Secunda is a town situated amidst the coalfields of the Mpumalanga province of South Africa. It was named Secunda as it was the site of the second Sasol synthetic fuel plant to produce oil from coal, following the first facility in Sasolburg, located approximately 140 kilometres (87 mi) to the west.
In 1974, Sasol (Transvaal) Townships Limited, a subsidiary of Sasol Limited, was instructed to establish and develop the town of Secunda. After the site for the Sasol industrial complex had been identified, a decision had to be made on whether to incorporate the existing towns of Evander and Trichardt into the development. Due to the significant financial and administrative strain such an amalgamation would have placed on the established communities, as well as concerns about the pace of development, it was ultimately decided to develop Trichardt and Secunda as a single, unified town under the name Secunda. Evander remained a separate town.
On 28 June 1976, the first section of the town was officially proclaimed, and the first resident moved in that same year. Mr Etienne Prop Smith became the first resident, moving into Tuynhuys, the original farmhouse of Goedehoop, the farm on which Secunda was established.
One of the refineries at the Sasol complex was the target of two attempted bombings by the African National Congress (ANC). The first attempt, in 1980, was unsuccessful. The second bombing, carried out a few years later, was partially successful. Patrick Chamusso, initially wrongly accused and arrested in connection with the first incident, later joined the ANC following his arrest and torture. He subsequently played a key role in the second bombing as part of the ANC’s campaign of attacks on South African industrial infrastructure. These events are depicted in the 2006 film Catch a Fire.
