Sharpeville Township and the Sharpeville Memorial

Sharpeville is the best known of the six townships located in the Vaal Region of South Africa. Created in the 1940s to house Vereeniging’s black population in preparation for the institution of the Group Areas Act, one of the tenets of Apartheid that enforced segregation of the Races, Sharpeville became one of South Africa’s most famous townships due to the infamous Sharpeville Massacre of 1960.

While Sharpeville’s origins and past are noteworthy as examples of some the worst atrocities committed against indigenous people in South Africa in the Apartheid years, the township has a central role in more recent history. Nelson Mandela signed the post Apartheid South African Constitution and Bill of Rights in Sharpeville on December 10th 1996, ushering in a new era of democracy in the midst of widespread reconciliation measures and processes designed to encourage forgiveness and peace.

Attractions in Sharpeville include the Sharpeville Memorial and Exhibition Centre,  also called the Sharpeville Human Rights Precinct, in Seeiso Street opposite the police station where the shootings took place. Opened in 2002, the Memorial / Exhibition Centre commemorates the events of 21st March 1960, and honours those who died on that horrific day. It is one of six Heritage sites related to the Massacre and its eventual role in the downfall of Apartheid, the other five being the Sharpeville Police Station, the Phelinda and Vuka Cemeteries, where the victims of the Massacre were buried, the Sharpeville Catholic Church, and the Kwa Dlomo Dam at the entrance to the township, where legend has it the blood of the massacre victims flowed.

Other attractions include home-stays, food stalls, arts and crafts, Chis Nyama’s (Barbecue Restaurants), shebeens and jazz clubs.
All attractions can be enjoyed on a township tour offered by the Vaal Teknorama Museum (Vaaltek), located in Vereeniging: 016 450 3030.

Getting there: Sharpeville is situated about 14km from Vereeniging. Take the Houtkop Rd west from Vereeniging, turning left on to the R59 at Duncanville.