Vereeniging

Vereeniging is situated in the southern part of Gauteng Province, and forms the southern portion of the Pretoria-Witwatersrand-Vereeninging (PWV) conurbation, and its neighbors are Vanderbijlpark (to the west), Three Rivers (east), Meyerton (north) and Sasolburg (south). The city is currently one of the most important industrial manufacturing centres in South Africa, with its chief products being iron, steel, pipes, bricks, tiles and processed lime. The predominant language in Vereeniging is English followed closely by Sesotho language and Afrikaans. == History ==

in Vereeniging built by the British during the Second Boer War. In 1879, George William Stow was commissioned by the Orange Free State government to look for coal deposits in the Bethlehem district With no deposits found he moved northwards to Maccauvlei on the Vaal River and then crossed the river to the Transvaal side. On the farm Leeuwkuil, he found a coal deposit twelve feet thick. after years of wasteful practices and poor service delivery. In February 2022 it was reported that Vereeniging had 14 out-of-service police vehicles for visible policing, and only 20 operational vehicles. Flooding 2011 In December 2010 and January 2011 the southern part of Gauteng and Mpumulanga experienced a higher than normal rainfall. This resulted in the need to release more water from the nearby Vaal dam. As a consequence, parts of Vereeniging, Three Rivers and the rest of the towns downstream were flooded. Three Rivers Proper Floods.JPG|Flooding along Sugarbush Drive, Three Rivers Proper Brandmuller Avenue.JPG|Brandmuller Avenue in Three Rivers Proper == Trade and industry ==

The city's motto is Per Pacem ad Industriam (Through Peace to Industry). It is currently one of the most important industrial manufacturing centres in South Africa, with its chief products being iron, steel, pipes, bricks, tiles and processed lime. Several coal mines are also still situated in the area, with reserves being estimated at four billion tons. Other mines nearby extract fire-clay, silica and building stone. Vereeniging also has several Eskom thermal power plants that supply electricity to the nearby goldmines. == Suburbs and municipality ==

In the census of 2001 the population of Vereeniging was recorded as 73,283. Vereeniging consists of 21 suburbs: • Arcon Park • Bedworth Park • Dickensonville • Duncanville • Falcon Ridge • Homer • Leeuhof • Peacehaven • Powerville • Randwater • Roodt's Gardens • Roshnee • Sonland Park • Spider Valley • Springcol • Steel Park • Three Rivers Proper • Three Rivers East • Unitas Park • Vereeniging Central • Waldrift Since 1999, Vereeniging has been part of the Emfuleni Local Municipality, along with Vanderbijlpark, Sharpeville and Sebokeng. == Healthcare ==

Various health services are available in Vereeniging. The majority of these services are located in or near the major medical centres. These include: • Vereeniging Medi-Clinic • Kopanong Hospital • Naledi-Nkanyezi Hospital • Midvaal Private Hospital • Market-Avenue clinic == Education ==

• Vereeniging Gimnasium (Afrikaans medium - Amalgamation of Hoërskool Vereeniging and Hoër Tegniese Skool Vereeniging) • Handhawer Laerskool (Afrikaans and English medium) • Selborne Primary School (English medium) • General Smuts High School (English medium) • Arcon Park Primary School (English medium) • Unitaspark Laerskool (Afrikaans and English medium) • Vryheidsmonument Laerskool (Afrikaans medium) • Overvaal Hoërskool (Afrikaans medium) • Sonland Park Primary School (English medium) • Phoenix High School (English medium) • Roshnee Islamic School (English medium) • Word of Life School (English medium - CIE) • Krugerlaan School (Afrikaans and English medium - LSEN School) in Tertiary institutions Campuses of: • University of South Africa • Damelin College • CTU Training Solutions • Sedibeng College • Boston City Campus • It is also close to the North-West University's Vaal Triangle Campus, and the Vaal University of Technology in Vanderbijlpark. == Infrastructure ==

Road The R59 (Sybrand van Niekerk Freeway) passes through the western suburbs, connecting Vereeniging with Sasolburg and Parys to the south-west and with Meyerton, Alberton and Johannesburg to the north. The R82 passes through the Vereeniging city centre, connecting the city with Johannesburg to the north and with Sasolburg and Koppies to the south. The R42 connects Vereeniging with Vanderbijlpark to the south-west and Heidelberg to the north-east. The R54 connects Vereeniging with Potchefstroom to the west and with Villiers to the south-east. The R28 connects Vereeniging with Evaton and Randfontein to the north-west. == Notable residents ==

• Gerald Bosch, played fly-half for The Springboks 1974–1976 • Bles Bridges, an Afrikaans country singer, stayed in Vereeniging until his death in 2000. • F.W. de Klerk was first elected to the South African parliament in 1969 as the member for Vereeniging. • Francois Pienaar, Springboks rugby player. • Charl Schwartzel (the 2011 US Masters champion). • Tertius Bosch, Morné Morkel and Albie Morkel Protea cricket players attended Vereeniging High. • Leon Schuster, actor, comedian, filmmaker, presenter and singer. • Deon Dreyer, a cave diver who perished in Bushman's Hole in 1994, was raised in Vereeniging. • Pieter Aldrich, a South African professional tennis player. == Crime ==

The latest annual crime statistics for Vereeniging Police Precinct was issued by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in 2021. The SAPS crime report showed the following information: ==Coat of arms==

Vereeniging established a municipality in 1912. By 1931, the town council had assumed an emblem depicting bridge across a river, and two clasped hands. The town council obtained a coat of arms from the College of Arms in October 1955, registered it with the Transvaal Provincial Administration in October 1957 and with the Bureau of Heraldry in June 1987. The arms were : Sable, on a fess wavy Or a barrulet wavy Tenne, the fess between in chief a thunderbolt between two picks, Or, and in base a steel pipe palewise proper between two cogwheels, also Or. In layman's terms, the design is a black shield displaying, from top to bottom, a golden heraldic thunderbolt between two picks, a wavy orange stripe edged in gold, and an upright golden pipe between two cogwheels. The crest was a dove of peace perched on two clasped hands; the supporters were a lion and a zebra standing on a grassy base strewn with veld flowers; and the motto was Per pacem ad industriam. == References ==