Roodepoort, Gauteng

Roodepoort at a glance

Roodepoort is a sprawling residential area, in parts dominated by light industry and small businesses. It gets its name from the red soil in the area. It dates back to 1884, when Fred Struben discovered the first payable gold in the area at what he called the Confidence Reef, a large rocky outcrop in the centre of Roodepoort. The search for gold spread, and in 1886 the main reef at Langlaagte in Johannesburg was discovered. The gold at Confidence Reef, mostly surface gold in quartz rock, soon ran out, but by then a settled community was established in Roodepoort. In 1963 the Roodepoort-Maraisburg municipality was changed to Roodepoort and city status was granted in 1977. Roodepoort is a gold-mining center in the West Rand area. A monument commemorates the Jameson Raid of 1895. Another national monument is the old Roodepoort Town School in Rex Street, on the site of the original building erected in 1894, as well as the old municipal offices in Berlandina Street, an attractive plaster and stone building now used as a Roodepoort branch library was declared a national monument in 1985. 

Made up primarily of the Greater Roodepoort area, this region now contains residential suburbs, agricultural holdings in the north, part of the mining belt in the south, and some areas of commercial activity such as Westgate, Constantia and Laser Park.

The Roodepoort region is an extremely attractive residential area in Johannesburg. It has lovely views of the city to the east and the Magaliesburg to the west. There are golf courses and entertainment areas, as well as what many consider the city's finest park, the Witwatersrand Botanical Gardens.

Although the area is far to the west of the city centre, well-marked dual-carriage highways offer excellent transport routes. Roodepoort is the region most conveniently situated for access to Gauteng attractions such as the Cradle of Humankind, Magaliesburg and Pilanesburg. Roodepoort also offers a wide range of services including a museum, major private hospitals, shopping centres, schools, country lodges, trails, restaurants, golf courses and country clubs.

Roodepoort has a busy business centre, with a large variety of shops, shopping centres and shopping malls.