Fighters for Palestinian liberation commonly draw on the legacy of the revolt that overthrew Apartheid in South Africa. This talk examines the origins of the Apartheid system in the development of the highly profitable gold mines of the Transvaal in the late 19th century. It looks at the explosive struggles of the subsequent years, the emergence of the working class movement and the role of the left and ruling class forces up until the imposition of "official" Apartheid by the Nationalist government in 1948.