Centurion, South Africa

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Centurion
PO box		0046
Area code	012

Centurion (previously known as Verwoerdburg and before that Lyttelton) is an area with 236,580 inhabitants (2011 census) in the

also passes through the eastern part of Centurion.

The

), are in Centurion.

History

Prehistoric

Fossils discovered at the

.

However, the earliest evidence of modern human habitation in the Centurion area does not go this far back. It dates back to 1200 AD when black African communities settled in this area. They cultivated lands, grazed their cattle, made earthenware containers and melted iron.^[citation needed]

In 1841 the Erasmus family arrived and settled in the area. Daniel Jacobus Erasmus settled on the farm Zwartkop, Daniel Elardus Erasmus on the farm Doornkloof and Rasmus Elardus Erasmus developed the farm Brakfontein. Several of the suburbs like Erasmia, Elardus Park, Zwartkop and Doornkloof were named after these 19th-century owners of the land and their properties.

In 1849 Rev

.

In 1889 Alois Hugo Nelmapius bought the northern and north-eastern portions of the farm Doornkloof and named it after his daughter Irene (who died in 1961).

First Anglo-Boer War

As part of the First Boer War, the battle for Rooihuiskraal (Afrikaans for "Red House Kraal") took place in 1881 here. A Boer commando under the leadership of D.J. Erasmus Jr defeated Colonel Gildea, or "The Blasted Colonel" as they called him, the British Officer Commanding of the Pretoria Garrison. After the cornered British garrison tried to escape to Natal to join General George Pomeroy Colley, the Boers entrenched themselves behind a stone wall surrounding the animal stockade, and wounded the colonel in the backside, who was standing upright in his stirrups.^{[citation needed]}

During the

women and children were housed under extremely poor conditions. At its peak the camp had 5,500 inhabitants, mostly women and children. Between February 1901 and the end of the war in 1902, 1,249 lost their lives here, about 1,000 of them children. The Irene Camp Cemetery is well preserved and contains 576 of the original slate tombstones that were carved by hand in the camp.

The town of

is a museum today.

Centurion developed from the initial Lyttelton Township that was marked out on the farm Droogegrond in 1904. Lyttelton Manor Extension 1 was established in 1942. These two townships initially resorted under the Peri Urban Board in Pretoria.

Centurion was granted City Council status in 1962 as Lyttelton. It was formed by combining the areas of Doornkloof, Irene and Lyttelton.

Lyttelton was renamed Verwoerdburg in 1967, after

and their extensions.

The name Centurion was chosen by residents in 1995 (without the option to retain the existing name), soon after the end of

, was established in Centurion at around the same time.

In 2000, the Centurion local government became part of the newly created

, and the town ceased to have its own Town Council.

Geography

Suburbs of Centurion

Centurion is on the Highveld like Johannesburg and Pretoria and has a similar climate, with dry, sunny winters (max. daytime temperature around 20 °C dropping to an average minimum of 5 °C), and warm to hot summers (October – April) tempered by late-afternoon showers often accompanied by spectacular thunder and lightning. Hailstorms are not uncommon, but a serious hailstorm has not happened for many years. Summer temperatures range from the mid-20s to the mid-30s (°Celsius). Centurion's weather tends to follow the slightly warmer Pretoria, when compared to that of Johannesburg.

The Hennops River flows through the heart of Centurion, and causes occasional flooding when heavy rainfall has occurred.

.

There is also a

is also headquartered in the town.

Memorials

• The South African Air Force memorial is at AFB Swartkop.
• The Irene Concentration Camp Cemetery and Garden of Remembrance is on Stopforth Road in Irene.^[3]
• There is a World War II memorial dedicated to South African Air Force members who gave their lives in the conflict, on Cornwall Hill.

• South African Air Force Museum
• Centurion Art Museum
• Smuts House Museum

Cricket is the most popular sport in Centurion. It has hosted many cricket tournaments like

are played at starting from 2013/14 season.

Stadiums

• SuperSport Park

Government

The Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) previously had its head office in Lake Buena Vista Building in Centurion.^[4]

Centurion has one of the most secure golf estate in South Africa. The Centurion Golf Estate is about 2 km from

. There are many other secure estates close by such as the Irene Estate and the Southdowns Estate.

Places such as

and Supersport Park are the main tourism attractions.

Centurion has come a long way from being a large town south of Pretoria, with smallholdings and large open spaces. Having experienced growth since 1994, like the rest of urban South Africa, many businesses have relocated there, and property development is boosting the ever-expanding city limits. This development has meant there is now little break between the outskirts of Pretoria to the north, and

]

Centurion Aerospace Village

The Centurion Aerospace Village (CAV) was formally established in 2006 to create an aerospace supplier park where anchor firms are at the centre of the aerospace cluster and are supported by small and medium-sized producers. The supplier park is modelled on the local automotive industry and mirrors similar international parks, such as Silicon Valley, California, and Toulouse, France.

The CAV is in Pierre van Ryneveld Park, Tshwane, on state-owned land, adjacent to Aerosud Holdings, and along the eastern boundary of the Waterkloof Air Force Base. Aerosud was selected by the South African Department of Trade and Industry to be the industry driver and catalyst for this development.

The CAV development was made possible with the financial support of the European Union and the South African government, through the Sector-Wide Support Enterprise, Employment and Equity Programme (SWEEEP).

Today Centurion features modern shopping malls (Centurion Mall, Mall@Reds, Forest Hill City Mall), several entertainment spots, a theatre, golf courses and a driving range. Several hotels including

has a station in Centurion.

Centurion Mall

Established in 1983 as Verwoerdburgstad ("Verwoerdburg City"),[5] the Centurion Mall was constructed around the Centurion Lake (on the Hennops River) and was the only shopping centre with the standard big-name retailers of that time in Centurion until the 21st century. In 2003, the mall underwent its first major revamp which was estimated at around 250 million ZAR. 29,760 m² of retail space was added to the mall bringing the mall's total size to 105,000 m², making it the second largest shopping centre in the Tshwane metropolitan area.

The mall was also known for its man-made colour water fountain amenity, which was in the centre of the lake, on the north side of the mall (known as the 'bay' area). This water feature has been used as a 'logo' for the former Centurion town council, seen at many of the entrances of the previous municipality.