About

Merafong's historical development is closely knit with the discovery of rich gold reefs in the early nineteen thirties. The three towns of Carletonville, Fochville and Wedela each developed as individual entities with their own characteristics.

Fochville is the oldest unit, established by two residents, Messer's Wulfson and Horvitch and was declared a town in 1951.

A mine engineer from a gold mining company Gold Fields, Guy Carleton Jones, played a prominent role in the discovery of the so-called West Wits line Gold Reef, of which Carletonville forms part. The town Carletonvile was named after him. As a result of the strategic location and already developed Oberholzer district, the Gold Fields Mine Group decided in November 1946 to establish a town. Carletonville was proclaimed in 1948 and attained Town Council Status on 1 July 1959.

Wedela was established as a mining village, many years later in December 1978, by Mr. Harry Oppenheimer. The town is situated between Western Deep Levels and Elandsrand Gold Mine. The towns name is derived from the prefixes of the two mines, namely the Wed of Western Deep Levels and the -ela of Elandsrand. Municipal status was granted to Wedela on 1 January 1990.

Attached to Fochville and Carletonville are also the towns of Khutsong, Kokosi and Greenspark, Welverdiend, and Blybank.