Vereeniging (T 2627 DB). Industrial town on the Vaal River, some 50 km’s south of Johannesburg. It came into being following the discovery of coal, was established on the farms Klipplaatsdrift and Leeuwkuil in 1882, proclaimed a town in 1892 and became a municipality in 1912. Dutch for ‘association’, the name is derived from that of the company De ZuidAfrikaansche en Oranje Vrijstaatsche Kolen- en Mineralen-Mijn Vereeniging.

Municipal Area

Vereeniging is part of the Emfuleni Local Municipality which is a Category B municipality situated in the Sedibeng District in the Gauteng Province. It is the westernmost local municipality of the district, which covers the entire southern area of the Gauteng Province, extending along a 120km axis from east to west.
The Vaal River forms the southern boundary. Emfuleni shares boundaries with the City of Johannesburg Metro to the north, Metsimaholo in the Free State to the south, Midvaal to the east, and Rand West City and JB Marks (in the North West Province) to the west.

The Emfuleni Local Municipality is rich in history as it encapsulates the Anglo-Boer War, with heritage assets such as the Sharpeville monument and the liberation struggle epitomised by the signing of the Constitution in 1996 in Sharpeville.

The municipality is strategically located, with access to a well-maintained road network – the N1 linking Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, and traversing Emfuleni. Sasolburg forms the heartland of what was formerly known as the Vaal Triangle, renowned for its contribution to the iron and steel industry in South Africa. Its location also affords it many opportunities for tourism and other forms of economic development.

Area: 966km²

Cities/Towns: Evaton, Sebokeng, Vaal Oewer, Vanderbijlpark, Vereeniging

Some distances to towns nearby:

Meyerton is a small town 16 km north-east of Vereeniging and 55 km west-south-west of Heidelberg.

Viljoensdrif is a Coalmining village 8 km south of Vereeniging.

The Vaal Dam in the Vaal River,  Free State border, between Deneysville and Villiers. Constructed in 1935 at a cost of R3 264 000. Supplies the Pretoria, Witwatersrand Vereeniging Complex. Takes its name from the Vaal River.

Vanderbijlpark town on the Vaal River, 13 km west of Vereeniging and 65 km south-west of Johannesburg.

Key Statistics 2011