Germiston, Gauteng
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Germiston German |
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The Central Business District of Germiston
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 Germiston
Germiston
Germiston
Germiston shown within Gauteng
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| Coordinates: 26°13′4″S 28°10′2″E / 26.21778°S 28.16722°ECoordinates: 26°13′4″S 28°10′2″E / 26.21778°S 28.16722°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Gauteng |
| Municipality | Ekurhuleni |
| Established | 1886 |
| Area | |
| • Total | 143.27 km2 (55.32 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,620 m (5,310 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 255,863 |
| • Density | 1,800/km2 (4,600/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 62.3% |
| • Coloured | 2.3% |
| • Indian/Asian | 3.0% |
| • White | 31.3% |
| • Other | 1.1% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • English | 24.3% |
| • Afrikaans | 16.6% |
| • Zulu | 16.6% |
| • Xhosa | 9.4% |
| • Other | 33.1% |
| Postal code (street) | 1401 |
| PO box | 1400 |
| Area code | 011 |
Germiston is a city in the East Rand of Gauteng in South Africa. Germiston is now the seat of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality which includes much of the East Rand, and is also considered part of Greater Johannesburg.
It was established in the early days of the gold rush when two prospectors, John Jack from the farm of Germiston near Glasgow and August Simmer from Vacha in Germany, struck paydirt on the farm of Elandsfontein. Both men made fortunes and the town sprang up next to the mine. In 1921 the world's largest gold refinery, the Rand Refinery, was established at Germiston. Seventy percent of the western world's gold passes through this refinery. Although gold mining gradually wound down in Germiston, to the point that by the end of the 20th century it was no longer a mining centre, the Rand Refinery remains as busy as ever.
The WesBank Raceway motorsports facility was located in the city, but it was sold to industrial estate developers in November 2007. The Raceway was formerly the Gosforth Park Race Club, one of the major horse racing facilities in Gauteng. Germiston Stadium (formerly the Herman Immelman Stadium), home stadium of Moroka Swallows FC is also located in the city. This is also the home ground for the Germiston Simmer Rugby Club and has a tartan track for athletics.
The city has a number of historic buildings. Among these are the St Andrew's Presbyterian Church which was built in 1905, and St Boniface Church designed by Sir Herbert Baker, which was built in 1910 (this is the second church on the site, as the Anglican Parish was founded in 1897). The church also houses the historic 1910 English Romantic Norman and Beard Organ.
The Alexander Hotel was also partly designed by Baker, using his traditional stone appearance. This building has recently been completely renovated and now houses a well-known law firm. The builder of the hotel, Alexander Stuart, some of whose descendants still live in Germiston, died when the RMS Lusitania was torpedoed in the First World War on the 7th of May 1915. The hotel thus remains a memorial to his pioneer work in the city over a hundred years ago.
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Wikipedia