PRETORIA, administrative capital of the Union of South Africa. Pop. (1921) 24,794 natives, 1,757 Asiatics, 2,140 coloured and 45,361 whites, the latter increasing by 1931 to 47,322. The city is built in a hollow, about the Aapies river, a tributary of the Limpopo. Pretoria is laid out in rectangular blocks. At the centre is Church square, on the south side of which are the Provincial Council buildings and other public offices, erected in 1892 in the Renaissance style. On the north side are the law courts and on the west the post office. The Union Government building built 1910-13 on Meintje's kop cost .11,800,000 and over looks the city. It accommodates the governor-general and more than i,000 officials. The lower slopes of the hill are laid out in beautiful terraced gardens. The city has several parks and sports grounds, including Burger park, and the zoological gardens. Signal hill rises 400 ft. above the plain, west of Burger park. The plateau at its foot is now occupied by the central railway station and workshops. There is an Anglican cathedral, several high schools, a normal training college, and the Transvaal university college, which includes an agricultural faculty and an experi mental farm. Cement and iron are produced locally.
Pretoria was founded in 1855 and was made the centre of a new district created at the same time. By treaty between the South
African Republic (then comprising the districts of Potchefstroom, Rustenburg, Pretoria and Zoutpansberg) and the Republic of Lydenburg, concluded at Pretoria in 186o, the two republics were united and Pretoria was chosen as the capital of the whole State. In September of that year the V olksraad held its first meeting in the new capital. Until 1864, however, when the civil war in the Transvaal ended, Potchefstroom remained the virtual capital of the country. From that year the seat of government has always been Pretoria. As revenue flowed in from the gold mines on the Rand, many buildings were erected in the capital, which was linked by railway with Cape Town in 1893 and with Lorene() Marques and Durban in 1895. In May, 1900, Kruger fled from the town, which surrendered in June to Lord Roberts. On May 31, 1902, the articles of peace, whereby the Boer leaders recog nized British sovereignty, were signed at Pretoria, and five years later there assembled here the first parliament of the Transvaal, as a self-governing State of the British empire. On the establish ment of the Union of South Africa in 1910, Pretoria became its administrative capital.