About Centurion

The Sterkfontein Caves is a World Heritage Site less than 50 km from Centurion. Fossils discovered here show that hominids lived in the vicinity of Centurion between 2 to 3 million years ago.

The Erasmus family arrived and settled in the area in 1841. Several of the suburbs like Elardus Park, Zwartkop, Doornkloof and Erasmia were named after these 19th century owners of the land.

Irene Concentration Camp was established on the farm Doornkloof during the Second Boer War. Boer children and women were housed under extremely poor conditions. The camp had 5,500 inhabitants, mostly women and children. During the war, 1249 people lost their lives here, approximately 1000 of them were children. The Irene Camp Cemetery contains well preserved original slate tombstones that were carved by hand in the camp.

In 1962, Centurion was granted City Council status as Lyttelton. It was formed by combining the areas of Lyttelton, Irene and Doornkloof. In 2000, it became part of the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality.

In 1967, Lyttelton was renamed Verwoerdburg after Hendrik Verwoerd. As the surrounding areas grew, they came under the same name and Lyttelton became a suburb of Verwoerdburg. Others included Zwartkops, Eldoraigne, Clubview, Wierdapark and their extensions.

The name Centurion was presumably chosen by residents in 1995 to match the name of the Centurion Park cricket ground located in the area. Following the end of Apartheid, Laudium and surrounding suburbs including Claudius and Erasmia, which were formerly a part of Pretoria, were made part of Centurion

Centurion Geography and Climate

The Hennops River flows through the heart of Centurion, and causes occasional flooding when heavy rainfall has occurred. Suburbs of Centurion include Clubview, Lyttelton, Sunderland Ridge, Irene, Raslouw, Rooihuiskraal, Wierda Park, Doringkloof, Eldoraigne and Zwartkop. Centurion is located on the Highveld like Pretoria and Johannesburg and has a similar climate, with sunny, dry winters, and warm to hot summers tempered by late-afternoon showers often accompanied by spectacular lightning and thunder. Hailstorms are not uncommon, but a serious hailstorm has not happened for many years. Summer temperatures range from the mid 20's to the mid 30's. Centurion's temperature tends to follow the slightly warmer Pretoria, when compared to that of Johannesburg.