| Short Title: | Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, 1953 |
| Long Title: | Act to provide for the reservation of public premises and vehicles or portions thereof for the exclusive use of persons of a particular race or class, for the interpretation of laws which provide for such reservation, and for matters incidental thereto. |
| Citation: | Act No. 49 of 1948 |
| Enacted By: | Parliament of South Africa |
| Date Enacted: | 9 October 1953 |
| Royal Assent: | 5 October 1953 |
| Date Commenced: | 9 October 1953 |
| Date Repealed: | 15 October 1990 |
| Repealed By: | Discriminatory Legislation regarding Public Amenities Repeal Act, 1990 |
| Status: | repealed |
Separate Amenities Act, Act No 49 of 1953, formed part of the apartheid system of racial segregation in South Africa. Act legalized the racial segregation of public premises, vehicles and services. Only public roads and streets were excluded from the Act. The Section 3b of the Act stated that, the facilities for different races did not need to be equal, while Section 3a, made it legal not only to supply segregated facilities, but also to completely exclude people, based on their race, from public premises, vehicles or services. In practice the best facilities were reserved for whites while those for other races were inferior.[1] [2] [3]
Municipalities quickly made use of the Act to pass by-laws that reserved certain areas for whites only.
A notable exception to the segregation that was implemented following the Act was the Johannesburg Zoo and Zoo Lake. Due to requirements in the "Deed of Gift", under which the land for the zoo and lake was acquired, segregation was not permitted and consequently the zoo and public park where the lake is located was open to all races from the time they were established.[4]
On 20 June 1990, the South African Parliament voted to repeal the Act,[5] and on 15 October 1990, it was finally repealed by the Discriminatory Legislation regarding Public Amenities Repeal Act.[6] [7]