Jabavu Township Election Leaflet

Scope and Content

Photocopy of election leaflet for black township of Jabavu, Soweto, South Africa, [1950s].

Administrative / Biographical History

Jabavu is one of the townships making up the modern Soweto. The discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886 caused an influx of thousands of people to the area, including black job-seekers. This growing population had to be housed. The townships of Kliptown, Sophiatown, and Western Native Township were established in and around Johannesburg for black and so-called Coloured people. The Native Urban Areas Act (1923) decreed that local councils had to provide housing for black people living in their areas. This led to the development of the larger townships of Klipspruit and Western and Eastern Townships closer to Johannesburg from 1927 to 1930. Demand for space and housing grew, prompting the Johannesburg Council to purchase land at Klipspruit on which Orlando East was established in 1930, the first township making up modern day Soweto.
The coming to power of the Nationalist Party in 1948 and the Group Areas Act of 1950 led to further racial segregation, controls on settlers, and separate development. During the 1950's, black people living in and around Johannesburg were forced to move to newly laid-out townships southwest of the city--Mofolo South, Moroka North, Jabavu, Molapo, and Moletsane.

Arrangement

Single item

Access Information

Open although advance notice should be given. Access to individual items may be restricted under the Data Protection Act or the Freedom of Information Act.

Acquisition Information

The source of acquisition by ICS is not known

Other Finding Aids

Collection-level description.

Archivist's Note

Compiled by Alan Kucia as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project.

Conditions Governing Use

A photocopying service is available, at the discretion of the ICS Library staff. Copies are supplied solely for research or private study. Requests to publish, or to quote from original material should be submitted to the Information Resources Manager.

Related Material

The Papers of South Africa: Johannesburg City Council: Department of Non European Affairs consists of photocopies of documents concerning squatter problem at Orlando, Soweto, 1946.