Commemorative Cup, Coronation ERii

Commemorative Cup, Coronation ERII

Date 1953 Origin England Size 90mm x 110mm x 80mm Acquired May 2021 From Russel Kaplan Auctioneers Price R300 for lot of porcelain

Johannesburg

“Johannesburg. Largest city in Southern Africa and third largest in Africa (Cairo has a population of over 2,000,000 and Alexandria of nearly 2,000,000). Population estimate (June 1963): 1,224,000, including 428,000 Whites, 699,000 Bantu, 66,000 Coloured and 31,000 Asiatics. Johannesburg came into existence early in 1886, when the first tents were pitched in Ferreira’s Camp. The first township was laid out on the farm, Randjieslaagte, between October 19, 1886, and November 3, 1886, and on November 18, 1886, the sale of the new ‘standsdorp,’ took place. The city was called after Field Cornet Johannes Petrus Meyer, according to the researches of the late James Gray. The growth of the new community proceeded at a fantastic rate, and within a year the population was estimated at 10,000. Between Natal Camp (now Jeppestown) and Ferreira’s Camp was laid out the central township of Johannesburg. Extensions were soon proclaimed in Marshall’s to the south, Braamfontein to the north and elsewhere. By 1889 the city already had horse-trams, and in 1890 the first electric light installations appeared. Joubert Park became the first official lung, and in the early 1890s fashionable suburbs developed on Hospital Hill and in Parktown. By 1895 Johannesburg had 100,000 people of all races, about half of whom were European. Notwithstanding this spectacular growth, the Boer authorities declined to give it municipal status, and administration continued with an inadequate Sanitary Committee, dating back to the very beginning of the community. In 1897 a modified form of municipal administration was adopted, under a Boer-appointed burgomaster. This condition continued until the South African War. On May 31st, 1900, Johannesburg was occupied by the British and was placed under military rule, which continued until 1901. Lord Milner, who believed in the great future of the city, made his headquarters there. Although the administration was later transferred to Pretoria, that of the Railways and the Mines remained. In 1904 Johannesburg received its first elected Town Council, and a system of government was adopted which still exists. Numerous outlaying suburbs were amalgamated and the area of the city extended from 8 to over 80 sq. miles. Tram lines were laid out to the north and south, and in 1906 the system was electrified. Spectacular growth continued, and the population rose to 237,000 in 1911 and to 381,000 in 1931. The foundation stone of the present City Hall was laid in 1910 by the Duke of Connaught, and the building completed in 1915. In 1922 the Transvaal University College, which had become the South African School of Mines, became the University of the Witwatersrand, which today has over 4,000 students. The total area of Johannesburg has grown to 93.66 sq. miles, or 59,939 acres. The highest point of the city is Observatory Hill, 5,925 feet above sea-level, and the lowest, near the Zoo Lake, nearly 1,000 feet less. Over 5,690 acres are