The Afrikaans Language and Culture Association (Afrikaans: Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging), ATKV, is a society that aims to promote the Afrikaans language and culture. The association was founded in 1930 in Cape Town. Since its inception and up to the end of Apartheid in 1994, membership was only open to members of the Afrikaner Christian community. Membership was thereafter opened to include people of all ethnicities, sharing the same values as the ATKV (i.e. speaking Afrikaans and belonging to the Christian faith). History The Witwatersrand Gold Rush of 1886 and Anglo Boer War (1899–1902) resulted in an influx of foreigners to the Zuid Afrikaanse Republiek. Because the Boer Republics became British colonies right after the Anglo Boer War, the Afrikaners felt marginalised and stigmatised. This culminated in the mass urbanisation of unskilled Afrikaners during the great depression years. Like many British soldiers and immigrants the impoverished Afrikaners found refuge in the former South African Railways. Provision was made for them by the South African Government in railway camps (a forerunner of the Apartheid Township) later known as "Spoorwegkampe". The combination of the above factors caused the Afrikaners to fear erosion of their culture and language. In 1930 Edwin Robert Carney and Sybrand (Sybie) Jacobus van der Spuy started talking about an association for Afrikaners. Van der Spuy felt that an Afrikaans debate association would be sufficient. Edwin Carney showed preference to the idea of an Afrikaans language and culture association because in his opinion such an association would have more bargaining power to the authorities. On Tuesday, 19 August 1930, twelve Afrikaners from different sections of the railway services met in Cape Town and the Afrikaans Language and Cultural Association (ATKV) was founded. Sybie van der Spuy was chosen as the first chairman and HJ Kamerman as the first secretary of the newly founded ATKV. Controversy The ATKV has been controversial on membership issues in the past, most notably: In 2000 the ATKV rejected two applicants because they did not comply with the organisation's policy that members had to belong to the Christian faith. Again, in 2004 the ATKV was as the center of a membership issue when it denied a Muslim couple membership to its Goudini spa. Fritz Kok (managing director of the organisation at that time) said: "We do not exclude other religious beliefs and cultures from participating in projects and festivals which we run throughout the year.