Benoni

Description

Benoni is a city on the East Rand of the Gauteng province and is home to 654,00 inhabitants. Benoni is diverse, occupied by people of every colour and denomination. Gold mining used to be the mainstay of Benoni, but it has decreased in importance over the years. Today the town is focused more on industry and services and is the service hub of other East Rand towns such as Brakpan, Nigel and Springs. World famous Oscar winning actress, Charlize Theron, was born in Benoni.

The city was founded in 1881, when surveyor general, Johan Rissik found it difficult to assign title deeds to all unclaimed state property. He named a piece of land in the area, Government Farm Benoni (son of my sorrow), after the Hebrew name given by Rachel to her son in the biblical Book of Genesis. In September 1887, gold was discovered and the Chimes Mine was established by Cornishmen and the village became known as "Little Cornwall" for a time.

In 1907 the Benoni Race Track was opened with great pomp, and today Benoni is believed to have more horse stables per square kilometer than any other place in the Southern Hemisphere.