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Randpark Ridge Randparkrif | |
|---|---|
  Randpark Ridge  Randpark Ridge | |
| Coordinates:26°06′04″S27°57′25″E / 26.101°S 27.957°E /-26.101; 27.957 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Gauteng |
| Municipality | City of Johannesburg |
| Main Place | Randburg |
| Government | |
| • Councillor | David Brand |
| Area | |
• Total | 9.00 km2 (3.47 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,700 m (5,600 ft) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 18,033 |
| • Density | 2,000/km2 (5,190/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 23.8% |
| • Coloured | 3.2% |
| • Indian/Asian | 7.6% |
| • White | 64.1% |
| • Other | 1.4% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • English | 67.4% |
| • Afrikaans | 14.5% |
| • Zulu | 4.3% |
| • Tswana | 2.3% |
| • Other | 11.4% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 2169 |
| PO box | 2156 |
Randpark Ridge is anupmarket suburb ofRandburg,South Africa. It is located in Region B of theCity of Johannesburg. It fell into the town of Randburg during the apartheid era. Developed in the early 1980s and still relatively new, Randpark Ridge is bordered by several other suburbs includingWeltevreden Park,Sundowner,Boskruin,Bromhof,Honeydew andFairland.
The suburb has its origins as part of an old Witwatersrand farm calledBoschkop, named after the distinctive hill to north of the suburb, which is now the Boschkop Nature Reserve in the suburb ofBoskruin.[2] On this land, an old brick farm house was supposedly built on the land in around 1860.[2] In 1903 the farm was owned by a J. Labuschagne and he sold part of the original land and farm house toJohn Dale Lace.[2] He added on to the original Boer farmhouse; two gabled sections to either side, and a dam, built over thespruit (stream) that is a tributary of theKlein Jukskei River.[2] At this stage the house had a total of 25 rooms. He would lose his 1300-acre country estate toStandard Bank, who sold it to an Irishman, Tom Kelly, in 1927.[2] Kelly then renovated and extended the old farmhouse, changing its name toHy Many.[2] A tree lined drive connected the farmhouse to the old Muldersdrift Road, now calledBeyers Naude Drive.[2] Kelly's daughter would sell the land in 1982 to the Gencor Trust and the land was rezoned for residential development.[2] Attempts were made to keep the house and have it listed, as it was due for demolition, but no funds could be found for its restoration.[2] By the early nineties it was run down and occupied by squatters before a fire destroyed the rear.[2] By 1994 the old farmhouse was bought by developers who demolished the burnt out section illegally and in 1996, fifteen townhouses were built around it.[2] The old farmhouse was modernized inside but thefaçade remains the same and has five originalJacaranda trees, possibly 90 to 100 years old.[2] Regarded as the oldest brick house in Johannesburg it now stands in Frangipani Crescent, Randpark Ridge.[2]
The suburb is chiefly residential, with a few nodes for commerce along the major routes that service the area. It is well planned and forms part of Johannesburg's large man-made forest. Its proximity to both the city centre andSandton make it an extremely popular area to live.[citation needed] It is, however, still close enough to theMagaliesburg so as to feel part of the countryside. The area is serviced by onehighway, namely theN1 Western Bypass which connects the vicinity toSandton andPretoria to the north and toRoodepoort andSoweto to the south. The major arterial route isBeyers Naudé Drive (M5), which radiates from the inner city. Of importance are also John Vorster Drive andYsterhout Drive (M6), as well as Christiaan de Wet Road (R564) running somewhat parallel to the freeway.
Rand Park High School along withRand Park Primary School serve as the area's publicschools.Trinityhouse High School,Newton House School andAurora Private School are well-respectedprivate schools in the area. The Randridge Mall and Rock Cottage are two well-known Randpark Ridgeshopping malls, as well as theLifestyle Garden Centre and several smaller malls exist for daily expenses. The prominent ridge (which gives the suburb its name) is protected as the BoschkopNature Reserve, and is a prominent sight from most of western Johannesburg. Several parks abound including Essenhout Park and Hy Many Park. Much open land exists in the suburb especially to the west near toHoneydew.[citation needed]
Transport can be a problem for residents. The major routes are blocked in the morning and afternoon traffic, and this can make travel from the city centre much more difficult than usual.[citation needed] No train service runs near the area and thus it is buses and minibus taxis that offer the only public transport to residents. The nearest international airport isLanseria Airport with the next closest international airport beingOR Tambo International Airport inEkurhuleni.
