’Christian compounds for girls’: church hostels for African women in Johannesburg, 1907–1970

Compounds in the mining industry gave Rand and Kimberley capitalists a vital means of industrial and police control of their labour force, as well as enabling them “to provide amenities such as recreation and health supervision” (1), no less important for the smooth running of the mines. Local authorities adapted this idea, in open compounds for casual labourers and, as Davenport has noted, 'it was a short step from the municipal compound to the “native hostel”, which became a common feature of municipal locations in the larger centres under the stimulus of the Urban Areas Act of 1923.'(2) This paper examines three hostels for African women which were established in Johannesburg by missionaries of the Anglican and Methodist Churches, and the American Board Mission.