Malay Camp, Kimberley
Encyclopedia
The Malay Camp in Kimberley
, South Africa
, with a history similar to Cape Town's District Six, Johannesburg's Sophiatown
and Port Elizabeth's South End, was a cosmopolitan suburb originating in the early days of Kimberley's existence but subject to forced 'slums clearance' after the owner of the land (De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd
) donated the area to the Kimberley Municipality in 1939. Most of the houses, churches, mosques, shops and other buildings were demolished, making way for Kimberley's Civic Centre. This occurred from the 1940s, prior to the better known Apartheid forced removals consequent on the Group Areas Act
, making Kimberley's Malay Camp clearance unique.
, noted author, journalist and first General Secretary of the African Native National Congress
, was a resident of Malay Camp. His later dwelling at 32 Angel Street is preserved as the Sol Plaatje Museum
.
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, with a history similar to Cape Town's District Six, Johannesburg's Sophiatown
Sophiatown, Gauteng
Sophiatown is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa.Sophiatown was a legendary black cultural hub that was destroyed under Apartheid, rebuilt under the name by Triomf, and in 2006 officially returned to its original name.Sophiatown was one of the oldest black areas in Johannesburg and its...
and Port Elizabeth's South End, was a cosmopolitan suburb originating in the early days of Kimberley's existence but subject to forced 'slums clearance' after the owner of the land (De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd
De Beers
De Beers is a family of companies that dominate the diamond, diamond mining, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. De Beers is active in every category of industrial diamond mining: open-pit, underground, large-scale alluvial, coastal and deep sea...
) donated the area to the Kimberley Municipality in 1939. Most of the houses, churches, mosques, shops and other buildings were demolished, making way for Kimberley's Civic Centre. This occurred from the 1940s, prior to the better known Apartheid forced removals consequent on the Group Areas Act
Group Areas Act
The Group Areas Act of 1950 was an act of parliament created under the apartheid government of South Africa on 27th April 1950. The act assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a system of urban apartheid...
, making Kimberley's Malay Camp clearance unique.
Prominent residents
Solomon T. PlaatjeSol Plaatje
Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje was a South African intellectual, journalist, linguist, politician, translator, and writer. The Sol Plaatje Local Municipality, which includes the city of Kimberley, was named after him.-Early life:...
, noted author, journalist and first General Secretary of the African Native National Congress
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
, was a resident of Malay Camp. His later dwelling at 32 Angel Street is preserved as the Sol Plaatje Museum
Sol Plaatje Museum
The Sol Plaatje Museum and Library is in Kimberley, Northern Cape, in a house where Solomon T. Plaatje lived during his last years, in Malay Camp, No 32 Angel Street. It was here that Plaatje wrote Mhudi....
.
Malay Camp History Projects
- Moosa Aysen's booklets on Islam on the Diamond Fields.
- Historical Society of Kimberley and the Northern Cape, 1998 - to collect social and living history.
- McGregor MuseumMcGregor MuseumThe McGregor Museum in Kimberley, South Africa, originally known as the Alexander McGregor Memorial Museum, is a province-aided museum established in 1907.- Overview :...
Malay Camp Exhibition, 2002 - display on Malay Camp and other forgotten suburbs of Kimberley based on Historical Society research, a thesis by E.J. Africa and other sources. - Louis Mallett Malay Camp Social History Project, 2003 - commencement of research by a former resident.
- Liz Crossley Project 'The Past is not Dead', 2004 - Liz Crossley, a Kimberley-born artist based in Berlin who interacted with and injected ideas into or support for nearly all the above projects. Her father had been a resident of Malay Camp. She was instrumental in securing Rosa Luxemburg FoundationRosa Luxemburg FoundationThe Rosa Luxemburg Foundation is a German research foundation associated with The Left party. The organisation was founded in Berlin in 1990 as the "Social Analysis and Political Education Association". It was named after Rosa Luxemburg.The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation is actively involved in...
funding for the publication of Mallett's eventual book. - Permanent display at the McGregor MuseumMcGregor MuseumThe McGregor Museum in Kimberley, South Africa, originally known as the Alexander McGregor Memorial Museum, is a province-aided museum established in 1907.- Overview :...
, 2006, opened by Premier Dipuo PetersDipuo PetersElizabeth Dipuo Peters, born on 13 May 1960, is the Minister of Energy of the Republic of South Africa , in the Zuma administration, having served as successor to Manne Dipico as the second Premier of the Northern Cape Province, 22 April 2004 to 10 May 2009...
- funding provided by the Northern Cape Department of Tourism, owing to the efforts of Louis Mallett