Boksburg Hotels

Introducing Boksburg

Boksburg is an important industrial and gold mining centre in the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.  It has an excellent infrastructure to support these economic activities and residential areas are scattered with family-friendly parks, such as the petting zoo at Bokkie Park and the bird haven of Le Grange Bird Park. Tree-lined Boksburg Lake serves as a popular recreational area with boating, water sports, walking and fishing on offer.

In 1886, a young Afrikaans prospector named Pieter Killian discovered quartz reefs on the farms Leeuwpoort and Vogelfontein. And quartz reefs meant gold.  A camp sprung up to accommodate the resulting influx of miners. By 1887, this camp had quickly become an important way station for passing coach and wagon traffic on the Main Reed Road.

The town was named Boksburg, after the then State Secretary, Dr W. E. Bok. Several historical buildings can still be seen today, including the Angelo Hotel (1887), which was used as a staging post, the Old Post Office (1898) and St Michael and All Angels Anglican Church, which was designed by Sir Herbert Baker in 1911. Boksburg Lake was built by Mining Commissioner Montague White. Ironically, the lake stood empty for a number of years after its construction and was dubbed 'White's Folly' until a heavy rain in 1891. The lake has remained full ever since.

As 'golden' as Boksburg's beginnings were, the Apartheid era tainted it with ruthless segregation policies and a violent political past. In the eighties, non-whites were prohibited from using the lake and its facilities resulting in economically crippling boycotts of Boksburg CBD. It was also here in the town of Boksburg that Chris Hani, leader of the South African Communist Party and chief of staff of the ANC's armed wing Umkhonto we Sizwe, lived and died. He was assassinated in 1993 outside his home in Dawn Park.

Best Kept Secret

Hechter-Schulz Afro-culture Museum

A private museum showcasing a variety of cultural artefacts belonging to indigenous African people of the sub-continent. Exhibits include beadwork, fertility dolls, musicalinstruments, masks and more. Call to arrange a visit. 14th Avenue, Anderbolt, Boksburg. Phone 011-894-4535.

Getting there

To reach Boksburg from the airport, take the R21 south until the traffic lights on Main Reef Road. Turn left then right at the next traffic lights into Trichardts Road.