Laudium
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (March 2020) |
Laudium | ||
---|---|---|
PO box 0037 | ||
Area code | 12 |
Laudium (/ˈlɔːdiəm, ˈloʊ-/) is an Indian township southwest of central Pretoria, in the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. Claudius[2] is a residential suburb that is effectively an extension of Laudium.
History
Older aerial photographs show remains of circular type dwellings to the west of Laudium, built by its earliest inhabitants.
The original name for Laudium was Claudius, and it was initially planned as a white area, named after Claudius Marais de Vries who owned a farm called Mooiplats and was a former mayor of Pretoria.
Laudium was created by the
The eastern portion of the original Claudius retained its name and white population for a time, but the white population of Claudius has been displaced by Indians (it was eventually also declared an Indian area by the Apartheid government, to reduce housing shortages in Laudium), and Claudius had effectively become an extension of Laudium by 1980.
Claudius straddles the R55 (Quagga Road), and parts of Second Avenue, Third Avenue, and Cuprene Street technically are part of Claudius, along with Sunrise School [1][2], however this smaller part of Cladius, west of the R55 is often regarded as part of Laudium, with the R55 being commonly thought of as the dividing line.
Extensions 2 and 3 are hilly and lie north of a railway line that linked the PPC dolomite quarry near Erasmia with
In 2012, Claudius east of the R55 had a wall and security gate system (road closure) installed, which residents have free access to as every resident paid a small portion of the cost of building the wall however, visitors have to fill out an entry/visitors book before entering, making it a gated community.
Although Laudium was initially part of Pretoria, it was incorporated into
Dolomitic sinkholes occasionally cause significant damage to property and streets in Laudium. The dolomite risk area extends southwards from the railway line. Decaying water, sewerage and storm-water infrastructure has seen a rise in sinkhole formations.[citation needed]
Demographics
Laudium has a large number of
Laudium was a relatively wealthy area (which was unusual for a township), with very large
An economically deprived[4] area of Laudium (described in an academic paper as a "ghetto"),[5] informally called White Blocks (named after their paint colour), with single and multi-family government-built dwelling units is situated in the western part of Laudium. However, the Indian township of Lotus Gardens was established in the early 1990s, north of Church Street, and many Indian families from White Blocks were relocated there, and some old units were torn down.[citation needed] Lotus Gardens developed into a multiracial suburb. White Blocks continues to exist though the units are no longer exclusively painted white. The Laudium Police Station is in White Blocks, in a converted unit.
Another public housing development, in Extension 2, consisting of
After the end of
The black township of Atteridgeville lies directly north of Laudium, although the two areas are separated by a series of hills, and no direct tarred road link exists between the two.
Laudium has 3 extensions which were completed in 1976, 1978 and 1983, respectively. Extension 1 consists of the western part of White Blocks, Extension 2 lies on the eastern portion of the hills north of the original suburb, and Extension 3 is west of Extension 2. The municipal
A
Education
Laudium has a large number of government schools. However, since the end of Apartheid, most Indian children from Laudium have begun attending newly established private religious schools, or schools in formerly white areas ("ex-model C schools" and private schools). While the government schools continue to be staffed mostly by Indian teachers, most of the pupils in these schools are black and commute daily from black townships.
Public Schools
- Andrew Anthony Primary School
- Hillside Primary School
- Himalaya Secondary School
- Jacaranda Primary School
- Laudium Heights Primary School
- Laudium Primary School
- Laudium Secondary School (Laudium High)
- Rosina Sedibane Sports School
- Sunrise School
Private schools
- Pretoria Hindu School (now Amity International School, Erasmia)
- PMT Sunni School
- Central Islamic School
- Pretoria Muslim School
- Al Ghazali College (in Erasmia)
- Al-Asr Educational Institute (in Claudius)
There are many Islamic educational institutes which specializes in teaching Islamic Sciences namely the Sunni Darul Uloom Pretoria
The
Healthcare
The Laudium Hospital, a state hospital created under apartheid for Indians from Laudium and surrounding areas, closed down, and is now the Laudium Community Health Centre. This is controlled by the provincial department of health. Most if not all of the residents of the informal settlement (Itirileng) make use of the community health care centre. The facility is staffed mainly by foreign Cuban, Nigerian or Congolese doctors.[citation needed] In addition to the community healthcare centre a clinic operates at the heart in the CBD of Laudium which is a municipal clinic controlled by the municipality. This clinic offers primary healthcare. It has no beds and is strictly a day clinic. Laudium has a number of private medical practitioners and pharmacies. Laudium does not have a healthcare facility with radiological services (x-ray, CT scan, MRI or ultrasound).
Religion
Multiple religions are followed in Laudium. This includes Christianity, Hinduism and Islam
Transport
Roads
As with most townships under apartheid, road access was limited to allow for easy control by the security forces. Laudium also had only one entrance west of the
Road links to the economically and academically important eastern suburbs of Pretoria are poor, usually requiring drivers to traverse the city centre or
Although not a strict
Public transport
Public transport links are limited, and, although limited municipal bus services were introduced following the end of apartheid,
Economics
Laudium originally had shops with limited items. Most of the shopping was done outside of Laudium. Post 1994, possibly coinciding with the rise of new residents, the increase in formal and informal retail has been noticeable. Many residences around the CBD have been converted to commercial.
Prior to 1994, there were no sit-down restaurants in Laudium. The few that attempted, including Nawab's eventually closed down. As of 2017, there were at least five restaurants and a number of fast food franchise outlets. Almost all of the restaurants are foreign Pakistani, Indian or Bangladeshi restaurants. This is also reflected in the majority of businesses in Laudium which are by far foreign owned. Again this is a further reflection of the greater picture in the country in which the majority of small business in all suburbs, townships and metropolitan areas are foreign owned.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b c d "Main Place Laudium". Census 2011.
- ^ "Claudius". Census 2011.
- ^ "STATEMENT ON HEARING OF 10 MEMBERS OF UMKHONTO weSIZWE". Truth and Reconciliation Commission. 29 April 1998. Archived from the original on 16 February 2005. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
- ^ "Seminar with Mr Cas Coovadia, MD Banking Association of SA | Regenesys". Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
- ^ http://www.ajol.info/index.php/asr/article/viewFile/23261/19941 [bare URL PDF]
- ^ http://census.adrianfrith.com/place/77603025