Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng

Vanderbijlpark at a glance

Vanderbijlpark is an industrial town with approximately 95 000 inhabitants, situated on the Vaal River in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa. The city is named after Hendrik van der Bijl, an electrical engineer and industrialist.

Vanderbijlpark is home to Vanderbijlpark Steel, previously part of the South African Iron and Steel Corporation (ISCOR), which subsequently became a subsidiary of the global company ArcelorMittal. With neighboring cities Vereeniging and Sasolburg, it forms the Vaal Triangle, historically a major industrial region of South Africa. It is situated in the local municipality of Emfuleni and district municipality of Sedibeng.

In 1920, Dr HJ van der Bijl, a young South African electrical engineer working in the United States at the time, was called back to South Africa by the then prime minister Jan Smuts to advise the government in the planning of South Africa's industrial development.^[2] Van der Bijl oversaw the Iron and Steel Corporation's first plant at Pretoria, but with the increased demand after World War II, 100 km² was bought to construct a large steel works and establish a model town. The steel works began operating in 1947 and the town was proclaimed in 1949.^[3] The town attained municipal status on 29 October 1952 when Governor General Dr EG Jansen opened ISCOR's second steel works.^[3]: 302 The founder of the town, Hendrik van der Bijl, had his old house situated in Grieg street, in the affluent SW 5 proper suburb.

Vanderbijlpark is situated on the highveld of South Africa, at 1,500 masl on the banks of the Vaal River. Summers in the city are warm to hot with an average high between 31 and 35°C, and an average low between 15 and 22°C. Winters in the city are cool to warm with an average high of between 18 and 23°C and an average low of between −1 and 5°C.