TheProvince of Transvaal (Afrikaans:Provinsie van Transvaal), commonly referred to as theTransvaal (/ˈtrɑːnsvɑːl,ˈtræns-/;Afrikaans:[transˈfɑːl]), was a province ofSouth Africa from 1910 until 1994, when a new constitution subdivided it following the end ofapartheid. The name "Transvaal" is from the Latin prefix trans, which means across from, or on the other side. Hence, Transvaal refers to the province's geographical location to the north of theVaal River. Its capital wasPretoria, which was also the country's executive capital.
In 1994, after the fall ofapartheid, the former provinces were abolished, and the Transvaal ceased to exist. The south-central portion (including the PWV) becameGauteng, the northern portion becameLimpopo and the southeastern portion becameMpumalanga. Most of theNorth West came from the southwestern portion of the old Transvaal, and a tiny segment of the Transvaal joinedKwaZulu-Natal.
Even before 1994, the Transvaal Province was subdivided into regions for a number of purposes (such as municipal and district courts, and sporting divisions). These divisions included Northern Transvaal (present-dayLimpopo and Pretoria), Eastern Transvaal (currentlyMpumalanga), Western Transvaal (currently part ofNorth West Province) and Southern Transvaal (nowGauteng Province, but which also includes Pretoria).
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PWV region (later Gauteng province) consisting of theWitwatersrand, which in turn consists of theWest Rand and theEast Rand, as well as Johannesburg; theVaal Triangle and Pretoria.
The province was divided into a number of sporting teams. These teams were renamed after the Transvaal became defunct, however their traditional territories have remained unchanged in many cases, even though they overlap the boundaries of the Transvaal's successor provinces.
Examples of this include theBlue Bulls (formerlyNorthern Transvaal), which governs rugby in Pretoria (now part of Gauteng) and Limpopo Province, and theGolden Lions (formerlyTransvaal) formed in 1889.
TheOrlando Pirates Football Club was founded in 1937 and was originally based in Orlando, Soweto andKaizer Chiefs were founded in January 1970. In the same year,Mamelodi Sundowns F.C. originated from Marabastad, a cosmopolitan area north west of the Pretoria CBD in the early 1960s.
Cricket teams from the former Transvaal includeTransvaal (laterGauteng) which represented the southern parts of the province, andNorthern Transvaal (laterNortherns) that represents the northern parts of Gauteng, including Pretoria, as well as areas further north.[clarification needed]
1 Transkei, Bophuthatswana, Venda and Ciskei were originally part of South Africa; they later declared independence with South African consent in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Their independence was recognized by the South African government but they were internationally recognized as part of South Africa.
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