Community Services

The first inhabitants of this area were Stone Age hunter-gatherers who roamed here some 50 000 years ago.

Today Benoni has a cosmopolitan population of about 560 000.

Benoni began as a mining camp after gold was discovered in 1887 and the town was once surrounded by seven of the world's richest gold mines. Sadly the last of these mines closed in 1964.

For many decades the 92m high Kleinfontein mine dump was the highest man-made edifice in Benoni.

Benoni from the Kleinfontein mine dump before the Lakeside Mall was constructed

Our "City of Lakes" as it is now known, was proclaimed a municipality in 1907 and achieved city status in October 1992. Benoni lies at an altitude of 1 645m and has an average rainfall 723mm per year The rain in this region drains into the Blesbokspruit and eventually reaches the Atlantic Ocean at Alexander Bay.

Benoni is situated next to one of the world's seven proclaimed wetland areas and attracts a large variety of indigenous and migratory waterfowl. The city has excellent tourist accommodation with about 50 guesthouses and hotels and attracts many business tourists due to its convenient location. It is close to Johannesburg International Airport and has easy access to the N12 and R77 highways.