammon to the City of God. 66 
 
The church ministers and their lay middle-class adherents wanted to spread God's word 
and remove the stain of Satan from the souls of the miners. The elite also wanted their 
children to grow up in a safe, stable and attractive town. Certain ?respectable? elements 
of the white working class were also church-goers and supported these goals. This 
seems to be the case particularly among the more experienced, mature miners that had 
moved from mining town to mining town and who were now tired of their nomadic way 
of life: 
 
Among the rough and ready diggers?there were men who had had  
experience on the diamond mines  and in the Eastern goldfields. These  
men used their knowledge and energies for the improvement of the mining 
village [in reference to early Johannesburg]?.a significant number of men  
did have their families with them and it has been suggested that these were  
the families that had moved in from the Kimberley or Eastern Transvaal  
mining districts rather than those who had recently arrived from Europe.  
This is confirmed in church records?.Support for the various Christian  
churches on the Witwatersrand?would have come from these family  
groups.67  
 
Middle class congregants and ministers would frequently launch ?crusades? to save the 
souls of the white miners. For example, the Church of England in Johannesburg ran a 
series of special services at St. Mary's during September 1894, hammering away at 
their audiences for ten days straight, focusing especially on the importance of marriage, 
parental responsibility and generally promoting ?family values? as opposed to the 
depredations of mining town life.68 These crusades would have won over a percentage 
of white working-class residents in mining towns like Johannesburg and Krugersdorp, 
                         
66 Brain, Catholic Church, p. 54; Van Onselen said that the early miners ?produced, reproduced and  
    accentuated several elements of late-nineteenth century working class culture?, see van Onselen,  
    New Babylon, p. 5. See also Lange, ?White Working Class?, p. 37, who blames this culture on the    
   large numbers of bachelors living in the early mining towns.  
67 Brain, Catholic Church, p. 54.  
68  Lange, ?White Working Class?, p. 38. 
 
  
 
 
 
 
152
 who would then join the middle class in their efforts to stabilise these violent, transient 
places.  
 
Humphriss points out that many miners were, in any case, already ?chapel-goers from 
Cornwall and Wales? so church-going was a well-entrenched habit for a large proportion 
of the white working class.69  These men presumably would also support the middle-
 class aims of stabilising the mining towns of the Rand. Humphriss notes that such 
workers ?received less attention? from historians and newspaper reports than their 
?wilder counterparts?.70 Similarly, Lange proposes that our understanding of the white 
working class has become coloured by this image of hard-drinking single miners, 
whereas there were many working-class families in Johannesburg in the 1890s. Lange 
argues for a more complex understanding of white working class life on the Rand that 
takes into account its more stable and settled elements: 
 
 Working class life involved men, women and children, single  
and married people, employed and unemployed in a social  
continuum that included the work-place, the street where they  
lived, the bars, the churches??71 
 
The commitment of Christians to the building of strong, secure church buildings can be 
likened to the knocking of pegs to secure the unruly flaps of the ?tent town? to one spot. 
It is instructive to consider, in detail, how this process was carried out by considering 
some examples. Many English-speaking middle and working class white residents in 
Krugersdorp probably identified themselves with the Anglican Church if recent research 
on Johannesburg's white working class can be extrapolated to Krugersdorp.72 Shortly 
after Krugersdorp was laid out, a temporary church was erected behind the Standard 
Bank at the corner of Rissik and Joubert streets. It had a wooden frame and a calico 
                         
69  Humphriss, Benoni, p. 50. 
70  ibid., p. 41. 
71  Lange, ?White Working Class?, p. 17. 
72  ibid., p. 7. Lange notes that 36% of 2290 white families in Johannesburg had their children baptised  
    in the  Anglican Church. 
Comment [JE12]: 35.94% 
seems an odd figure in 
the fn. 
  
 
 
 
 
153
 covering and cost one hundred pounds.73  By February 1888, the ?Calico Church? had a 
congregation of thirty adherents and also doubled as a school for about twenty-five 
children.  
 
When the temporary tent church was blown down by a gale in August 1888, it prompted 
the local middle class to demand a more permanent structure. The Reverend Organ 
immediately set about planning a church bazaar to raise funds to build a ?substantial 
building?.74 Just as Krugersdorp?s merchants faced competition from its much wealthier 
counterparts in Johannesburg, so, too, the Christians of Krugersdorp had to contend 
with their fellow congregants in Johannesburg who seemed to have a monopoly on 
funds from donors in Britain. When the Secretary for the Propagation of the Gospel 
donated one hundred pounds per annum for the support of the English church clergy on 
the Rand, the Krugersdorp correspondent of the Star newspaper commented bitterly, 
that: 
 
 It might be reasonably supposed that at least half of that sum  
will go to support the church in Krugersdorp, which is at this  
present moment struggling for its very existence; but as a  
matter of fact, every farthing...has been annexed by the wealthy  
church in Johannesburg, while the clergymen in Krugersdorp  
are understood to have been left utterly unprovided for by the  
church.75  
 
The leading figures in the local mining industry also had an interest in a settled, sober 
and god-fearing workforce and soon proved to be powerful allies for the fledgling middle 
class in their endeavours to use church buildings and missionary work to settle the 
unruly ?Devil's Dorp?. In early 1888 the Luipaard?s Vlei G.M. Co. Ltd donated the stands 
that it owned in Monument Street for the erection of a new church. Cecil Rhodes 
donated one hundred pounds to the church's building fund while President Kruger 
                         
73 St. Peter's Church, ?Onward', A History of the Anglican Church in the Parish of Krugersdorp,  
    (?Onward?), The Model Printing Company, West Roodepoort, 1965, p. 4.     
74 The Star, 14 September 1888, ?Krugersdorp?.  
75 The Star, 21 May 1888, ?Notes and Comments?. 
76 St. Peter?s Church, ?Onward?, p. 7. 
Comment [JE13]: Make 
sure consistent with 
previous spellings 
  
 
 
 
 
154
 contributed five pounds.76 The total cost was 420 pounds, so presumably the balance 
was raised by the local Anglican congregation, a remarkable sum of money for such a 
small group.  
 
This underlines how important the church was to the members of the local middle class 
and respectable working class, with the former contributing the lion?s share. A church, a 
parsonage and a school chapel were built out of stone, just in time to hold a service on 
Christmas Day, 1888.77 The timing of the service and the symbolism would have had a 
profound impact upon the town?s transient miners.  Bishop Bousfield travelled again to 
the far West Rand to dedicate the church to St. Mark on 1 February 1888,78 and while 
no descriptions survive, this too must have been an event of note. The dedication and 
consecration of a church so early in Krugersdorp?s formative period, must have 
impacted deeply upon the transient miners causing them to contemplate commitment to 
the town. 
 
The site of St. Mark's Church was located in the heart of Luipaardsvlei, an area later to 
become a heavily working-class suburb, near to the Krugersdorp railway station. This 
meant that miners could not help seeing the Church at least twice a day as they went to 
work at the start of their shifts and when they returned. The church was a formidable, 
solid building (see Figure 2.4) that stood out among the mostly transient structures of 
the town described in Chapter One.   
 
The middle class was strongly represented among the Churchwardens including W.M. 
Edwards (local farmer and later Town Councillor) and Mr Hallimand (the manager of the 
West Rand Consolidated G.M. Co. Ltd.).79 A number of well-known commercial and 
businessmen baptised their children at this church during the 1890s including F.W.  
Lewis (bookkeeper and later owner of ?May and Lewis? general dealers and Town 
                         
 
77 ibid. 
78 ibid.  
79 ibid. 
 
Comment [JE14]: Doesn?t 
sound like they were 
that transient at this 
point in any case! 
  
 
 
 
 
155
 Councillor), Harry Stammers (printer and later proprietor of The Standard, Krugersdorp 
newspaper), Frederick Cooper (contractor and later Town Clerk) and Humphrey Hayes 
(manager of the Luipaard?s Vlei Estate and G.M. Co. Ltd. and, later, Town Councillor).80 
 
Figure 2.4: St. Mark?s Church, Krugersdorp in Monument Street, 1888. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Source: St. Peter's Church, ?Onward', A History of the Anglican Church in the Parish of Krugersdorp, The Model Printing Company, 
West Roodepoort, 1965, located in the Church of the Province of South Africa Archives, University of the Witwatersrand, p. 7.  
 
The miners in the area were exposed to the middle class's example as, dressed up in 
their ?Sunday finest?, these middle-class families walked to the Sunday service. 
Constant exposure to such scenes up to fifty-two times a year, must have had an 
impact upon these rough and ready miners through what Rappaport terms 
?redundancy?: 
 
. ...When space organisation, building form, sign systems  
and visible activities coincide, meaning is much clearer and  
urban form much more legible and memorable...eikonic and  
verbal systems work best when they are clearly related to the  
space organisation, that is, when redundancy is increased.81 
 
A month later, in March, 1888 when Krugersdorp was described as ?rapidly growing?, 
tenders were called for the ?erection of a handsome stone school house large enough to 
                         
80 ibid., pp. 6?7. 
81 Rappaport, Meaning,  p. 84.  
82 Star, 21 March 1888, ?Krugersdorp?. 
Comment [JE15]: Again 
variation i spelling 
here 
  
 
 
 
 
156
 accommodate 300 pupils? under the auspices of the Anglican Church.82 Given that 
Krugersdorp's adult population did not reach even half this number at the time, this was 
a remarkable vote of confidence in the future prospects of the town.  The symbolism of 
providing for an, as yet, unborn youth was powerful indeed and is unlikely to have been 
lost on the white miners in the town. 
 
The relationship and mutual resonances of stability, solidity and the church is expressed 
in a well-known passage from the New Testament. In the words of Matthew 7: 24-27: 
 
 Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts  
them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the  
rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew  
and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its  
foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of  
mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man  
who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams  
rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell  
with a  great crash.83 
 
The building of St. Mark's church was designed to establish just such a ?house on the 
rock?, an inspiration to those who saw it, radiating permanence and stability. The new 
Anglican church also seems to have provoked a friendly rivalry with other 
denominations who followed their example in building large, permanent structures of 
their own. The Roman Catholics were the first out of the blocks in 1891 when a plot of 
land was secured on the corner of Human and Rissik streets.84 On it was built an 
imposing and attractive structure on 9 June 1891, built of ?brick & stone?. This solid, 
bulky and tall building also powerfully conveyed a sense of permanence of the ?church 
on the rock? in a very prominent part of the early town (see Figure 2.5). 
 
                         
 
83 The New International Version of the Bible, New Testament, Bible Society of South Africa, 1978,   
    pp. 8-9. 
84 Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Krugersdorp, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Krugersdorp: Centenary  
    Brochure, 1891?1991, (Our Lady), Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Krugersdorp, p.11. Available from the 
    Krugersdorp Catholic Church. See also Brain, Catholic Church, p. 63. 
  
 
 
 
 
157
 The Rev. Fr. Monginoux dedicated the church to Saints Peter and Paul at a special 
mass. After the benediction, a ?sacred concert? was held which was described as  
 
?crowded?85 and a church bell was set into place.86 Thereafter, the pealing of a church 
bell would form part of the town?s soundscape and the spectacle of Sunday services 
witnessed by those who passed by the church on this busy main street. 
 
Figure 2.5: Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Corner of  Human and Rissik 
Streets, Krugersdorp, 1891. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Source: Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Krugersdorp, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Krugersdorp, Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, 
Krugersdorp, 1992,  p. 12. 
 
 
 
The building of a Roman Catholic Church may, in some senses, have been an even 
more powerful symbol of commitment to place than its Anglican counterpart. This is 
because Roman Catholicism was treated with considerable suspicion by the 
government of the Transvaal Republic whose Dutch reformed roots led them 
                         
85 ibid. 
86 ibid., p. 13. 
87 ibid., p. 25. 
 
Formatted: Font: Not Bold,
 Italic
 Comment [JE16]: I would 
make mass and 
benediction lowercase, 
but not sure? 
  
 
 
 
 
158
 instinctively to mistrust ?papism? (?Roomse Gevaar?).87 Generally Catholics had greater 
difficulty than Anglicans in building churches in the Transvaal because of this hostility  
 
and their relatively smaller numbers.88  
 
A Catholic living in Krugersdorp later observed that there were ?not many Catholics in 
Krugersdorp and [there was] a fair amount of anti-Catholic prejudice?.89 Thus, by 
succeeding in building a permanent church in the face of considerable hostility, the 
Roman Catholic Church demonstrated a degree of faith and optimism in the little mining 
town of Krugersdorp that may have positively influenced non-Catholic miners to also 
commit themselves to this part of the world. 
 
The next major church to be built was that of the Nederduitse Gereformeerde 
Gemeente. The congregation met as early as 18 November 1889 in the home of M.P.W 
Pretorius, the owner of the farm Paardekraal, on which Krugersdorp had been 
established. At that time, Pretorius lived on the corner of President and Kruger streets.90 
The church ran a school where the congregation met, and a ?manse? (?pastorie?) was 
built in Ockerse street in 1891.91  
 
Eventually enough money was raised and the ?cornerstone? (?hoeksteen?) was laid by 
dominee H.C. J. Becker on 7 April 1894 in the block bounded by Rissik, Ockerse, 
Church and Joubert streets.92 During January 1895 the church was ?consecrated? 
(?ingewy?) and among its Deacons (?Diakens?) was a certain T.J. Bedford, who was later 
to serve as Market Master.93 The opening of this church was ?a great affair?, 250 
                         
 
88 Brain, The Catholic Church, p. 68. 
89 ibid., p. 105. 
90 Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk, Krugersdorp, Fotoalbum ter herdenking van die honderdjarige  
   bestaan van die Nederduitse Gereformeerde Gemeente Krugersdorp, 1890?1990, n.d., c.1990,  
   located in the Krugersdorp Dutch Reformed Church Archives, p. 14. 
91 ibid. 
92 ibid. 
93 ibid., pp. 4?5.  
94 The Star, 6 February 1895, ?Out and About?, ?Krugersdorp?. 
  
 
 
 
 
159
 wagons were counted along with troops of horsemen and cart proprietors. The building 
was in the ?Norman-Gothic? style and cost 6 000 pounds.94   
 
Although the English-speaking miners would be impressed by such an imposing and 
solid structure (Figure 2.6), the ?message? may have been ambiguous as it would have 
been difficult for them to identify with people of a different language and culture. But the 
sight of hundreds of Dutch-speaking white families converging on the looming, bulky 
Dutch Reformed Church may have reinforced the ?message? conveyed by the stone 
structures of the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches, creating what Rappaport 
called ?redundancy?. As Rappaport explained, the repetition of similar ?messages? from 
the spatial environment was a pre-requisite for their successful communication to those 
who ?read? these ?messages?.95 
 
Figure 2.6: The Dutch Reformed Church Building in Ockerse Street, Krugersdorp, 
1891. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Source: Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk, Krugersdorp, Fotoalbum  ter herdenking van die honderdjarige bestaan van die 
Nederduitse Gereformeerde Gemeente Krugersdorp, 1890?1990, n.d., c.1990, p. 4. 
 
                         
 
95 Rappaport, Meaning, p. 84. 
  
 
 
 
 
160
 In much the same way, the building of the temple for the Dutch Chapter of the 
Freemasons society, the ?Libertas Lodge?, could have indirectly promoted a sense of 
permanence for onlookers. Local middle-class Dutch-speaking notable Mr M. Seehoff, 
was appointed its ?Worshipful Grand Master? in June 1892, the earliest reference to the 
Lodge.96 As a quasi-religious society, the Freemasons' ideology centred on the stability 
of stone which played a key role in their rituals and ceremonies. The stonemason?s 
tools, notably the callipers used to measure cut blocks of stone, became an important 
symbol of Freemasons.  
 
For this quintessential middle-class society, the ?text? of permanence inscribed into the 
built environment through the use of heavy stone in building substantial structures was 
highly ?legible?. Although meant for Dutch-speaking adherents, the Libertas Lodge's 
temple served as an example to the English-speaking Freemasons who followed by 
erecting their own buildings by the late 1890s, as will be discussed later. English-
 speaking miners knew of the Freemasons and may, at least, have been moved by the 
impressive lodge when passing it by. 
 
The NGK's ?sister? church, the Nederduitse Hervormde Gemeente, received stands 
113?7, 161 and 165 in 1893. Its foundation stone was laid in 1897 by President Kruger 
himself, and the presence of this popular and imposing figure would have turned this 
already notable ceremony into a powerful public spectacle. In that same year, a suburb 
for ?poor burghers? was established in west Krugersdorp and the church was meant to 
serve their spiritual needs. Again, English-speaking miners, while they were not likely to 
be directly influenced by this church nor by the arrival of a number of Dutch-speaking 
families in their midst, must have registered these developments in a way that spurred 
them to think about setting up their own family homes and settling down.  
 
Much more influential was the building, also in 1897, of the Wesleyan Methodist church 
                         
96 The Star, 18 June 1892, ?Krugersdorp Notes?, ?Freemasonry?. 
  
 
 
 
 
161
 in Krugersdorp on the Northwest corner of Rissik and Burger streets.97 Methodism was 
the church of the working class98 and there is some evidence that some miners in 
Krugersdorp saw the Methodists as ?their? church.  An early handwritten history of the 
Krugersdorp Methodist Church referred to the appointment of a Methodist lay leader 
who seems to have been a worker at the Champ d'Or mine during the 1890s. There 
was  
also a reference to a service that was held at the Lancaster mine during this period 99 
so there seems to be some justification, in the case of Krugersdorp, for the argument 
that Methodism emphasised evangelicalism among workers. 
 
It was mainly middle-class elements that took up leadership positions in the Methodist 
Church. They were primarily responsible for raising the funds to build the church. Two 
core middle-class members of this church who would have been involved in this fund-
 raising were R.F. Thomas who was the manager of the local Windsor mine100 and J.T. 
Halse, a contractor and builder,101 who was also closely connected to the mining 
industry.102 Both men were leading figures of Krugersdorp?s middle class and both 
became Town Councillors. 
 
With the help of such middle-class elements, the Methodist church was able to raise 
considerable sums of money. For example, in 1899 the Reverend Bottril announced 
that it was intended to raise 10 000 pounds in the Transvaal to clear the church of its 
                         
97  Krugersdorp Public Library (KPL), B. Burger, ?Die Geskiedenis van Krugersdorp tot 1952?, unpublished  
     manuscript,  Krugersdorp, 1953,  p. 51; and personal inspection of site.  
98  Humphriss argues that in Benoni, Methodist was the ?strongest congregation? among the miners,     
    see Humphriss, Benoni, p. 32.   
 
99 ?History of the Methodist Church, Krugersdorp?, manuscript lodged with the Krugersdorp Methodist  
    Church, undated, no pagination. 
100 ibid. 
101 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 30 October 1920, untitled. 
102 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 2 September 1922, untitled. 
103 ibid. 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
162
 debts in the region.103 The Krugersdorp Methodist church was a handsome building 
made of brick and stone and was situated in a prominent position in the town on the 
walking routes used by workers who lived as lodgers in the neighbourhood. 
 
Finally, on 21 April 1897, the Royal George Lodge was ?consecrated? for the use of the 
?Ancient and Honourable Fraternity of Free and Accepted Masons of England? (the 
Freemasons of the English Constitution).104 In 1899 the Freemasons built a Masonic 
Hall, which was situated at 18 Ockerse Street.105 Brother Harry Stammers (co-owner 
and editor of the Standard, Krugersdorp)  was a prominent member while R. F. Wallis, 
another proprietor of this newspaper and a Town Councillor some years later, served as 
the Grand Master. The local newspaper, not surprisingly, described the Masonic Hall in 
glowing terms.  It was described as ?certainly, the most imposing structure in the 
town?.106  
 
The hall was used in many capacities, from a ballroom to a theatre107 and, in this way, 
promoted middle-class ?refined? entertainments such as dancing and theatre. This 
contributed to the stabilisation of the town by drawing the working class away from 
gambling dens and music halls. As the largest building in the town, it also contributed in 
conveying the semiotic message of permanence, particularly given its central position in 
one of the main streets. In 1899 the Hall was described as ?rich in point of 
craftsmanship and beautiful to the eye?, full of the ?decorations, fixtures, emblems and 
all that go to make up a lodge and expound the mysticisms to the younger members of 
the craft?.108 White workers used the building for a wide variety of social functions and 
this combined with its mystique, may have made them receptive to its ?message? of 
                         
 
  
104 J.W. Crisswell, ?Royal George Lodge, Abridged Historical Review, 1887?1997?, unpublished  
     manuscript, private correspondence, pp. 1?2. 
 105 Interview with J.W. Crisswelll, Florida, April 1997. 
106 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 28 January 1899, ?New Masonic Hall?.  
107 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 27 May 1899, ?Freemasonry?. 
108
  ibid. 
 
 
Comment [JE17]: Name 
changed?  
  
 
 
 
 
163
 permanence.  
 
Taken cumulatively, the building of Christian churches of various denominations and 
even the erection of sumptuous Freemason Lodges and a Masonic Hall is likely to have 
had some effect on the residents of the town. Building took place throughout the 1890s 
regardless of the economic conditions. Irrespective of whether Krugersdorp 
experienced a boom or a depression, large sums of money were invested in the 
construction of large, impressive edifices that were often richly decorated. Such 
confidence in the future must have at least laid down some seeds in the minds of white 
workers that would later blossom into a decision to commit to Krugersdorp. 
 
African residents also began to settle in the town in larger numbers by the late 1890s 
and they, too, may have been influenced in the same way to commit to Krugersdorp. 
Churches were built in the ?Old Location? in Krugersdorp at the turn of the century and 
these structures may have helped to ?anchor? those Africans living there. The Muslim 
Indian community, was granted a stand for a mosque by President Kruger himself, 
probably in 1897 when Burghershoop and the Indian Location were laid out. Interviews 
with elderly Indians born in the area reveal that a ?tin shanty? and later a wooden 
Mosque were built on the land, the latter costing 8 000 pounds.109 In the Muslim faith, 
consecrated land remains sacred forever so this Mosque would have had a profound 
effect on Krugersdorp?s Indian Muslims, convincing them, too, that they had a future in 
the town. 
 
These informants point out that Krugersdorp's Indian community was initially too small 
to support the cost of a stone mosque (which eventually was built in 1948) but that this 
should not be seen as lack of commitment to the area. The plot of land on which it was 
built, situated on the corner of Rosenberg and Commissioner streets in Burghershoop, 
                         
109  Interview with Ebrahim Mohamed Dadoo, Krugersdorp, July 1998; interview with Moosa Bada,  
     Krugersdorp, July 1998. 
110  See the South African Law Review, 1909, Doobie and Others v Sallie and Others, pp. 552?5. 
  
 
 
 
 
164
 was considered sacred land by the Muslim community.110 The concept of ?sacred 
ground? was apparently based on a revelation that the Prophet communicated to a 
Muslim priest, which is cited in the Muslim ?Toofa?, where Mohamed declared that 
church land should never be sold.111 
 
The Jewish middle class in Krugersdorp likewise used the consecration and 
establishment of a Synagogue as a means of ?anchoring? their community to the town. 
The West Rand Hebrew Congregation, which was formed in 1903, built a Synagogue 
on the north-west corner of Burger and van Breda streets shortly after the South African 
War. Like the Muslims, this involved prayers of deep significance in the process of 
preparing the land and the structure for its spiritual purpose. 112 Synagogues and the 
land on which they were built, were sacrosanct and could not be easily or lightly re-sold 
or demolished. The Krugersdorp Synagogue's foundation stone was laid by Abner 
Cohen in an elaborate ceremony.113  
 
Cohen, was a successful local Jewish business and a founder of the Krugersdorp 
Hebrew Congregation. The building of the synagogue represented his own commitment 
to the town. The Anglophile itinerant businessman (he built the first structure in 
Krugersdorp, the ?Court Bar?) had been ?exiled? from the town after the Jameson Raid 
(see Chapter Three).114 He returned to Krugersdorp after the South African War and, in 
an act pregnant with semiotic power, bought several stands in the District Township, in 
the northern ?Boer' area of the town, and called it ?Homelands?.115 
                         
111 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 3 January 1903, untitled. 
     
112  This can be surmised from the Programme for the consecration of the new Krugersdorp Synagogue,  
      Cilliers Street, Monument, Krugersdorp in 1968. see the United Hebrew Institute of Krugersdorp, 
Order       of Service: Consecration and Opening of New Synagogue, 1968, in possession of the. United 
Hebrew       Institute, Krugersdorp.  
113  Archives of the United Hebrew Institute of Krugersdorp, unsorted, loose photo. 
114  South African Who's Who: an illustrated biographical sketch book of South Africa, 1908, pp. 77?8.  
115   Town Planning Office, Krugersdorp, Blueprint entitled ?District Township c.1903 ?. 
 
 
 
 
Comment [JE18]: Insert 
date 
  
 
 
 
 
165
  
The African, Coloured, Indian and Jewish middle classes all shared the aspirations 
of the English-speaking middle class for a stable, settled and prosperous town. Their 
mosques and synagogues ?spoke? of permanence and may have reinforced the 
message of permanence for white working-class miners through the process of 
redundancy.  For the English-speaking miners the cumulative effect of so many 
large, solid buildings of deep spiritual significance reinforced the message of 
permanence, confidence in the future and commitment to the town. This message 
was underlined by the efforts of the English-speaking middle class that began to 
transform Krugersdorp into a habitable space after the South African War. 
Laying the Foundation Stone of a Town: Krugersdorp?s Middle Class Elite and 
Municipal Reforms 
 
After the South African War, the English-speaking middle class worked hard to make 
Krugersdorp liveable, a place that they ? and possibly also white workers - could call 
?home?. They campaigned to secure a hospital, piped water, electrical street lights and 
decent roads for the town. They hoped to attract investors and secondary industry to 
the town to ensure the town's future, and to make the town a pleasant place in which to 
live, and to encourage white working-class residents to lay down their roots. This 
section briefly traces and analyses the campaigns taken up by Krugersdorp's middle 
class, which built on and complemented the effects of the building of churches in 
strategic locations to help stabilise the white working class and anchor the town. 
 
As early as 1888, demands were made for a hospital when recent arrivals to the town 
were discovered to have contracted malaria. Plans were made to petition the 
government to use a portion of the native registration fees ?to aid in the erection of a 
small, temporary building to meet urgent cases?.116  While the mines employed their 
own doctors and the Champ d'Or mine had its own ?lazerreto? (sic) for infectious 
patients117 Krugersdorp was less well-off, as was pointed out in Chapter One. At first, 
                         
116 The Star, 14 March 1888, ?Krugersdorp: from a correspondent?. 
117 The Star, 9 February 1894. 
  
 
 
 
 
166
 only one private doctor, Dr van der Merwe practised in Krugersdorp, but he was later 
joined by a number of others until, by 1896, a Dr Adam was described as the sixth 
doctor for Krugersdorp.118 A District Surgeon was appointed under the Sanitary 
Regulations for the town in 1889.119  
 
Under pressure from the middle class, the Boer Republic granted a form of local 
government to the town in the form of the ?Gezondheidz-Comite? or ?Health Committee?. 
The town was divided into four sections which elected four representatives from among 
the male adults of each ward. A Sanitary Inspector was also to be appointed to improve 
the sanitary conditions in the town.120  
 
The English-speaking middle class continued to campaign for a hospital in 1895,121 and 
a local Dutch newspaper pointed out that the town required a hospital to treat those 
wounded during the battle between the Republican forces and Jameson?s forces near 
the town.122 After the South African War, local doctors and the District Surgeon123 
continued to press for a hospital and in 1903, the local newspaper weighed in to support 
the campaign for a ?Cottage Hospital?.124 A ball was even held to raise funds to build a 
hospital in 1904.125 Although the hospital was only built in 1911, the campaign may 
have persuaded white workers to commit to Krugersdorp as they believed that the 
                         
118 Ons Volk, 25 April 1896, ?Meer nog meer?.  
119 Staatscourant (SC), 21 November 1889, ?Gezondheids Regulatien voor Krugersdorp?, p. 967. 
 
120 M.A. Schutte, ?Die Geskiedenis van Krugersdorp 1887?1890?, MA dissertation, Potchefstroom  
     University for Christian Higher Education, 1976, p. 37. 
121 The Star, 12 February 1895, ?Out and About?, ?Krugersdorp?. 
122 Ons Volk, 25 January 1896, ?Plaatselyk en Algemeen?. 
123 CAD, Archives of the Colonial Secretary (CS), 92, File 4991/02, letter Assistant Resident Magistrate,  
     Krugersdorp to Resident Magistrate Krugersdorp, 21 May 1902. The letter refers to the District  
     Surgeon's complaint that the absence of a hospital in Krugersdorp endangered the lives of patients  
     who had to embark on lengthy journeys to hospitals elsewhere on the Rand. 
124 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 19 September 1903, ?The Cottage Hospital?. See also The Standard,  
     Krugersdorp,  17 October 1903, ?The Hospital Concept? and Krugersdorp Standard, 28 November  
    1903, ?Wanted ? A Hospital!?. 
125 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 5 March 1904, ?In aid of the Hospital?, see also Krugersdorp Standard,  
     1 October 1904, ?The Hospital Question? where it was made quite clear that a hospital was one of   
     the ?first wants of this district?. 
  
 
 
 
 
167
 erection of a hospital was imminent.126 
 
It was really only after the South African War that the middle class had the political 
resources to establish a permanent, settled town. The middle class campaigned for 
three key municipal reforms: a piped water supply, proper macadamised roads and 
electric street lights. Having laid the foundation stones of large well-built churches to 
?anchor? the town spiritually; the English-speaking middle class then set about to 
?anchor? the town through municipal reform making it sufficiently attractive to persuade 
the white working class to settle permanently in Krugersdorp.  
 
The Town Council 
 
The Sanitary or Health Committee that formed in Krugersdorp in 1889 had very limited 
powers and, as pointed out earlier, the town was effectively run by the Mining 
Commissioner and other key local officials such as the District Surgeon and the 
landdrost. These were state-appointed functionaries that were paid a salary by Pretoria 
and their commitment to the town was not likely to be particularly deeply-rooted unless 
they owned stands like J.A. Burger. They could, after all, be transferred to other districts 
at any moment. Burger, the Mining Commissioner, did intercede to prevent the laying 
out of Randfontein Township but such interventions were rare and the town was run 
down by the turn of the century partly as a result of what appears to be official neglect. 
 
In 1898 the environs around the Government buildings in the centre of the town were 
described as ?filthy? (?zeer vuil?) giving visitors ?no desire to return a second time to 
Krugersdorp? (?geven bezoekers geen lust om tweede maal naar Krugersdorp to 
komen?.) 127 The Government Buildings themselves were in a poor state of disrepair as 
white ants ravaged the doors and other wooden structures.128 
 
                         
126 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 14 January 1911, ?Local and General?. 
127 De Voortrekker, 2 July 1898, untitled. 
128 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 15 April 1899.  
  
 
 
 
 
168
 Local inhabitants were disillusioned about the weakness of the local authority and took 
little interest in Sanitary Board elections ? in one public meeting in 1898 only one 
member of the public turned up!129 The local English language newspaper, run by the 
middle-class Stammers, Wallis and Law, urged ?ratepayers? to free themselves of the 
?lethargy? of the last few years and ?awake to their own interests? in voting for ?reliable 
men? to the Board. It recommended well-known ?men of business?, May, Tonkin, Spiller, 
Du Preez and Andreka, all local merchants.130  
 
The same article stressed that the two most urgent tasks are ?an efficient water supply, 
and street repairs?.131 This local authority was not able to achieve its aims and after the 
South Africa war a report noted that the most urgent public works projects needed in 
Krugersdorp were those that dealt with, ?Roads... Water... Lighting...?132 Each of these 
will be dealt with in turn to illustrate how the middle class planned to lay down the 
?foundation stone of a town? by making the town a liveable space, sufficiently attractive 
to persuade miners to settle in this town rather than somewhere else on the Rand. 
 
An Efficient Water Supply 
 
Krugersdorp's water supply was ?totally inadequate?133 in 1899. Residents had dug deep 
wells around the town which, although boarded, were dangerous ?death traps? as the 
                         
129 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 31 December 1898, ?Enthusiastic Krugersdorp?. 
130 ibid. 
 
 
   
 
131 ibid. 
132  Archives of the Colonial Secretary (CS) 111, file 7761,?Administrative Reports for year ending 30 
     June 1902, from Krugersdorp, Johannesburg, Germiston and Boksburg?, letter to the Chairman of  
     the Krugersdorp Health Board, (?Administrative Reports, Krugersdorp?) 8 July 1902, p. 9.   
133 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 11 February 1899, untitled. 
134 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 3 May 1899, untitled. 
135 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 6 September 1902, ?Report of C. Alexander, Sanitary Inspector?. 
 
   
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
169
 coverings were described as ?absolutely useless...simply worse than tissue paper owing 
to dry rot...honeycombed in appearance?.134 The Health Board began to take action in 
late 1902 and considered fining residents for failing to properly cover their wells. Refuse 
would also fall into these wells and contaminate the water.135 In January 1903, the 
Health Boards of Krugersdorp, Roodepoort and Maraisburg met to elect a 
representative for the west Rand on the newly form Witwatersrand Water Board'. The 
local merchant F.W Lewis (of ?May and Lewis? general dealers) was elected. 
 
A report written after the South African War established that 21 000 litres of water 
flowed into the ?spruit? that passed through the town which could be piped into homes 
and businesses. Another potential source of tap water was the Witpootje waterfall, a 
few miles north of the monument hill. Given its elevation, a reservoir based there could 
distribute water to the town by gravitation.136 Piped water was soon provided for 
Krugersdorp's stand township and in April 1903, it was proposed to extend this to 
Luipaardsvlei but money was short.137 Some Krugersdorp residents were also still 
without water and the Board had to wait until it was constituted as a Municipality so that 
it could raise a loan to cover the costs of these extensions.138 
 
Electric Street Lighting System 
 
As far back as 1895, when the Sanitary Committee was given extended powers, 
demands had been made for ?electric light? (?Electrisch Licht?) for the town of 
Krugersdorp and the ?City Fathers? (?Staadsvaders) were urged to expedite the 
                         
 
 
136 CS, 7761C, ?Administrative Reports?, Krugersdorp, 8 July 1902, pp. 8?9. 
137  The Standard, Krugersdorp, 11 April 1903, untitled. See also The Standard, Krugersdorp 1 August  
     1903, ?Luipaardsvlei water? which makes it clear that Krugersdorp could not afford this extension. Plans  
      were made for a government loan to cover the costs. 
138 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 25 October 1903, ?Water?. 
139 Ons Volk, 7 November 1895, ?Electrisch Licht? 
140 De Voortrekker, 9 July 1898, untitled. 
141 CAD, CS 111, 7761C, ?Administrative Reports?, Krugersdorp, 8 July 1902, p. 7. 
 
  
 
 
 
 
170
 matter.139 The call was made again in 1898 for the ?streets to be lit in the evenings? (?de 
straten avonds zullen verlicht?).140 
 
Apparently plans had been made to use a private contractor to erect street lights before 
the outbreak of the South African War but in 1902 a report recommended that it would 
be ?infinitely more desirable if a scheme could be devised to work Municipally?.141 A 
heated debate took place across the Rand over whether electricity should be supplied 
by private companies or by municipalities (see Chapter Eight). The local middle class, 
as represented by the local newspaper were worried when the Lancaster Mining 
company said that it could provide the necessary electricity but only at the ?prohibitive? 
rate of nine pence per unit and could not guarantee continuity of supply so that the town 
?might at any time be plunged into darkness?.142 
 
Municipal Socialism was thereupon embraced by F.W. Lewis, a member of the board 
and local middle-class notable, who proposed that the local authorities approach the 
government for an 8 000 pound loan for this purpose. Another local merchant, G. 
Harper (of ?Harper and Tanner?, ?men's outfitters?) seconded the motion.143 The proposal 
envisioned a generating plant, a hundred small street lamps of sixteen candlepower at 
each street corner and eight arc lights of 200 candlepower each at the main business 
thoroughfares and one large 400 candlepower light for the Market Square. It was 
anticipated that street lighting would also raise the ?status? of the town.144  
The highly publicised commitment to a street-lighting campaign by the middle class 
could have convinced some miners that Krugersdorp had a promising future. 
 
?Proper? Streets 
 
                         
 
 
 
 
142 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 3 January 1903, ?Occasional Notes?. 
143 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 28 February 1903, untitled. 
  
 
 
 
 
171
 In 1898, the mouthpiece of the local Dutch-speaking middle class complained about the 
town's streets in which ?loose stones? (?losse klippen?) were strewn.145 The street near 
the station and the Varley and Edgson Hotel was in an ?infamous state of disrepair? (?in 
eene famelyke mater van reparatie?).146 The article acknowledged the limitations of the 
existing Town Council by pointing out that the ?City fathers, pardon, town fathers? 
(?Stadvaders - pardon, Dorpsvaders?) had insufficient funds to make the necessary 
repairs.147  
 
In 1899, the English-speaking middle class began to weigh in, through their local 
newspaper, in support of a campaign to repair the streets. An article commented that 
the absence of proper water drainage in Commissioner street was ?nothing short of 
disgraceful? and had led to serious damage of the Market Square during recent heavy 
rains that would cost hundreds of pounds to repair.148 The Dutch-speaking middle class 
added that the sidewalks in Ockerse street were in a ?dangerous condition? 
(?gevaarlyken toestand?).149 
 
After the South African War, the Sanitary Inspector noted that most of the roads were in 
a ?deplorable? state and would cost a lot of money to repair and macadamise.150 No 
work had ?ever been done to them? it was claimed.151There was no drainage in the town 
? only a furrow between the Krugersdorp and Luipaardsvlei townships ? so that the 
town was often ?flooded after a severe storm?.152 The trunk roads were in a very bad 
state of disrepair mostly due to lack of maintenance during the war. In one road along 
the Luipaardsvlei a ?very bad washaway [sic]? had occurred while another road to 
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144 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 6 December 1903, ?Lighten Our Darkness? (Editorial). 
145 De Voortrekker, 9 July 1898, untitled. 
146 ibid.  
147 ibid. 
 
148 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 4 February 1899, untitled. 
149 De Voortrekker, 25 March 1899, untitled. 
150 CAD, CS 111, 7761C, ?Administrative Reports?, Krugersdorp, 8 July 1902, letter, Sanitary  
     Inspector, Krugersdorp, to Captain H. L. Phillips, Resident Magistrate, Krugersdorp, 8 July  
     1902. 
151 ibid. 
Comment [JE19]: I have 
made this lower case 
for consistency 
  
 
 
 
 
172
 Randfontein was ?in very bad repair?.153 
 
By September1902, the Krugersdorp Health Board had agreed to lay a culvert on the 
road opposite the station to draw off rainwater that was damaging the town's roads.154 
The Sanitary Inspector recommended that more staff be hired to fill in holes and 
remove tree roots from pavements to prevent ?accidents?.155 The Board proposed a 
novel solution to cut the costs of labour: they agreed to allow the Inspector the use of 
twenty convicts from the local gaol to ?clear and patch the sidewalks?. 156  The Town 
Engineer, Mr Perfect, estimated that it could cost the town nearly 15 000 pounds to 
repair the chief roads.157 The Health Board decided to send this estimate to the Colonial 
Secretary's office. A loan was obtained from the government and work soon began to 
?renovate the thoroughfares in the town?.158 
 
Conclusion 
 
The making of a town is a complex phenomenon requiring the interaction of many 
forces, personalities, developments and attitudes. If only some of the elements are 
present, a town will not easily materialize or survive as the cases of Kocksoord and 
Randfontein illustrate. Large concrete buildings, such as those in Kocksoord could 
not tip the balance in favour of the development of a permanently settled and stable 
town. Economic viability was lacking in Kocksoord despite political approval. Political 
approval was lacking in Randfontein despite economic viability. Krugersdorp had 
both political approval and economic viability, so it had a fair shot of evolving into a 
permanent, stable town where families would live in homes. Nonetheless its future 
was balanced on a knife's edge and it had to attract people, money, investment, 
____________________________ 
152 ibid. 
153 ibid. 
154 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 6 September 1902, ?Krugersdorp Health Board?. 
155 CAD, CS 111, 7761C, ?Administrative Reports?, Krugersdorp, 8 July 1902, ?Report of C. Alexander,  
     Sanitary Inspector?. 
156 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 28 February 1903, ?Road Repair?. 
157 ibid.  
158 The Standard, Krugersdorp, 9 May 1905, ?Renovation of the Roads?. 
  
 
 
 
 
173
 industrial investment and persuade its existing inhabitants to settle down at a time 
when many were transients.  
 
The English-speaking middle class demonstrated their commitment to Krugersdorp by 
supporting, planning and often paying for the erection of meaningful, permanent 
structures associated with their religion and culture. The spectacle of these large, 
imposing structures, resting so still and assuredly on consecrated ground, seen on a 
daily basis as people went about the town and more intimately during the Sabbath or 
Holy Days, may have influenced at least a section of the ?respectable? white working 
class to consider settling in Krugersdorp as well. 
 
Many white middle class shopkeepers and professionals publicly demonstrated their 
allegiance to Krugersdorp by building substantial business premises, homes and 
churches. It was the spectacle of large stone buildings, associated with a Supreme 
Being, that was particularly influential. It is contended that these buildings may have 
convinced many working class men to consider the possibility of permanent settlement 
in the town. The middle class who built these churches during the 1890s, used their 
new municipal powers after the South African War to make the town more habitable, 
and this too helped to persuade many of the town's transient residents to commit to the 
town. Krugersdorp became, as a result, slowly and steadily over the years, a place 
where young miners began to see as a familiar friendly place that somehow, strangely, 
felt like ?home?. 
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