Sandton | |
|---|---|
  Sandton  Sandton  Sandton | |
| Coordinates:26°6.42′S28°3.1′E / 26.10700°S 28.0517°E /-26.10700; 28.0517 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Gauteng |
| Municipality | City of Johannesburg |
| Established | 1906 |
| Area | |
• Total | 143.54 km2 (55.42 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 222,415 |
| • Density | 1,500/km2 (4,000/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 34.7% |
| • Coloured | 2.5% |
| • Indian/Asian | 11.1% |
| • White | 49.8% |
| • Other | 1.9% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • English | 63.9% |
| • Afrikaans | 7.4% |
| • Zulu | 6.3% |
| • Northern Sotho | 3.2% |
| • Other | 19.2% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 2196 |
| PO box | 2146 |
Sandton is a financial, commercial and residential area, located in the northern part of theCity of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. Formerly an independent municipality, Sandton's name came from the combination of two of its suburbs,Sandown andBryanston.[2]
Archaeological findings suggest the area which Sandton comprises today, had originally been occupied by various indigenous groups, before European settlement, most notably theTswana and, to a lesser extent,Sotho people. The remains of anIron Age smelter was discovered inLone Hill, a suburb of northern Sandton.
One of the firstVoortrekker parties to settle in the area were the Esterhuysen family on the farm Zandfontein (Afrikaans andDutch forSandy Spring orSand Fountain). A monument to commemorate them may be found just off Adrienne Street inSandown where the family cemetery is located.Zandfontein, Driefontein (Afrikaans and Dutch forThree Springs/Fountains) and Rietfontein (Afrikaans and Dutch forReed Spring orFountain of Reeds) encumbered what was to become Sandton. The municipalcoat of arms of Sandton pays homage to the three farms with three round fountain barrels on its chevron.[3]
In the late 19th-century the Wilhelmi family ofHannover, Germany acquired the farm Driefontein No. 3 while Rietfontein was owned by the Ehler family. The original Driefontein homestead, now within the confines of the Field & Study Centre, was looted during theAnglo-Boer War. The ruins are visible on the northern bank of the Klein Jukskei River. The Wilhemi family, upon return from Germany built the 'new' 1906 Driefontein Farmhouse on what is present-day Fifteenth Street,Parkmore cumRiverclub. The farmhouse served as the icon and headquarters for the now defunct Sandton Historical Foundation and is listed as aCity of Johannesburg Owned Heritage Site.
Sandton was established as a separate municipality in 1969 by the office of the Administrator of the Transvaal. It had formerly not formed part of Johannesburg but was managed, in part by its administrators andPretoria through the North Eastern Peri-Urban Land administration. Initially, it was very much a residential area consisting mostly of small holdings with a rural equestrian lifestyle attracting many of the upper-middle classes and Johannesburg elites.Prior to the 1960s a stream was located at the site of present day Katherine Street.[4]
TheRivonia Trial derives its name from the Liliesleaf Farm precinct situated in the Sandton suburb where many of the Black freedom fighters such asNelson Mandela were captured by the South African state and subsequently tried for treason. Rivonia had previously been known as Edenburg and was changed to make itself distinct fromEdenburg, Free State. It was named for the surname Riven.Sandton and its constituencies were traditionally relatively more liberal than surrounds. For example, the motion which never materialised by residents in favour for the inclusion ofAlexandra, Gauteng then a demarcated black township in terms of theGroup Areas Act, into Sandton's jurisdiction proved troublesome for theNational Party government which had a strong constituency in the adjacent town ofRandburg.[citation needed]
The construction ofSandton City by Rapp & Maister (which was eventually taken over by the Liberty Group which still retains 75% of the complex) marked a significant change for the Sandton area. It created rapid commercialisation and industrialisation. Sandton came to symbolise theWhite Flight movement of Johannesburg and secured itself as Johannesburg's secondCentral Business District.After the demise ofApartheid, by 1996, Sandton initially formed part of the interim Eastern Metropolitan Substructure,[5] and in 2000 came to be included, along with the former towns ofRandburg andRoodepoort, as part of the newly demarcatedCity of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality thus losing its separate municipal government and town status. Despite this, Sandton is still unofficially regarded as a distinct region of the city and operates as a macro-suburb.
Urban decay in downtown Johannesburg caused many corporate offices to move from theJohannesburg Central Business District to Sandton in the 1990s. It has become the new financial district of South Africa and Johannesburg's premier business centre. Much of the financial focus of Johannesburg has shifted from the Central Business District to Sandton. However, three of South Africa's four largest banks have kept their head offices in downtown Johannesburg. The other bank,Nedbank, has its headquarters in Sandton. A considerable amount of the city's A-grade office space is to be found in Sandton. TheJSE Securities Exchange, Johannesburg's stock exchange, relocated its offices to Sandton from the central business district in the late 1990s.
Sandton is home to the Sandton Convention Centre, one of the largest convention centres on the continent and primary site of the 2002World Summit on Sustainable Development (also known as "Rio + 10"), which Johannesburg hosted. The convention centre also hosted theAfrican National Congress' victory celebrations after the party was re-elected at the 2004 election.
When it comes to green buildings in Africa, Sandton is an epicentre.[6] One of the highest rated green buildings in South Africa – rated by Green Building Council South Africa (GBCSA) – is Upper Grayston Office Park, located in Sandton.[7]
One of the main attractions in Sandton isSandton City, which ranks among the largest shopping centres in Africa. The completion of this precinct by the Liberty Group was the catalyst for the subsequent development of this entire area. Together withNelson Mandela Square, the centre, with some 144,000 m2 of shopping space, is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere. Much of Johannesburg's business tourism is centred on Sandton, which has various 5-star hotels under the Southern Sun, Hilton, Radisson and Protea brands.
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Liberty Group announced in 2008 that Sandton City will receive a R 1.77-billion upgrade.Nelson Mandela Square, formerly known as Sandton Square, was renamed in March 2004, after the unveiling of a 6-metre bronze statue of the former South African president.Liliesleaf Farm, whereNelson Mandela lived in the early 1960s and where many leading political activists were arrested in 1963 and tried as part of the now infamousRivonia Trial, is just north of Nelson Mandela Square, close to the N1 Highway, off Rivonia Road. Discovery Holdings has, in 2018, completed a large new head office along with shopping mall in the area.
A 55-floor mixed use building,The Leonardo, become the tallest building in all of Africa at the time 234 metres (768 ft) following its completion in 2018, but has since been replaced by other taller buildings.
The central business area of Sandton is divided into three City Improvement Districts, which have a unified identity called the Sandton Central Management District, branded asSandton Central.[8] This district is responsible, using additional funds levied on its behalf by the municipality, for the provision of additional services.[9] The Sandton Central Management district provides additional cleaning, law enforcement, beautification and planning services to the area it services.[10]
Sandton is located approximately 16 kilometres north of the Johannesburg CBD, bordered byMidrand to the north,Johannesburg to the south,Randburg to the west andAlexandra to the east.
Sandton houses the flagship station of theGautrain rapid rail link. The station is located on the corner of West Street and Rivonia Road. The system has direct connections toOR Tambo International Airport and an inter-city commuter service fromPretoria through Rosebank toJohannesburg Park Station[11] Sandton's associated Gaubus network comprises direct routes toFourways,Gallo Manor,Randburg andRivonia. People can also connect busses and travel to many parts ofCenturion,Marlboro,Parktown,Rosebank andPretoria using the service.[12]
The main freeway to get in to the city is theM1 freeway through theM60 at Marlboro Drive, theM40 at Grayston Drive and theM30 at Corlett Drive. TheN1 freeway (Western Bypass) passes through the northern part of Sandton, with off-ramps at theM9 (Rivonia Road) &R511/M81 (Winnie Mandela Drive). One can use theM9,M27,M71,M75 andM85 metropolitan routes.
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The main campus of theLycée Jules Verne, a French international school, is in Sandton.[13]Sandton used to be home of the formerBond University South Africa. Sandton also houses many primary to high schools including:
Sandton travel guide from Wikivoyage| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
