About Bonaero Park

About Bonaero Park

Bonaero Park is a middle-income suburb of Kempton Park situated to the southeast of Kempton Park Town Centre, located on the eastern boundary of OR Tambo Airport. The land itself originally formed part of the Witkoppie farm. It was purchased in the late 1800s by a syndicate which included Cecil John Rhodes to exploit the property for gold, which proved unsuccessful. They later developed a timber plantation to supply timber to the rapidly developing Witwatersrand gold mines. The Witkoppie farm, which later became Jan Smuts Airport, also included Bonaero Park, Blaawpan, and Impala Park.

The establishment of Bonaero Park in the early 1960s was to house the employees of the nearby military factory, Atlas Aircraft Corporation, in the early days. The majority of Bonaero Park residents were immigrants. Bonaero Park’s expansion was planned in the 1970s, with development commencing only in the 1980s due to the high water table and drainage problems from the airport.

The Vlei area was converted into a stream, fed from a permanent spring located beneath O.R. Tambo Airport. This spring is one of the cleanest natural springs in Gauteng, feeding into Blaauwpan Dam, which eventually feeds into the Blesbok Spruit, a protected wetland site in South Africa. The abundance of natural spring water, trees, and open space offers the ideal environment for a large variety of birds and animals, as well as a tranquil area for children and families to enjoy the outdoors.