32 years ago, the area of Midrand evolved – making this now populous region seem rather young in a country steeped in heritage and historical notoriety. Since its inception, it has seen quite an insurgence of growth, possibly because of its prime positioning between Johannesburg and Pretoria, which originally earned it the name “Halfway House”. Following the end of Apartheid, the town officially became part of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in 2000, signalling the loss of its independence. The town has seen particular growth in the last decade or so, due to many people seeing the proximal value of the area to many of the major highways and bi-ways that connect Pretoria and Johannesburg. Midrand is actually used to name all the suburbs around the N1 highway – those north of the Jukskei River, up until the border of Twshane. Some say that Midrand has negated the divide between Johannesburg and Pretoria, putting it in the heart of the economic and business hub of South Africa. Experts believe that this cross pollination will result in the three areas resembling a city by 2015. At the moment, Midrand encompasses the following suburbs: Country View, Halfway house, Glen Austin, Carlswald, Kyalami, Vorna valley and Crowthorne. Midrand is now popular for its estate living, a trend that is fast hitting South Africa and many business people are choosing to stay here to flee the hustle and bustle of busy city life. Commuting from Midrand has always been easy, as mentioned before, due to it being situated alongside the N1 and other major roads. Its modern transport improvements have seen the addition of a Gautrain stop as well as the Grand Central airport. Its airspace is also popular amongst the South African Aviation Authority whose headquarters can be found in Midrand. It’s also home to the largest conference centre in South Africa known internationally and locally as Gallagher Estate. More recently, Midrand became the home of the largest Mosque in South Africa, the Nizamiye Mosque. Both these prominent features have thrust the area into the future and with South Africa firmly on the international business market map; this somewhat young area will continue to see favourable growth.
