Dobsonville

Dobsonville
Dobsonville  Dobsonville shown within Gauteng
Location within Greater Johannesburg Dobsonville Show map of Gauteng Dobsonville Dobsonville (South Africa) Show map of South Africa Dobsonville Dobsonville (Africa) Show map of Africa
Coordinates: 26°13′26″S 27°51′49″E / 26.22389°S 27.86361°E / -26.22389; 27.86361Coordinates: 26°13′26″S 27°51′49″E / 26.22389°S 27.86361°E / -26.22389; 27.86361
Country	South Africa
Province	Gauteng
Municipality	City of Johannesburg
Area[1]
• Total	2.73 km2 (1.05 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
• Total	40,328
• Density	15,000/km2 (38,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[1]
• Black African	99.1%
• Coloured	0.4%
• Indian/Asian	0.1%
• White	0.1%
• Other	0.3%
First languages (2011)[1]
• Tswana	38.2%
• Zulu	22.1%
• Xhosa	14.9%
• Sotho	7.4%
• Other	17.4%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	1863
PO box	1865

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. It was formerly under the Roodepoort Municipality until 1994, when it was merged with Soweto. Dobsonville 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.

While more attention has been given to the more prominent Meadowlands - with its roots in the famous Sophiatown - and Orlando o home to the Mandela's and Tambo's, but Dobsonville's history has yet to be written.

Description

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 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.

References