Salt River, Cape Town

Salt River is a suburb of Cape Town, located near Table Bay, to the east of Cape Town's central business district. Salt River is served by a railway station of the same name, and has the postcode 7925. It is noted for its association with the clothing and textiles industry. The name Salt River is a translation of the Dutch "Soutrivier".HistoryOnce a booming part of Cape Town because of its close proximity to the CBD, Salt River was the industrial heart of Cape Town.The steel and locomotive industries were important in the suburbs' early development due to the expansion of the rail network in the early 1900s.Up until the late 1980s prominent industries also included textile and clothing manufacturing. However, due to the influx of cheaper, imported clothing many of the clothing factories closed and are being redeveloped.Due to Salt River's proximity to central Cape Town and large manufacturing plants, the suburb became popular with Cape Malays and the so-called coloured working class. Most of the Cape Malays and "coloureds" moved here from District 6 in the late 1950s and early 1960s, even before the "forced removals" from District 6, c. 1967. Cape Malays and "coloureds" could buy houses in Salt River but Indians could not. However Indians were allowed to live in Salt River provided they buy or rent a house attached to a corner grocer shop. On almost every corner in Salt River there used to be grocer shops where people could buy daily necessities over the counter. Today Salt River is still largely populated by second and third generations of Cape Malay and "Coloured" families. "Coloured" people are mostly of the Christian faith. Salt River is known to be one of the most religiously tolerant suburbs in the Cape, with Cape Malays, who are of the Muslim faith and "coloured" Christians getting along very well. There are several churches in the area and two mosques (Masjids)- one in Tennyson Street (Muhammadiyah Masjid) and one in Addison Road.