Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Clocolan (F 11)

Name: Clocolan

Google count: 59 200
Date: 1 Jan 2009

Historic fact:

Clocolan is named after the Hlohlowane Mountain, a Sesotho word for "ridge of the battle".
http://www.adventurezone.co.za/where_to_go/Town/Clocolan/549/
Other interesting info:

Where to stay:

Travel related info about Clocolan, a town in the Free State, South Africa. Routes: R26, R703, R708.
www.routes.co.za/fs/clocolan/index.html

The Station

http://www.sa-transport.co.za/trains/sa_stations/clocolan_stn_rn78.JPG

Cliffdale (L 13)

Name: Cliffdale
Natal
Google count: 2,060 for "Cliffdale".
Date: 1 Jan 2009

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Where to stay:

Monday, December 15, 2008

Clewer (H 8)

Name: Clewer

Clewer - Clewer, Mpumalanga, South Africa

Google count: 3,390 for Clewer
Date: 16 December 2008

Historic fact:

Churchill did not stay captive for long, however. Within two months he had escaped and stowed away on a coal train heading east in the direction of Mozambique. The following evening the train stopped at Clewer siding near Witbank (the Transvaal Highveld). Churchill decided to knock on some doors in search of food.

Fortune definitely favors the brave for the door he chose to knock on was that of John Howard. He was an Englishman and manager of the Transvaal and Delagoa Bay Colliery. Churchill was fed well and later hidden in the underground stables of the mine. The Boer forces were searching high and low. Still later he hid behind some packing cases in the office.

Read the whole story at: http://www.encounter.co.za/article/23.html

Other interesting info:

"The Telkom lines were stolen on 23 May 2008, according to Telkom website the problem should be retified by 20 Oct 2008. Nothing has been done and the call centre tells you that they are busy with the repairs. I cannot find any technician that are working on the lines, if you go to the Telkom Technical section in Witbank you are stopped by security at the gate and they refuse to let you in, it is impossible to obtain a satisfactory answer on this matter. We are on the small holdings at Clewer and a telephone is essencial for our security. I would like a possitive answes as soon as possible and the service re-installed..."

From: http://www.hellopeter.com/the_comment.asp?recid=220164

* Patching of potholes on the Kleinkopje link road near Clewer at a cost of R1 485 491.00. The project started in October 2001 and was completed in July 2002.



Where to stay:

Clewer B & B (http://www.witbankinfo.co.za/witbankemalahleni/accommodation/guesthousesbed_and_breakfasts/)
Situated in Clewer on the outskirts of Witbank/eMalahleni on the Pretoria Highway.

Sunday, December 14, 2008

Cleveland (G 9)

Name: Cleveland

http://www.clevelandbusinessforum.com/

Google count: 54,700 for Cleveland
Date: 14 Dec 2008

Historic fact:

Other interesting info:
Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/2263/818


Title: Jumper Deep Gold Mine
Author/s: Unknown
LC Subjects: Gold mines and mining -- South Africa -- Johannesburg -- History
Gold miners -- Housing -- South Africa -- Johannesburg -- History
Keywords: Cleveland station
Primrose Hill
Jumper Deep Gold Mine
Issue Date: 19-Sep-2006
Creation Date: 1895
Abstract: Photograph taken ca. 1898, showing Cleveland station and housing for European mine workers
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/2263/818
Rights: Complies with rights as specified by Collection Administrator.
Type: Still Image
Language: en
Appears in Collections: Birch Collection
https://www.up.ac.za/dspace/handle/2263/818

February 4, 2003
By Lucille Davie

CLEVELAND Police Station, one of the city's oldest police stations, is turning 100 this year.

Cleveland, a small suburb some eight kilometres east of the city, probably dates back to 1896, when Cleveland Railway Station appears in a report of the Railway Commissioner. It's likely that for some time there was not much else in Cleveland but the railway station, except for the rapidly growing population at Jumper's Mine, south of the railway line.

Although there was a police presence in the area from 1903, the police station was built in 1910. Jumper's Mine donated the use of mine property in the form of five rooms and stables, to the Cleveland police.

In 1903 the Commissioner of Police wrote to the "Secretary to the Law Department" stating, in his antiquated English, that he had opened a "Police Post" at Cleveland.

"I beg to inform you that I have opened a Police Post at Cleveland with a force of 2 Sergeants and 8 men. As the Public Works Department have been so long in arranging for land for a Police Station and as the establishment of a Police Post at Cleveland was very urgent I have been given the use of five rooms by the Manager of the Jumpers Gold Mining Company to be occupied by the men."

The Public Works Department had simply taken too long to provide the funds and approve the quote.

In 1904 iron and wood rooms were finally built, on the site where the present police station stands. And finally, in 1910, at a cost of £1 850, the police station went up: a charge office, three non-commissioned officers' rooms, 10 troopers' rooms, a mess room, a lavatory, a kitchen, a bathroom, latrines, and three cells.

H Tennant, Secretary to the Law Department, said in a letter to the Director of Public Works, Pretoria: "I shall be glad if you will be good enough to make arrangements to have these buildings erected at the estimated price." Jumper's Mine donated the land again, and Cleveland had its first formal police station.

These original buildings still stand. The main building is a long single storey structure, with an attractive pillared entrance on either side with a row of sash windows in between the two entrances. This façade is no longer visible as a high wall as been built a metre or two in front of it, with the new entrance now positioned around the back of the building.

The rest of the building is distinguished by attractive arches, long veranda corridors, four-metre tall wooden ceilings, slated wood-lined walls, fireplaces (some with their original small green tiles), and sash windows. The original kitchen is still in place although no longer in use, but it retains its wonderful coal stove and large stone basin.

The stables are part of a set of outbuildings (the police officers say they can still smell the horses), and the water furrows are still evident down one side inside the building. Another outbuilding consists of prison cells which have been converted, like the stables, into offices. The station has just had new cells added to the complex. Another building used to be a court, and is now used as a storeroom for recovered stolen goods.

In the 1960s an unattractive barracks was built south of the original buildings, and it still houses the officers who come from out of town.


The station in 2003
Nowadays the Cleveland Police Station polices an area of 40 square kilometres, in which some 240 000 people live. Senior Superintendent Eddie Mboweni, with 131 police officers, patrols this area, in which, says Mboweni, they have managed in the last two years to stabilise the crime rate.
Mboweni was transferred two years ago to Cleveland from Phalaborwa, where he was station commander. When he arrived at Cleveland the morale at the station was low, with several union leaders seemingly in charge. His attitude was one of "let's focus on work", and it has clearly turned the station around.

There's an atmosphere of friendliness amongst officers, and, judging by the smiles offered to strangers, they are clearly happy in their jobs. Mboweni encourages his team to be seen on the streets of their precinct, urging people to report crimes, and visit people at their homes.

What makes his team exceptional is that most of them don't live in the precinct they police - they're from Pretoria, Soweto, and as far as Limpopo, like Mboweni. This means that they live in the barracks and only occasionally see their families, so it's a tremendous credit to Mboweni that he has a motivated police force.

The area is a tough one to police: it includes a mix of hostels, squatters, a freeway, railway station, heavy, medium and light industry, and all ranges of residential accommodation.

But the Cleveland officers have another strong support arm - the Community Policing Forum (CPF) , who assist the police with 38 armed volunteers. The CPF's function is to liaise between the community, business and the police, and they have been very successful in further boosting the morale of the Cleveland force.

Robbie Taitz, who heads up the CPF, has managed to get a sponsored metal ramp for the disabled installed at the station. Another initiative is getting Spar supermarket to sponsor the station's monthly tea, coffee and biscuits.

Mboweni says he is on the brink of forming a centenary committee to bash around some ideas on how the station is to celebrate its birthday.

Where to stay:

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Claremont (A 16)

Name: Claremont

Google count: 214,000 for Claremont
Date: 14 Dec 08

Claremont Central: A vibrant experienceThe official website for the Claremont CBD and surrounds and of the Claremont Improvement District Company. This site provides business, service and leisure ...

Claremont, in the heart of the southern suburbs and situated only 9.5kms south of the city centre, is a bustling and popular suburb of Cape Town. This vibrant district, an important commercial and residential area, well known for its extensive shopping, dining and entertainment facilities - its biggest attractions - is currently experiencing significant growth and development. Home to Cavendish Square Shopping Centre and several corporate head offices, Claremont has entrenched its position as one of the most sought after residential, professional and commercial trading areas in the Western Cape.

www.claremontcentral.co.za/ -

Also

http://www.claremont.org.za/

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Where to stay:

Clairwood (M 14)

Name: Clairwood

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For years, the area suffered neglect under the apartheid government. The area was once a vibrant and busy suburb, but the residents have been ignored and the needs of rich businessmen have been promoted at their expense since the beginning of apartheid.

Residents hoped that with the new dispensation, and under the banner of Batho Pele " ( People First ) things would change. They didn’t. While the government was ‘consulting’, a number of illegal businesses started operating without licences, poisoning the residents. There has been a proliferation of Heavy Duty Trucking companies, Scrapyards, Panel beating / Spray boots, Granite Cutting, Waste Recycling, Oil Recycling, and many more. All of these make the neighbourhood unsafe for children.

http://www.abahlali.org/node/467


And

The Clairwood area is zoned as industrial and residential. With regards to the residential core, only 27 % of zoned sites actually operate as residential premises. 73% is of the zoned residential sites are not in residential use. Absent landowners, many of whom left the area years ago, have leased land to businesses, which has resulted in industrial creep and impacted on the social fabric of the area. Legal and illegal businesses are a growing and common occurrence with little success with enforcement.


http://www.ethekwini.gov.za/durban/government/munadmin/media/press/land_issue


In the belief that the Umgeni River was an insurmountable barrier to the. development of Durban to its north, Joseph invested his money in "God's good earth" close to the Clairwood railway station that had been built on the new railway line from Durban. He accordingly bought (probably for considerably more than it would have cost him to purchase the whole of the area subsequently developed by Durban North Estates as Durban North) an area of approximately twelve acres of land running along Montclair Road, Montclair. He established his home on some three acres of land at the south easterly corner of Montclair Road and Southwold Avenue, Montclair, where he built a large double-storied home which he called "Grace Villa" after his eldest child Grace. He surrounded his home with a cavort hedge, which by the time of his death was some seven foot high and which, until approximately a year or so prior to his death, Joseph himself used to trim.

http://www.theclarksofclarkroad.com/papers_book6.html
Where to stay:

City Deep (G9)

Name: City Deep

Google count: 65,500 for City Deep
Date: 14 Dec 2008

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Other interesting info:
City Deep was declared an inland port in 1977, and a Border Police Unit was established there some months later,133 in response to complaints that containers were being tampered with, systems management was lax, and control procedures were not being followed. There were also allegations that the smuggling of goods was widespread at City Deep. However, the Border Police Unit made an immediate impact. In the first few months they achieved considerable success in controlling smuggling. Currently confiscations are showing a steady decline in number and volume, which has led the police to conclude that smuggling has either been curbed or has been transferred to other routes.

The goods inspection system used at City Deep is similar to that at Durban Harbour. Members of the Border Police City Deep unit make use of the profiling system, information received and crime pattern analysis to select items of cargo requiring inspection. Alternatively, they are alerted by the ‘silent stops’ placed on consignments by either the Border Police or Customs and Excise at Durban Harbour. At City Deep customs officials place their own stops on containers and undertake their own inspections, especially on high profile cases. In addition, they can instruct the Border Police to act.

There are, however, some differences between procedures at Durban and City Deep, since a larger proportion of containers passing through the latter have other southern African countries as their destinations. Such consignments (referred to as Removed-in-Transit or RIT goods) can be opened and inspected within the normal customs process; but by international law and agreement they should be allowed unfettered transit.134

http://www.iss.co.za/Pubs/Monographs/No84/Chap5.html
Where to stay:

Christiana (D10)

Name: Christiana

Christiana is on the N12 between and Bloemhof and Warrenton, ... Named after Christiana, the only daughter of the then President Pretorius. ...
www.tourismnorthwest.co.za/southern/christiana.html -

When diamonds were discovered in the Vaal River in the 1870s the former Transvaal Government hastily established a settlement on the banks of the river, in an attempt to control and alleviate land disputes over diamond discoveries further down the Vaal River. This town was established on the farm Zoutpansdrift (salt pan drift) and named Christiana, after the only daughter of President Pretorius of the old Transvaal. The first residential stands were sold in 1870.

Two years later diamonds were discovered in the gravel of the Vaal River close by and the inevitable manic rush followed. As usual the initial rush petered with the diamonds, although some are still found from time to time.

These days the mainstay of the economy is the production of beef, maize, sorghum, groundnuts and cotton.

Tourist attractions include the Diggers' Diamond Museum (authentic digging equipment and old photographs pay tribute to the town's diamond industry) and San Bushman Rock Art (excellent examples can be viewed 6km out of town on the Farm Stowlands) and Stows Kopje (prehistoric rock engravings which have been declared a national monument).



Google count: 102,000 for Christiana
Date: 14 december 2008

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Where to stay: Protea Hotel Christiana

Choma (E4)

Name: Choma
Choma is a market town in the Southern Province of Zambia, lying on the main road and railway from Lusaka to Livingstone.
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Where to stay:

Train