17-584: The Oriental Plaza , known locally as the Plaza is a large shopping centre and tourist attraction in Fordsburg , a suburb of Johannesburg , South Africa . Consisting of multiple connected malls, it was created for Indian traders who were forcibly removed from nearby Fietas by the apartheid government. Fourteenth Street in Fietas was a thriving business node, with shops owned by Indian businessmen. However,
34-533: A Kosher butchery , chevra kadisha , welfare organisations and Bet midrash . Fordsburg was the site of a miners strike by Afrikaner nationalists and many Communists. Mine bosses insisted on using African labour in the mines. White workers opposed this policy, and Smuts called in the troops and airforce. This strike is also known as the Rand Rebellion . A plaque in Fordsburg Square records
51-765: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Rand Rebellion The Rand Rebellion ( Afrikaans : Rand-rebellie ; also known as the 1922 strike ) was an armed uprising of white miners in the Witwatersrand region of South Africa , in March ;1922. Jimmy Green , a prominent politician in the Labour Party , was one of the leaders of the strike. Following a drop in the world price of gold from 130 shillings (£6 10s) per fine troy ounce in 1919 to 95s/oz (£4 15s) in December ;1921,
68-567: Is a major attraction in Fordsburg. The suburb was portrayed in the 2012 film Material , which highlighted some of the cultural, racial and religious issues still facing South Africa's post-apartheid society From the earliest days of Johannesburg, the suburb housed a large Jewish community - with the Fordsburg/Mayfair Hebrew Congregation established in 1893 [1] - as well as associated institutions such as
85-522: Is also complex of shops in Marabastad , Pretoria (Asiatic Bazaar) that shares a similar history to the Oriental Plaza. This article about a shopping mall is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Johannesburg -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Fordsburg Fordsburg is a suburb of Johannesburg , South Africa . It
102-579: Is located in Region F of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality . Fordsburg is a residential suburb, although housing numerous shops and factories. Today, Fordsburg is a major centre of Indian and Pakistani culture, with a large number of halal restaurants. The Oriental Plaza , located in Fordsburg, was created by the Apartheid government as a large shopping centre for Indian-owned shops, and
119-769: The Industrial Conciliation Act 1924 , Wage Act 1925 and Mines and Works Amendment Act 1926 , which recognised white trade unions and reinforced the colour bar. Under instruction from the Comintern , the CPSA reversed its attitude toward the white working class and adopted a new 'Native Republic' policy. After the strike, 18 strikers were sentenced to death for murder, of which 14 were reprieved. The four men to not be reprieved, were Carel Christian Stassen, Taffy Long, Herbert Hull, and David Lewis, were all executed by hanging at Pretoria Central Prison . Stassen
136-520: The Johannesburg suburbs of Fordsburg and Jeppe . The young Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA) took an active part in the uprising on grounds of class struggle whilst reportedly opposing racist aspects of the strike, as did the syndicalists . The racist aspect was typified by the slogan; " Workers of the world, unite and fight for a white South Africa! " and by several organised attacks against blacks. Several Communists and syndicalists,
153-562: The air force tried to bomb but missed and hit a local church. However, the army's bombardment finally overcame them. Lieutenant Colonel Llewellyn Andersson's role in creating the Union Defence Force was instrumental in crushing the rebellion. Smuts' actions caused a political backlash, and in the 1924 elections his South African Party lost to a coalition of the National Party and Labour Party. They introduced
170-646: The anthem of early socialists and communists in South Africa. He was joined in the song by the other two men. As they walked, all the prisoners sang with them. A TV series in 8 episodes produced by the SABC in 1984 and entitled 1922 , tells this part of South African history. In Agatha Christie's The Man in the Brown Suit , published in 1924, the Rand Rebellion is mentioned both by name and as
187-585: The apartheid government insisted, against objections by officials of the Johannesburg City Council, that the area would be "white" under the Group Areas Act . Initially all traders were to be removed to Lenasia , however, a plan was devised by the government's Department of Community Development, and the council, resulted in the development of the Oriental Plaza as a large shopping centre in Fordsburg. Development began in 1971, and it
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#1732772783701204-435: The companies tried to cut their operating costs by decreasing wages, and by weakening the colour bar by promoting cheaper black mine workers to skilled and supervisory positions. The rebellion started as a strike by white mine workers on 28 December 1921 and shortly thereafter, it became an open rebellion against the state. Subsequently the workers, who had armed themselves, took over the cities of Benoni and Brakpan , and
221-439: The latter including the strike leaders Percy Fisher and Harry Spendiff, were killed as the rebellion was quelled by the Union Defence Force . The rebellion was eventually put down by "considerable military firepower and at the cost of over 200 lives". Prime Minister Jan Smuts crushed the rebellion with 20,000 troops, artillery, tanks, and bomber aircraft. By this time the rebels had dug trenches across Fordsburg Square and
238-591: The people who were killed there in the last battle of the rebellion. Writer Herman Charles Bosman and playwright Athol Fugard , as well as anti-apartheid activists such as Yusuf Dadoo , GM Naiker and Nelson Mandela spent time in Fordsburg. "In 1987, writer/composer Mbongeni Ngema rehearsed his new musical Sarafina! there, in preparation for a run at the Market Theatre and then Lincoln Center Theater in New York. This Johannesburg -related article
255-468: Was completed in 1975, with the earliest merchants taking occupation in 1974. The compensation paid to Indian merchants who were evicted from businesses throughout Johannesburg was inadequate, however they were pressured into moving into the plaza. Café (convenience store) owners and general dealers were forced to create shops that sold goods which appealed to white customers, and to compete with merchants who were more experienced in selling those lines. Business
272-406: Was hanged on October 5, 1922, while the other three men were hanged together on November 17, 1922. He was convicted of killing two black men, John Setsuta and John McKenzie, in what witnesses said were racially motivated killings. Long was convicted of killing a police informant, while Hull and Lewis were convicted of killing a soldier. As they marched to the gallows, Long began singing the "Red Flag",
289-553: Was initially tightly controlled by the department, and shops were not allowed to merge. By the 1980s, restrictions eased, and owners were able to buy their premises. Red Square , a political meeting place in the 1940s and 1950s is now covered by Car Park 4 and the South Mall of the Oriental Plaza. The Plaza features in the 2012 movie Material , starring Riaad Moosa . There is an Oriental Plaza in Ferndale , Randburg . There
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