Atteridgeville

Atteridgeville is a township located to the west of Pretoria, South Africa. It is located to the east of Saulsville, to the west of West Park; to the north of Laudium and to the south of Lotus Gardens. The settlement was established in 1939, and is named after Mrs MP Atteridge, chairwoman of the Committee for Non-European Affairs on the Pretoria City Council at the time. The Lucas Masterpieces Moripe Stadium is located in Atteridgeville. Atteridgeville was established by the government in 1939 as a settlement for black people, after much lobbying by Mrs Myrtle Patricia Atteridge, the chairwoman of the Committee for Non-European Affairs on the City Council at that time. Atteridgeville was established nine years prior to the election of the apartheid government in 1948. The first occupants were moved to Atteridgeville from Marabastad on 26 May 1940. It was officially opened on 5 August 1940. Mrs Atteridge, who was also a philanthropist, Black Sash activist and the deputy mayoress of Pretoria, endeavoured to improve living conditions of black people who were previously living in squalid conditions in Marabastad. Atteridgeville provided amenities such as brick housing, lighting and toilets, and later, so as to further enhance living standards, the township was connected by train to Pretoria CBD. Schools, creches and clinics were established thereafter. The naming of the township was in fact suggested by the black people themselves who also requested Mrs Atteridge to represent them in parliament which she refused as she was disinclined to participate in an exclusionary regime. Between 1940 and 1949, more than 1500 houses were built for people relocated from Marabastad, Bantule and other areas around Pretoria. Development was frozen between 1968 and 1978 in accordance with the government's policy that housing provided for black people be limited to the homelands. In 1984, Atteridgeville was granted municipal status.