Contact Artefacts please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record.	Menu Home Upfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon		British South African Explosives Company Recreation Centre Modderfontein, Gauteng

Date: 1905 Type: Recreation Centre Status: Extant   Click to view large map Coordinates: 26°05'50.94" S 28°09'57.30" E Alt: 1600m

See more photographs Now the Regus Business Centre Dubbed by the locals 'The Casino' (Italian for 'recreation'). Background Modderfontein village dates back to 1894. With the advent of underground mining on the Rand and the associated need to manufacture and sell dynamite, a dynamite factory was established by the German ‘De Zuid Afrikaansche Fabrieken Voor Ontplofbare Stoffen Beperkt’ officially opened in the then ZAR (Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek) by Paul Kruger in 1896. This resulted in, what is colloquially referred to as, the Modderfontein Dynamite Factory. As factory workers settled within the vicinity the need for additional facilities grew. Modderfontein village was established to meet the growing needs of the industry. The original German owners recruited immigrants from all over Europe. The historic suburb of Modderfontein grew up around the factory as the residential area for the factory staff, of which many properties survive from this period. In 1903, after the South African (Anglo-Boer) War, the name changed to ‘The Nobel Dynamite Trust’. In this time there was also the ‘British South African Explosives Industries.’ In 1920 ‘African Explosives’ and the ‘Nobel Trust’ formed a joint company called ‘African Explosives and Industries Ltd’. The construction of an ammonia plant in 1932 site saw a significant improvement in ammonium-based explosives. Due to this development, in 1944 the company changed its name to 'African Explosives and Chemical Industries' (AECI) Limited. Between 1968 and 1971 there were further advances in explosives technology, reducing the need for large buffer zones around explosives testing sites, providing the opportunity to develop the Modderfontein site for residential and commercial purposes. Recently, AECI sold 1 600 hectares of land and buildings, to developer Shanghai Zendai, who are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. They plan a modern R84 billion development enhanced with smart city elements. This metropolis will be named ‘Modderfontein New City’. Zendai Development SA is committed to retaining the identified Heritage Buildings and plans to develop a Heritage Village which includes various cultural and recreational offerings. Recreation Centre In 1906 it was stated: "There is good housing for the administrative staff and the working hands, and a school attended by upwards of 100 children. Both officials and workmen have their club, and there is a library provided by the Company for the use of its employees." (Source: Transvaal Encyclopaedia, 1906) The first recreation club, built around 1905, served the social needs of miners and factory workers. It was used for diverse purposes, sometimes acting as a school, and was a focal point for the close-knit community. The club and surrounding buildings contain historic elements, including murals painted by Italian Prisoners of War (POWs) during the World War II era.