Germiston

Province

Germiston is a city in the South African province of Gauteng.

Geography

Germiston is located about ten kilometers east of Johannesburg. The city is since 1999 part of the metropolitan municipality of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, in which the previously independent municipalities in the East Rand, the eastern part of the Witwatersrand, were summarized. Germiston 2011 had 255 863 inhabitants.

History

Germiston was created in 1886 as a mining camp for the company The Simmer & Jack Gold Mining Co. Ltd.. August Simmer and Jack had taken John as the owner of a store at Lake Chrissie half of the farm Elandsfontein the farmer Johan Georg Meyer in payment. Shortly after the discovery of gold in Johannesburg later was also found at Elandsfontein gold. First founded in 1887 Germiston was created as a planned community and named after the birthplace of John Jack in Scotland. In the second part of the former farm today's neighboring town of Alberton was established.

Germiston in 1903 and 1950 to the municipality of the city. In Germiston are the largest railway junction in South Africa, a race track called WesBank Raceway and the Rand Refinery ( founded in 1921 ), the largest gold refinery in the world. Germiston is since 2000 the seat of administration of the Metropolitan Municipality Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. The administrative building of the administrative district called after the town founder August Simmer building.

Sons and daughters of the town

• Ernie Els, professional golfer
• Helen Suzman, anti- apartheid activist
• Sydney Brenner, geneticists