Populated by non-whites, predominantly Indians, until the 1970s, it was one of two adjacent suburbs (Pageview, and the portion of Vrededorp south of 11th Street[2][3] populated by non-whites) commonly known as Fietas.

Coloureds had managed to obtain some concessions from the Boer government of Paul Kruger, possibly because they shared the Afrikaans language.

Indians lived in the Coolie location, a slum west of the city, that was burned for sanitary reasons after an outbreak of bubonic plague in 1904.

[4][5][6][7] On 27 January 1942, the Malay Location Standholders and Traders Association requested the name of the township be changed to Pageview after Johannesburg Mayor J.J Page.

[5][6] Many homes were bulldozed, and housing for white people was built on some of the land, with large parts remaining undeveloped.