Dobsonville

Dobsonville is a township in greater Soweto, Johannesburg, South Africa. It lies to the west of Meadowlands, a part of Diepmeadow, and is adjacent to Mofolo North and Zondi, which are suburbs of Soweto on its southern border.

The first shopping centre in Soweto, Dobsonville Shopping Centre, is located in Dobsonville. It has many small suburbs within it, namely extensions 1, 2 and 3, Mmesi Park, Snake Park (Thulani), and many others. It has many primary and high schools, including Hector Peterson Primary School, which was built in memory of Hector Peterson.

There are recreational facilities such as Dorothy Nyembe Park, a local library, and a swimming pool. Opposite the swimming pool is Dobsonville stadium. Kopanong community hall and the municipal offices can be found close by. Other amenities include a recycling centre, a police station, and a public health clinic. There are many businesses in Dobsonville that range from franchise restaurants to street vendors who sell anything from cellphone chargers to traditional herbs and medicines to sweets and fruit.

Dobsonville was formerly under the Roodepoort Municipality until 1994, when it was merged with Soweto. It is an important but understudied suburb of Soweto. Its roots lie in the "old location" in Roodepoort. Between 1955 and 1967, this location was gradually destroyed through government forced removals. The old location was known for the strong presence and influence of many churches. While the removals were not particularly noted for resistance (perhaps because of the violence with which resistance to removals was met with in Sophiatown), the links between the old location and Dobsonville remained strong and emotive.

The cemetery of the old location in Roodepoort West, for example, maintained a physical link between old and new location. While some heritage projects and research around the histories of the old Roodepoort location were undertaken, there has been little work on the history of Dobsonville itself. More than 100 oral testimonies of Dobsonville residents have been collected by researchers from the Wits History Workshop at the University of the Witwatersrand for their Dobsonville History Project. However, some oral interviews remain unpublished. See "Return to Juliwe Cemetery: A Community Journey" Article by Eric Itzkin 6 April 2019. The research was conducted by Wits History Workshop researchers: 1. Prof. Phil Bonner. 2. Dr. Michelle Hay. 3. Mr. Sello Mathabatha. 4. Dr. Tshepo Moloi. 5. Prof. Noor Nieftagodien. 6. Mr Muzomuhle Caluza.(Intern)

Complex in Roodepoort West: East of the Westgate Shopping Mall over Ontdekkers Road and bordered by Pheasant Street and Crous Drive was the area where the above complex was situated. The area has changed from what it looked like before the removals where many residents of Roodepoort West Location (Juliwe) earned their living one way or another. The history of the area is groundbreaking and largely ignored or unknown to historians. The complex was home to: (a)The St Ansgars Swedish Institution, established in 1913 and closed in 1958. (b) The Ezenzeleni School for the Blind, established in 1939 by Arthur William Blaxall. Later moved to Pretoria. (c) The Kutlwanong School for the Deaf and Dumb, established in 1939 Precursor to Sizwile School for the Deaf in Dobsonville. (Suzan Kabane interviewed by Dr. Tshepo Moloi, WITS) (d) The Margaret Ballinger Home for Crippled or Orphaned Children, established in 1948 by Margaret Ballinger (teacher and politician) (e) The Wilgespruit Fellowship Centre Established in 1948 and hotbed of struggle politics of the 70s and 80s. (f) MSAHO: The International Library of African Music. (Hugh Tracey - Rhodes University)

We can say that the complex was a vibrant extended part of the Roodepoort West Location with the St Ansgars Institution "The Lovedale College of Roodepoort" at the center. Some renowned South Africans passed through the gates of this once illustrious institution. The schools of Ezenzeleni or Kutlwanong, creations of that dedicated clergyman, Father William Blaxall, were places of hope for the disabled persons of Roodepoort West Location and South Africa at large. The Wilgespruit Fellowship Centre was, as indicated above, the political struggle Institution which further gave impetus to the freedom struggles of South Africa's Black Population. Lastly, Hugh Tracey, that famous collector of many African music genres, and Eric Gallo set up a vinyl record pressing plant at Msaho in the very early 1950s. The first of its kind in South Africa, it created employment for many residents of the location (township). In the foreground of photo No 4 (Aerial Photograph taken in 1967 after demolition of Juliwe Township) In Eric Itzkins Article "Return To Juliwe: A Community Journey" Bordered by a line of trees, is an open veld crisscrossed by footpaths, stands today 7-1-20 the Westgate Shopping Mall, the veld being called "Mr. Browns Farm" by neighbouring residents of the location (township). The border is still visible and noticeable next to the Ontdekkers Road off-ramp circle into the mall from Johannesburg. Beyond the straight line of trees and southwest of the St Ansgars Mission Complex is the location of Roodepoort West, the suburb of Horizon View which we will deal with next.

Like its sister locations on the Reef, the evolution of the location was, in many respects, the same. Before its removal as a "Black Spot" to Dobsonville (so named after Denis Dobson, Location Superintendent at the dawn of the removals) it had evolved for more than 50 years with its multi-ethnic inhabitants much like its sister locations. Just like in every community, adversity has to be overcome by various means, by religion, the arts, politics, sport, business and so on. Like in very community or society there will be outstanding individuals or groups of individuals who will triumph over adversity. We will try as best as we can, to focus on the day-to-day lives of the inhabitants, the conditions under which they had to survive. The laws that controlled their lives. Their contributions to the development of the economies of the town they lived in. 'The Survey of Reef Locations' gives us a remote picture of the state of affairs in Roodepoort Location in the mid to late 1930s. From that can be deduced the "primitive" sport facilities that had to be utilized by sportsmen of the location, for example.