Where is Pretoria? Pretoria is the administration capital of South Africa and is located in the northern part of the province, Gauteng.
Pretoria is the administration capital of South Africa and is located in the northern part of the province, Gauteng. It is estimated that Pretoria has the lowest crime figures in South Africa. The city of Pretoria occupies two beautiful and well-sheltered valleys on the banks of the Apies River.
The earliest occupants, in the seventeenth century, of the site and area that became Pretoria, was the colourful and peaceful Ndebele tribe, who were driven out by a group of renegade Zulus in 1825. The first white men arrived soon after and befriended the chief, Mzilikazi. In a show of power, Shaka the famous king of the Zulus, attacked Mzilikazi and his bandits and drove them into a westwardly direction, and the area was deserted until 1837.
The Voortrekkers discovered the site and a number of farms sprung up in the area. One of the farmers was the Voortrekker leader, Andries Pretorius, whose farm was called Grootplaats. Andries Pretorius died in 1853 and in 1855 his son, Marthinus Wessels Pretorius was given the task to find and name a site to serve as the capital city of the Republic of South Africa. The original area of Pretoria comprised a farm called Elandsplaat and on 16 November 1855, the small town of Pretoria was established. It was named after Andries Pretorius.
A qualified surveyor, Andries du Toit, was called out to plan the town. In those early days, Pretoria was a sleepy town and left the hustle and bustle to the nearby boom town of Johannesburg, formed in 1886.
Pretoria only came alive every three months when people from rural areas visited Pretoria to embark on a three-day trade exhibition. Actual trade took place on the first and third day and a day of rest and Holy Communion was held on the second day. Geographic rivalry is as prevalent in South Africa today as it is in the rest of the world. It was no different in those days, with huge rivalry between the Pretoria town people and the folk from the countryside. During one trade exhibit, mischievous town boys redirected the irrigation to flood Church Square and saw country folk running around, sopping wet, in the middle of the night.
Pretoria was one of the battle scenes of the bitter Boer Civil War from 1863 to 1869 and in 1880 to 1881 during the Anglo-Transvaal War. Pretoria was annexed by the British between 1877 and 1881 and during this time was home to a famous novelist, Sir Rider Haggard, author of King Solomon's Mines.
Besides the surname Pretorius, Pretoria is best known for Paul Kruger, who became president of the Republic of South Africa after the war. Today his house is a museum and a national monument.
There was no damage to the town during the warring years.
In 1900, during the Anglo-Boer War, as the British forces advanced on Pretoria, Paul Kruger fled his beloved Pretoria and South Africa. A peace treaty called The Peace of Vereeniging, was signed on 31 May 1902 and Pretoria remained the capital city of the Republic of South Africa.
In 1910, the famed Union Buildings, built and designed by Sir Herbert Baker, was completed and this is the year that Pretoria became to be known as the administration capital of the Union of South Africa. It was only declared a city on 14 October 1931. In 1961, when South Africa became independent of England and was named a republic once again, Pretoria retained its title of Administration Capital of the Republic of South Africa. Today, after the first democratic elections in South Africa took place in 1994, Pretoria remains the Administration Capital. The Union Buildings was the scene of great celebrations when Nelson Mandela was inaugurated as president of South Africa in 1994.
The head offices of South Africa's armies, police force, correctional services and most of the other national departments, is situated in this beautiful, sunny city.
Pretoria is no longer the quiet, sleepy "dorpie" (little town) of the early years, yet because of the beauty of it's surroundings, one feels at peace in the city, even during rush hour. Pretoria is also called "The Jacaranda City" after the magnificent flowering Jacaranda trees that line the city centre.
