Midrand

Midrand is an area in central Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is situated between Centurion and Kyalami, and is part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality.

History

Midrand was established as a municipality in 1981 (in an area known as Halfway House, after its position between Pretoria and Johannesburg), but ceased to be an independent town in the restructuring of local government that followed the end of apartheid in 1994. It was incorporated in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in 2000. It was made part of Region 2 and, as of 2006, when the number of regions were reduced to seven, it forms part of Region A.

Though no longer an independent town, the name Midrand is still in common use to denote the suburbs around the N1 highway north of the Jukskei River up to the border with City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality. (This portion of the N1 highway is also known as the Ben Schoeman Highway.) Suburbs that are generally regarded as being in Midrand include among others: Country View, Carlswald, Crowthorne, Glen Austin, Halfway House, Halfway Gardens, Vorna Valley, Noordwyk, Randjesfontein.

Midrand (Gautrain station)

Midrand is a metro station on the Gautrain rapid transit system in Midrand, Gauteng. It opened in August 2011 as part of the second phase of the Gautrain project.

Location

Midrand station is located in the area of the same name within Region A of the City of Johannesburg. One of the City's metropolitan nodes, of secondary importance within the metropolitan area, the Midrand district is expected to become the hub of activity in far north Johannesburg, near the border with the City of Tshwane, which contains the administrative capital city of Pretoria. Near the station are the well-known Gallagher Convention Centre and Kyalami race track. Further, the station lies adjacent to Grand Central Airport, one of Gauteng's secondary airports; the opening of Gautrain's second phase links the airport to the busier OR Tambo International Airport, albeit with a transfer at Sandton.

Transit-oriented development

In common with other Gautrain stations, Midrand station acts as the focal point of transit-oriented development. The most prominent of the initiatives near the station is the Zonk'izizwe development, which will be situated on the eastern side of the railway alignment and will have a town centre, commercial, and residential precincts surrounding Grand Central Airport. Further south is the Waterfall development, which will encompass a far larger undeveloped site along the N1 between Allendale Road and the N3. Waterfall will include standard residential and commercial districts but will also contain a retirement centre, cemetery, Islamic centre, and industrial zones.

Gauteng

Gauteng (/xaʊˈtɛŋ/; Sotho pronunciation [xɑ́.ú.ˈtʼè.ŋ̀]) which means "gold" is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994. It was initially named Pretoria–Witwatersrand–Vereeniging (PWV) and was renamed "Gauteng" in December 1994.

Situated in the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province in South Africa, accounting for only 1.5% of the land area. Nevertheless, it is highly urbanised, containing the country's largest city, Johannesburg, its administrative capital, Pretoria, and other large industrial areas such as Midrand and Vanderbijlpark. As of 2015, it has a population of nearly 13.2 million, making it the most populous province in South Africa.

Etymology

The name Gauteng is derived from the Sotho name, "gauta" meaning "gold" with [locative suffix "-eng"]. This is due to the thriving gold industry in the province following the 1886 discovery of gold in Johannesburg. In Sesotho the name "Gauteng" was used for Johannesburg and surrounding areas long before it was adopted in 1994 as the official name of a province.

Gauteng cricket team

Gauteng cricket team (formerly Transvaal cricket team) is the first-class cricket team of the province of Gauteng (previously Transvaal; Gauteng was called Transvaal from April 1890 to April 1997) in South Africa. Under the main competition's various names – the Currie Cup, then the Castle Cup, now the SuperSport Series – Transvaal/Gauteng cricket team has been the most successful of the South African domestic sides, winning 25 times. The club's most glorious period was the 1980s when they were dubbed the "Mean Machine".

For the purposes of the SuperSport Series, Gauteng has merged with North West (formerly Western Transvaal) to form the Highveld Lions or, more simply, "the Lions". (from October 2004 to the present time).

Honours