Ophirton is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. This industrial suburb lies three kilometers to south-west of the Johannesburg CBD. It is located in Region F of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, adjacent to Booysens.

Ophirton
Ophirton is located in Gauteng
Ophirton
Ophirton
Ophirton is located in South Africa
Ophirton
Ophirton
Coordinates: 26°13′30″S 28°01′34″E / 26.225°S 28.026°E / -26.225; 28.026
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceGauteng
MunicipalityCity of Johannesburg
Main PlaceJohannesburg
Area
 • Total
0.94 km2 (0.36 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total
506
 • Density540/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
 • Black African67.6%
 • Coloured3.4%
 • Indian/Asian25.7%
 • White1.8%
 • Other1.6%
First languages (2011)
 • English30.4%
 • Zulu19.3%
 • Xhosa9.7%
 • Northern Sotho7.2%
 • Other33.5%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)
2091

History

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Ophirton has it origin in 1888, not long after the creation of Johannesburg in 1886.[2]: 154  The suburb is situated on part of an old Witwatersrand farm called Turffontein.[3] It is named after the Paarl Ophir Gold Mining Company that owned the land.[3] It has its origins as a dusty residential suburb, that was surrounded by mine dumps, and occupied by the poorer classes.[2]: 154  Chandler's Brewery was one of the early industrial business' in the suburb.[2]: 154  Nowadays the suburb is mostly industrial but a few old residential houses remain.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Sub Place Ophirton". Census 2011.
  2. ^ a b c Leyds, Gerald Anton (1964). A History of Johannesburg: The Early Years. Nasional Boekhandel. p. 318.
  3. ^ a b Raper, Peter E.; Moller, Lucie A.; du Plessis, Theodorus L. (2014). Dictionary of Southern African Place Names. Jonathan Ball Publishers. p. 1412. ISBN 9781868425501.