Invitation to the official opening of the Daveyton Bantu Township - Apartheid Related (1955)

This letter is an official invitation from the Town Council of Benoni, dated 12th April 1955. It pertains to the formal establishment of a segregated residential area during the early apartheid era in South Africa.

The ceremony was to be conducted by Dr. W.W.M. Eiselen, the Secretary for Native Affairs. Eiselen was a primary architect of apartheid urban planning and education policies. The event included "tribal dancing," performances by "native brass bands," and parades by various organizations. The letter was issued by J. E. Mathewson, the Director of Non-European Affairs for Benoni.

The letter originated from the Non-European Affairs Department (Departement van Nie-Blankesake).

This document captures a specific moment in the mid-1950s when the South African government was actively constructing new townships to facilitate the forced relocation of Black residents from urban centers to designated segregated zones. Daveyton was specifically designed as a "model" township under the principles of the Group Areas Act and the Native Laws Amendment Act.

200mm x 255mm

R2,000