Roodepoort

Roodepoort is a city in the Gauteng province of South Africa. Formerly an independent municipality, Roodepoort became part of the Johannesburg municipality in the late 1990s, along with Randburg and Sandton. Johannesburg's most famous botanical garden, Witwatersrand National Botanical Gardens (now renamed Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden), is located in Roodepoort. In 1884, brothers Fred and Harry Struben, having discovered gold on the farm Wilgespruit at the western end of the Witwatersrand, were granted concessions to mine the area. When George Harrison's find at Langlaagte came to light and gold fever took hold, the Struben brothers were joined by a swarm of gold diggers. Other areas such as Maraisburg were prospected and mined by A.P. Marais and at Florida, the owners were van der Hoven, Bantjies and Lys.[2]: 286  Though the Struben brothers' Confidence Reef bore little gold and their mine was unprofitable, the ramshackle town that grew around it became the Roodepoort Municipality in 1904.[2]: 286  Incorporating the towns of Hamburg, Florida and Maraisburg, Roodepoort became a city in 1977, and has since developed as one of Johannesburg's most predominantly Afrikaans (language of Dutch origin) speaking districts.[2]: 286  Roodepoort has seen large population growth due to Johannesburg urban sprawl. There are two major malls in the area - Clearwater Mall, the most upscale in Roodepoort, and Westgate Mall, the largest and oldest. Also found in the area is the Hillfox Centre and the Strubens Valley strip malls, which are both large retail centres.