Treforys: "A Sort of Johannesburg". Really?

If you've ever come across the abandoned village of Treforys, Cwmystradllyn, you will almost certainly have come across the claim that it "came to be known as 'a sort of Johannesburg - a synonym for a wild and lawless place'". 

But was it, in fact, such a 'wild west' sort of place?  I trace the claim's origins and find a very different story, available here.

 

The eerie remains of Treforys and the Gorsedda quarry at which its occupants worked. The quarry proved to have poor, unusable slate and closed after only 20 years after its initial development.