Oaklands is an affluent suburb of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Dem ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. It is located in

Johannesburg Region E The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite services for the city. Z ...

. It is a small suburb surrounded by the suburbs of

Houghton Estate Houghton Estate, often simply called Houghton is an affluent suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, north-east of the city centre. It is best known for being the home of Nelson Mandela. History Houghton was developed as a residential area aroun ...

, Norwood,

Orchards An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of lar ...

, The Gardens and

Highlands North Highlands North is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. It is located in Johannesburg Region E. It is a small suburb surrounded by the suburbs of Oaklands, Waverly, Glenhazel and Orchards. History The suburb was laid out in 1903. Its name m ...

History

Oaklands came into existence in 1896. The lands owner prior to it being surveyed as a township was

William Anderson Martin William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Eng ...

and purchased in 1896, consisting of 18 acres of what is now known as Oaklands and Orchards. Martin would own a large house in suburb called Avonmore a would live there until his death in 1960. The eastern border of the suburb, bounded by Orchards is separated by a seasonal ''spruit'' (stream) that has its source in the Houghton Golf Club and with a possible further source on the ridge above

Louis Botha Avenue Louis Botha Avenue (part of Johannesburg Metropolitan Route '' M11'') is a major street in Johannesburg, South Africa. Originally part of the main road between central Johannesburg and Pretoria, it runs along through the north-eastern parts of ...

close to Fellside. Most of the stream through the suburb is now either underground or canalized with it eventually forming up with the ''Orange Grove Spruit'' and entering the ''Sandspruit'' river.

References

Johannesburg Region E {{Johannesburg-stub