Springs is a former independent city that is now part of the City of Ekurhuleni, based in the east of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

(

East Rand The East Rand is a major urban area located in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is the urban eastern part of Witwatersrand that is functionally merged with the Johannesburg conurbation. The region extends from Alberton in the west to ...

), in

Gauteng Gauteng ( , ; Sotho-Tswana languages, Sotho-Tswana for 'place of gold'; or ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts f ...

Province, South Africa. It lies east of Johannesburg and southeast from

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

. Its name derives from the large number of springs in the area, and its estimated population is more than 121,610 in 2011. It is situated at above sea level. During the

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

-era, the city was racially segregated under the

Group Areas Act Group Areas Act was the title of three acts of the Parliament of South Africa enacted under the apartheid government of South Africa. The acts assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a syste ...

. These consisted of middle and upper-income white suburbs around the city centre and the Indian area of Bakerton east of the CBD. A community of black Africans were living in a "black spot" of Springs known as Payneville. The Town Council ordered the creation of a new black township to relieve overcrowding in Payneville. In the 1950s the residents were forcibly removed and relocated to the newly created, KwaThema, southwest of the CBD. Springs has a high concentration of

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

architecture. After

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, it has the highest number of small-scale Art Deco buildings in the world.Springs - Art Deco's Love Child
''The Heritage Portal''. 24 November 2015
''The Christian Science Monitor''. 23 October 2000

Nadine Gordimer Nadine Gordimer (20 November 192313 July 2014) was a South African writer and political activist. She received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991, recognised as a writer "who through her magnificent epic writing has ... been of very great ben ...

(1923 - 2014), the first South African

Nobel Laureate The Nobel Prizes (, ) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make outstanding contributions in th ...

in Literature (1991), was born and raised in Springs.

History

The town of Springs, east of Johannesburg, is on the

, or what is now known as the Metropolitan area of

Ekurhuleni The City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (; ; ; ) is a metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of the East Rand region of Gauteng, a large suburban region east of Johannesburg. ''Ekurhuleni'' means "place of peace" in Xi ...

, in the

Province. It was founded as a coal and gold mining town in 1904, but its history can be traced back to the second half of the 19th century. From about 1840 farmers moved into the area and declared farms for themselves, especially after the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (South African Republic, later Transvaal) became an independent republic with the signing of the Sand River Convention in 1852. These initial farms were large, but the measurements of the borders were inaccurate and later, when the correct borders of the farms had to be documented, there were several extra or odd pieces of land that did not belong to any farm. These odd pieces of land then became state property. Such an odd piece existed between three neighbouring farms on the

Witwatersrand The Witwatersrand (, ; ; locally the Rand or, less commonly, the Reef) is a , north-facing scarp in South Africa. It consists of a hard, erosion-resistant quartzite metamorphic rock, over which several north-flowing rivers form waterfalls, w ...

, namely Geduld (meaning 'patience'), De Rietfontein ('the reed fountain') and Brakpan (literally, 'small, brackish lake'). The 685 ha odd piece was given the name 'The Springs' by the land surveyor James Brooks, probably because of all the fountains on the land. Another story is that he wanted to name it after himself, but because his name (Brooks) resembled the Afrikaans word 'broek' (trousers) so closely, he feared that the Afrikaans farmers in the area would mock it. On 16 September 1884 the official map of The Springs was registered in Pretoria, the Republic's capital. Initially, the land's value was equal to R200. But the discovery of coal and gold and its subsequent mining increased the value considerably. The coal discovered in The Springs was of a good quality and in 1888 the first contract was signed to mine coal there. Initially mining was on a small scale, but rose when the Great Eastern mine was established. There were a number of corrugated iron houses around the mine and, although there was a few small hotels and general dealers, it was not a town yet. The settlement grew and in 1902 a health committee was appointed to look after the building and location of structures and also the hygiene in the growing township. In 1904 the Grootvlei Proprietary Mines were registered and shafts were sunk. This followed the discovery in 1899 of gold on the farm Geduld and the further discovery of the main reef in 1902. In April 1904, The Springs was proclaimed a town, called Springs, the health committee replaced by a town council, and it flourished as a mining town. In 1962, Springs produced 10% of the country's gold and 9% of its uranium. However, by the end of the 1960s the last mine in town, the Daggafonteinmyn, (literally: Marijuana fountain mine) was emptied. The town did not die, but instead developed into an industrial centre. The original 7 km² farm on which the city of Springs was later to be built, ''The Springs'', was surveyed in 1883. Coal was discovered in the area in 1887 and three years later in 1890–1891, the

Transvaal Republic The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result of the Second ...

's first railway, the Randtram Line, was built by the Netherlands-South African Railway Company (NZASM) to carry coal from the East Rand coalfields to the gold mines of the Witwatersrand. Gradually, especially after coal was discovered further east in South Africa in

Witbank Witbank (), officially eMalahleni, is a city situated on the Highveld of Mpumalanga, South Africa, within the Emalahleni Local Municipality, Mpumalanga, Emalahleni Local Municipality. The name Witbank is Afrikaans for "white ridge", and is named ...

, the Springs collieries were closed. In the meanwhile, however, gold had also been discovered in the area. A village was laid out in 1904 and in 1908 the first gold mining began. Springs was granted municipal status in 1912. By the late 1930s, there were eight gold mines near Springs, making it the largest single gold-producing area in the world. Springs is currently one of the industrial centers of the

and also the Eastern Gateway of Gauteng towards Mpumalanga and Northern Kwazulu Natal. Mining has been replaced by manufacturing and engineering industries of economic importance; products of the region include processed metals, chemicals, paper and foodstuffs.

Geography

Communities

Although Springs is a highly industrial city, its suburbs are treelike with many parks and also giving some suburban character. The following are the main suburbs of Springs: * Modder East (Eastvale) * Dersley * Presidents Dam * Presidents Ranch * Krugersrus * New State Era * Krugersrus Ext * Rowhill * Petersfield * Petersfield Ext * Paul Krugersoord * East Geduld * Geduld * Geduld Ext * Springs Ext * Springs CBD * Lodeyko * Welgedacht * Holfontein * Persida * Welgedag Small Holdings * Everest * Gugulethu * Slovo Park * Slovo Park East * Bakerton * Strubenvale * Strubenvale Ext * Grootvlei * Great Valley * Casseldale * Palmiet Kuil * Largo * Aston Lake * Edelweiss * Edelweiss Ext * Daggafontein * Daggafontein Ext * Selection Park North * Selection Park South * Selcourt * Struisbult * Pollak Park * Wright Park * Reedville * Dal Fouche * KwaThema * Payneville

Architecture and monuments

Springs is known for its high concentration of

architecture, as it is home to the second-highest number of small scale

buildings in the world, after

. These Art Deco buildings were mostly constructed in the CBD during interwar period

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

of the early twentieth century. This was also the greatest growth period in the city. The style of architecture evoked sophistication and wealth, employed to "counteract the incipient provincialism associated with a colonial city." In 1998, Micha Birch, then a member of the National Monuments Council, approached the municipality about arranging an exhibition of the city's Art Deco architecture. Art Deco examples include the Central Fire Station, built by the Mr Anifantakis architect 1938 and designed by a Mr Anifantakis. A number are also known for their graphic artwork and letter work, notably seen in the Court Chambers, Renesta House, Palladium Cinema and Nureef House. In 2023, Barbara Adair published ''In the Shadow of the Springs I Saw'', with photographs and stories of Art Deco buildings in Springs and their inhabitants. Other landmarks include several

monuments A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

to important figures in the city's development, like Paul Kruger, and the war cemetery where many Coloured soldiers are buried who died during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

fighting in the Allied Forces. There is also the War Monument at the northern entrance of the Springs CBD, The Old Springs Fire Station, and the Dutch Windmill in the Pioneer Park, Springs. There is a small scale replica of the Voortrekker Monument in the Springs CBD near the library. Springs has an art gallery next to the Springs Library. At the entrance of the Springs Railway station there is an old orange tree planted by the Dutch people when Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands visited the old South African Republic accompanied by the then South African president

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904), better known as Paul Kruger, was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and State Preside ...

. Many theatrical productions are performed at the Springs Civic Theater. The Springs Civic Centre and City Hall is also a unique building complex as it rested on hey logs with water underneath The Springs Mall, which serves the town is opened from 6:00 am-20:00/22:00 The Springs Fire Station is also one of the Art Deco Buildings as seen from the Boksburg Road towards Downtown Springs. There is also the Mudhook Hall opposite the Springs Civic Center. That Hall is being built in honor of the M.O.T.H., which stands for the Members of the Order of the Tin Hat Soldiers who fought during world war two. It is also an Art Deco building and overlooking the Down Town Springs from the Western Side File:Front Side of the Springs City Hall.jpg, File:Springs City Hall.jpg, File:Springs Fire Station.jpg, File:Mudhook Hall, west of the Springs CBD.jpg,

Climate

Springs has a typical sub-tropical climate with four distinct seasons. The summers are hot with afternoon thunder showers in early summers and drier during January and February which are the two hottest months. The winters are very cold with severe frost and very occasional snow, the coldest months being July and August although June is also very cold. August is usually a very windy month continuing into early spring of September with sandstorms and strong winds. Spring is warm to hot with some afternoon showers. Spring usually starts to show during the latter half of August although it is officially springtime from September. The autumns are generally cooler, starting with late rains in the beginning of autumn and getting colder towards winter with the first frost in late autumn. At times the first signs of autumn can be seen in late February. The average highs during the summers are although it can go as high as . A record high of has been recorded. Average winter temperatures are around and the average lows during the summer months are and – during the winter months. Temperatures can drop to – and a record low of has been recorded. The average rainfall in Springs is per annum.

Fauna and flora

Springs has a Highveld grassland vegetation, which is the general vegetation type of the

Highveld The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld,'' , ) is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly , but below , thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of the Highveld. It is home to some of t ...

which consists of the southern half of Gauteng, Western Mpumalanga, South Eastern parts of the Limpopo province, most of the Freestate, Northern Eastern Cape and South Eastern parts of Northwest and Eastern Northern Cape. Springs is mostly grassland with short grass with some smaller succulent plants such as the

aloe ''Aloe'' (; also written ''Aloë'') is a genus containing over 650 species of flowering plant, flowering succulent plant, succulent plants.WFO (2022): Aloe L. Published on the Internet;http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-4000001341. Acc ...

. The plough-breaker which is unique on the Highveld with most part of the plant in the soil can also be found. The wetland areas in Springs has an area of fed by the Blesbokspruit and Lesser Blesbokspruit, with concomitant water plants and trees growing nearby. The Blesbokspruit Wetland Region in Springs draws over 300 species of birds, including the great

flamingo Flamingos or flamingoes () are a type of wading bird in the family Phoenicopteridae, which is the only extant family in the order Phoenicopteriformes. There are four flamingo species distributed throughout the Americas (including the Caribbe ...

Egyptian Goose The Egyptian goose (''Alopochen aegyptiaca'') is an African member of the Anatidae family including ducks, geese, and swans. Because of their popularity chiefly as an ornamental bird, the species has also been introduced to Europe, the United ...

barn owl The barn owls, owls in the genus '' Tyto'', are the most widely distributed genus of owls in the world. They are medium-sized owls with large heads and characteristic heart-shaped faces. They have long, strong legs with powerful talons. The ter ...

blue crane The blue crane (''Grus paradisea''), also known as the Stanley crane and the paradise crane, is the national bird of South Africa. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Description The blue crane is a tall, ground-dwelling bird, ...

guineafowl Guinea fowl () (or guineahen) are birds of the family Numididae in the order Galliformes. They are endemic to Africa and rank among the oldest of the gallinaceous birds. Phylogenetically, they branched off from the core Galliformes after the C ...

, secretary-bird and the

ostrich Ostriches are large flightless birds. Two living species are recognised, the common ostrich, native to large parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and the Somali ostrich, native to the Horn of Africa. They are the heaviest and largest living birds, w ...

. Water mammals such as the

otter Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic, or marine. Lutrinae is a branch of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, badgers, mink, and wolverines, among ...

and lesser otter have been observed in less populated areas. The

blesbok The blesbok or blesbuck (''Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi'') is a subspecies of the bontebok antelope endemic to South Africa, Eswatini and Namibia. It has a distinctive white face and forehead, which inspired the name because ''bles'' is the Afr ...

mongoose A mongoose is a small terrestrial carnivorous mammal belonging to the family Herpestidae. This family has two subfamilies, the Herpestinae and the Mungotinae. The Herpestinae comprises 23 living species that are native to southern Europe, A ...

, reed buck, read jackal, black wildebeest,

springbok The springbok or springbuck (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first Species description, described by the Germa ...

mountain zebra The mountain zebra (''Equus zebra'') is a zebra species in the family Equidae, native to southwestern Africa. There are two subspecies, the Cape mountain zebra (''E. z. zebra'') found in South Africa and Hartmann's mountain zebra (''E. z. hartma ...

, the

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp Spine (zoology), spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two Family (biology), families of animals: the Old World porcupines of the family Hystricidae, and the New ...

and other mammals are to be found, but usually within reserve areas. Various species of reptiles such as the rinkhals, puffadder brown house snake, aurora house snake and various lizards, including the giant girdled lizard, and the

African bullfrog The African bullfrog (''Pyxicephalus adspersus''), also known as the giant bullfrog or the South African burrowing frog, is a species of frog in the family Pyxicephalidae. It is also known as the pixie frog due to its scientific name. It is foun ...

are also to be found in wetland areas of Springs.

Demographics

Jewish community

The town's first synagogue, Springs Gates of Hope Synagogue, was consecrated on 3 May 1908. The building was extended in 1933 but by 1949 it became apparent that a new building was needed to accommodate the growing membership. The original synagogue was demolished and the new synagogue, known as the Springs Shul opened in September 1951. In the 1940s, a

Reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

synagogue, Temple Emeth (later Temple Emet) was designed by the architect, Harold Le Roith. The synagogue closed in the 1990s. The

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

-winning Jewish writer,

was raised in Springs. Her father was a member of a local synagogue and attended

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

services. There is also a Jewish cemetery in Springs, with over 600 graves. The graves and cemetery are well-maintained and a surrounding wall has been built. Up until the late 1990s Springs had a vibrant Jewish community. There were two synagogues, with a total of 300 families. Today (2015) most of the community has left for Johannesburg, Cape Town, or further afield like Israel, Australia, the US and the UK. The community's last rabbi was the

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

-born Rabbi Yossi Liberow. The synagogue building, Springs Shul, still stands, but now operates as an Acts Church.

Economy

Springs as a city is an economic hub in Ekurhuleni with a diverse economy, ranging from manufacturing, commerce, service, hospitality, mining and service providing companies.

Mining

Historically, Springs was known as a mining centre for two major types of minerals (gold and coal). Springs is still one of the gold mining centers in South Africa, which includes Gold One, Modder East Operation, the Geduld Mine and East Geduld Mine and also the Daggafontein and East Daggafontein mines. Besides gold, new coal mines towards the east of the city are being developed.

Manufacturing

Springs is one of the industrial centres in Gauteng served by four industrial suburbs, which are New Era, Nuffield, Enstra and Fulcrum with smaller industrial areas at Dersley, suburb of Springs, Daggafontein, Selection Park, Selcourt and Strubenvale. There are a couple of manufacturing companies in Springs. The only

Kelloggs Kellanova, formerly known as the Kellogg Company and commonly known as Kellogg's, is an American multinational food manufacturing company headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, US. Kellanova produces and markets convenience foods and snack f ...

factory in South Africa is situated in Springs. Springs is also home to Impala Platinum's precious and base metal refineries as well as PFG Building Glass Building Glass, the only producer of

float glass Float glass is a sheet of glass made by floating molten glass on a bed of molten metal of a low melting point, typically tin, although lead was used for the process in the past. This method gives the sheet uniform thickness and a very flat surfa ...

on the continent. Zincor, the only

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

producer in Africa, was also located here; its refinery used to produce all South Africa's requirement of this metal and ceased its production operations in 2011 due to various economic reasons. Springs is home to Sappi Enstra Mill, the only paper mill plant of Southern Africa, only paper mill plant in the world that is not next to a river, Element Six Ultra High, an industry in industrial diamonds and beverage cans, manufacturing of cans and

Kimberly-Clark Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational consumer goods and personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimb ...

in Enstra manufacturing toilet paper, tissues, serviettes and other products. Afrox Healthcare has a plant in Enstra, Springs specializing in health care products. Then there is also

Liebherr Group Liebherr () is a German-Swiss multinational equipment manufacturer based in Bulle, Switzerland, with its main production facilities and origins in Germany. Liebherr consists of over 130 companies organized into 11 divisions: earthmoving, mini ...

Africa specialising in heavy construction vehicles,

McCain Foods McCain Foods Limited is a Canadian multinational frozen food company established in 1957 in Florenceville, New Brunswick, Canada. It is the world's largest manufacturer of frozen potato products, with 1 in 4 french fries in the world being a ...

packaging plant in Nuffield, Corobrik Plant near Selcourt specialising in bricks and Kreepy Krauly swimming pool equipment and regulator system manufacturing plant in Nuffield Springs. Mondi Group also have the cartonboard plant and recycling plant in New Era and Sony Ericson phone manufacturing plant also in New Era. There is also the Cobra Water Tap in New Era. There is also the Angelo Kater Motor Trimmers Conversion plant in Nuffield Springs specialising in vehicle conversions for Taxis, ambulances, police vehicles and other emergency vehicles in Nuffield, Springs. Springs is home to Jachris pty limited, a hose and coupling manufacturer that supplies most of Southern Africas mining houses. Various scrap metal recyclers like GSMP - Golden Scrap Metal Processors and Jimmy Scrap Metals also find their homes in Springs.

Transportation

Springs is also a transporting centre with many transporting companies. Some of the more known companies include Van Heerden's Trucking company in Largo, an eastern suburb of Springs and Penta Trucking focusing on cargo transporting from Nuffield, Springs. Welthagen Transport in New Era specialises in bulk and container shipping and the Amalgamating

Bulk carrier A bulk carrier or bulker is a merchant ship specially naval architecture, designed to transport unpackaged bulk cargo—such as Grain trade, grain, coal, ore, steel coils, and cement—in its cargo holds. Since the first specialized bulk carrie ...

company from Welgedag, Springs concentrates on bulk transporting.

Retailing

Springs has a well developed CBD with a couple of highrise office buildings such as the 18-story Checktown building housing the regional office of Telkom for Gauteng and head office for the trading section and Marketing of Telkom, the 12-story Standard Bank building which has been standing empty for a number of years, the 14-story Nongai building that is undergoing restoration and the 13-story Seedfam Towers and also a 14-story Everest Apartment complex.

Shopping centres

There are two major shopping malls in the Springs Downtown serving Springs, The Avenues and Palm Springs, as well as Veranda Shopping Centre and the Third Street Arcade, Seedfam Tower Arcade, Standard Band Arcade and a newer arcade in Third Street too and the Second Street Mall near the Springs Railway Station. There are a number of shopping centres in the suburbs of Springs such as the Selcourt Shopping Center, Strubenvale Shopping Centre, New State Era Shopping Centre, Bakerton Square and also the newer shopping centres like Springsgate and Selcourt Towers and many more shopping centers in Springs and the suburbs. A new regional mall, Springs Mall has opened recently on Wit Road at the N17 onramp. It gives the area 50000 m² of premium retail shopping.

Sports

At Presidents Park there are many horse jumping tournaments that take place. Springs has two golf courses, the Springs Country Club in Selection Park, and the Pollock Park Country Club.

Parks and greenspaces

Parks

Springs has about 120 parks, the most well-known being Presidents Park, where there is horse jumping, and Murray Park, which has a caravan site next to the Alexander Dam. There is also Frikkie Deysel Park in Petersfield, Butler Park in Geduld, George Sutter Park in Selection Park, and the Park of Dersley in Dersley Park. In Northeastern Springs, the

Blesbokspruit The Blesbokspruit is a river in Gauteng, South Africa that originates north of Daveyton, from where it runs south and then west past the towns of Springs, Nigel and Heidelberg before joining the Suikerbosrand River, a tributary of the Vaal ...

Wetland Reserve has a great diversity of birds and plants. Springs also has a Game Reserve near the CBD and the unique Pioneer Park with Dutch characteristics next to the Springs CBD.

Education

There are several schools, ranging from pre-primary to secondary schools, and a tertiary college in Springs.

Primary

* Bakerton Primary School * Creative Education Centre (Nursery and Primary School) * Job Maseko Primary School * KwaThema Primary School * Laerskool Christiaan Beyers * Laerskool Jan van Riebeeck * Laerskool Morester * Laerskool PAM Brink * Laerskool Selection Park * Laerskool Welgedag * Laerskool Werda * Montessori School (nursery and grades 1–3) * Pinegrove Primary School * PLG Springs Academy (Pre-Primary and Primary School) * Selcourt Primary School * Selpark Primary School * Strubenvale Primary School * Umbila Primary Farm School * Veritas College Preparatory School * Vukucinge Primary Farm School * Zithembeni Primary School

Secondary

* Eureka High School * Hoërskool Dr Johan Jurgens High School * Hoer Tegniese Skool Springs * Hoerskool Hugenote * Jameson High School * Springs Boys' High School * Springs Girls' High School * Springs Secondary School * Veritas College – Springs * The Keep Learning Centre * Kenneth Masekela Secondary School * Zimisele High School

Further and higher

* Ekurhuleni East College, Springs Campus

Combined

Combined schools offer primary and secondary, and sometimes pre-primary reception. * Olympia Park School * Dr. WK. Du Plessis School * Phelang * Protea School * Springs Muslim School * Veritas College * PLG Springs Academy

Media

Springs is served very well by the media. There are local newspapers that operate from Springs. The Springs Advertiser covers the whole of the greater Springs area, including KwaThema. Then there is also the African Reporter that covers KwaThema, Tsakane in Brakpan and Duduza. Springs is also served by a local radio station, the East Rand Stereo on a frequency of 93.9 FM Stereo, covering the whole of Ekurhuleni Metro, eastern parts of Johannesburg, Heidelberg, Delmas, Secunda in Mpumalanga, Leandra, and Devon in Eastern Gauteng, with over 300,000 listeners. East Rand Stereo operates from the headquarters in Springs, following some satellite studios that had been opened in Brakpan, Benoni and Boksburg. The video production compan
Black Light Productions
was launched in Dersley, a tranquil suburb of Springs. They are specialists and experts i
corporate video
and video marketing. Since, Black Light Productions has moved in Sandton.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Road transportation

Springs is served by two national highways, namely the N12 to the north and the N17 to the south. The N12 is an east–west freeway passing north of Springs, connecting it with

in the east and with

in the west. The N17 is an east–west freeway passing just south of the Springs CBD, connecting it with Leandra, Bethal and Ermelo in the east and with Johannesburg in the west. Springs is also served by four provincial and regional routes, namely the R29, R51, R554 and the R555. The R29 is an east–west provincial route which connects Springs with Benoni in the north-west and with Leandra in the east. The north–south R51 connects Springs with Daveyton and Bapsfontein in the north and with Nigel and Balfour in the south. The R554 regional route connects Springs with Alberton and Johannesburg South in the west and the R555 regional route connects Springs with Delmas,

and Middelburg in the north-east.

Railway transportation

Springs is also a major railway hub. Springs is a subhub for the

Metrorail Gauteng Metrorail Gauteng is a network of commuter rail services in Gauteng province in South Africa, serving the Johannesburg and Pretoria metro areas. It is operated by Metrorail (South Africa), Metrorail, a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of Sou ...

with the Springs-Johannesburg trains serving Springs, Brakpan, Benoni,

Boksburg Boksburg is a city on the East Rand of Gauteng province of South Africa. Gold was discovered in Boksburg in 1887. Boksburg was named after the State Secretary of the South African Republic, Willem Eduard Bok, W. Eduard Bok. The R29 (South A ...

Germiston Germiston, also known as kwaDukathole, is a city in the East Rand region of Gauteng, South Africa, administratively forming part of the City of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality since the latter's establishment in 2000. It functions as the m ...

and Johannesburg. Springs also have the Springs Nigel Line serving Springs and Nigel. Springs is also a major hub for Transnet Freight Rail with goods and cargo carriers trains from the Springs, Welgedag and Daggafontein stations connecting Springs with Johannesburg, Ermelo, Witbank,

Nelspruit Mbombela, formerly Nelspruit, is a city in northeastern South Africa. It is the capital of the Mpumalanga province. Located on the Crocodile River, the city lies about by road west of the Mozambique border, east of Johannesburg and north of ...

, Pretoria,

Vereeniging Vereeniging ( ; ) is a city located in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa, situated where the Klip River empties into the northern loop of the Vaal River. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was forme ...

Klerksdorp Klerksdorp ( ) is located in the North West Province (South Africa), North West Province, South Africa. Klerksdorp is located southeast of Mahikeng, the provincial capital. Klerksdorp was also the first capital of the then Transvaal Republic and u ...

, Richards Bay,

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

Bloemfontein Bloemfontein ( ; ), also known as Bloem, is the capital and the largest city of the Free State (province), Free State province in South Africa. It is often, and has been traditionally, referred to as the country's "judicial capital", alongsi ...

Pietersburg Polokwane (, meaning "Sanctuary" in Northern SothoPolokwane - The Heart of the Limpopo Provin ...

Lesotho Lesotho, formally the Kingdom of Lesotho and formerly known as Basutoland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Entirely surrounded by South Africa, it is the largest of only three sovereign enclave and exclave, enclaves in the world, t ...

and

Rustenburg Rustenburg (; , Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch: ''City of Rest'') is a town at the foot of the Magaliesberg mountain range. Rustenburg is the most populous city in North West (South African province), North West province, South Africa (549 ...

. Coal and wood is transported with petroleum and ammonia and cement. Springs is also served by the container services through rail and road,

Health Systems

Springs is served by the Far East Rand provincial Hospital and three private hospitals, the N17 Hospital, the St Mary Women's Hospital and the Parkland Hospital closer to the Springs CBD. Springs has many clinics, including the White City and KwaThema clinics in KwaThema, Painville clinic and the newly built Springs clinic operated under the Springs Service Delivery as a municipal clinic under Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Council. Then there are many private clinics, some of them under Medi Clinic and physiotherapist clinics, occupational therapist clinics and also specialist doctors consultancy offices in Springs and the Medical laboratory at the Parklands Hospital, Springs.

Notable people

Important and well-known people who were born or lived in Springs include Nobel laureate in Literature

and Olympic swimming gold medallist Penny Heyns. Other famous people who are associated with Springs include: * Brandon Auret (born 27 December 1972), a well-known actor on stage (Winnie), television ( Isidingo, Angel's Song, One Way, Breathe), and film (

Catch a Fire ''Catch a Fire'' is the fifth studio album by the reggae band The Wailers (aka Bob Marley and the Wailers), released in April 1973. It was their first album released by Island Records. After finishing a UK tour with Johnny Nash, they had sta ...

, Hansie – The Movie,

District 9 ''District 9'' is a 2009 science fiction action film directed by Neill Blomkamp in his feature film debut, written by Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, and produced by Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham. It is a co-production of New Zealand ...

, Night Drive, The Race-ist, Elysium), rock singer, and songwriter, was born and raised in Springs and attended the local CBC (now Veritas College). * Ernest George Bock (17 September 1908 – 5 September 1961), a South African

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

player in one

test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

(1935/ 1936), who once held one of the top

Currie Cup The Currie Cup () is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier domestic competition, four South African franc ...

bowling Bowling is a Throwing sports#Target sports, target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a bowling ball, ball toward Bowling pin, pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). Most references to ''bowling'' are ...

averages and was also a Griqualand West cricket and rugby player, relocated from

Kimberley, Northern Cape Kimberley is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal River, Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city has considerable historica ...

, to Springs. * Rudi Bryson (born 25 July 1968), a former South African

er who played seven

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

s in 1997, and played for Northern Transvaal and Eastern Province cricket teams, was born and raised in Springs, and attended Springs Boys' High School. * Roger Joyce Bushell, RAF (30 August 1910 – 29 March 1944), a Springs-born

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

lawyer and Auxiliary Air Force pilot, organised and led the famous escape from the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

prisoner of war camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, ...

Stalag Luft III Stalag Luft III (; literally "Main Camp, Air, III"; SL III) was a ''Luftwaffe''-run prisoner-of-war (POW) camp during the Second World War, which held captured Western Allied air force personnel. The camp was established in March 1942 near th ...

in 1944. *Ferdinand Chauvier (d.1985), a hydraulics engineer from the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

who moved to Springs in 1951, invented the first automated pool cleaner. * Fiona Coyne (22 June 1965 – 18 August 2010), a well-known theatre actress, playwright, writer, and television presenter (

The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...

, South Africa), was born, raised, and married in Springs, and attended the Springs Convent school (now Veritas College). * Koos du Plessis (10 May 1945 – 15 January 1984), a prominent South African singer-songwriter and poet, was born in Rustenburg, and grew up in Springs, attending PAM Brink Primary School and High School Hugenote. * Angelique Gerber (born 16 April 1983), well known South African actress. *

(20 November 1923 - 13 July 2014), the first South African

Literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

(1991) and recipient of the 1974

Booker Prize The Booker Prize, formerly the Booker Prize for Fiction (1969–2001) and the Man Booker Prize (2002–2019), is a prestigious literary award conferred each year for the best single work of sustained fiction written in the English language, wh ...

, was born in Springs and attended the local Our Lady of Mercy Convent school (now known as Veritas College). * Dean Hall (born 2 September 1977), a former Springbok rugby, Lions rugby, and Sharks rugby player ( winger), and once dubbed "the white Jonah Lomu" by the

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

media, was born and raised in Springs and attended Springs Boys' High School. * Penny Heyns (born 8 November 1974), double Olympic gold medallist in

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, such as saltwater or freshwater environments, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Swimmers achieve locomotion by coordinating limb and body movements to achieve hydrody ...

( 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games), holder of 14 swimming world records, and the only woman in history to complete the Olympic double of winning both the 100 and 200-metre

breaststroke Breaststroke is a human swimming, swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and ...

, was born in Springs and attended a local primary school. * Job Maseko (died 7 March 1952),

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a ...

and namesake of the Job Maseko Primary School in KwaThema, Springs. He was a member of the Native Military Corps and was awarded the

Military Medal The Military Medal (MM) was a military decoration awarded to personnel of the British Army and other arms of the British Armed Forces, armed forces, and to personnel of other Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, below commissioned o ...

for sinking an enemy steamer that was moored in

Tobruk Tobruk ( ; ; ) is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near the border with Egypt. It is the capital of the Butnan District (formerly Tobruk District) and has a population of 120,000 (2011 est.)."Tobruk" (history), ''Encyclop� ...

Harbour. * Frew McMillan (born 20 May 1942), former world

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player and tennis commentator was born in Springs. * Japie Mulder (Jacobus Cornelius Mulder) (born 18 October 1969), is a former South African rugby union player who played for South Africa between 1994 and 2001. He attended Hoërskool Hugenote, Springs. * Madi Phala (2 February 1955 – 2 March 2007), well-known artist, designer, and educator, was born and raised in KwaThema, Springs. * James Phillips (22 January 1959 – 31 July 1995), a South African rock singer, songwriter and performer, grew up in Springs. * Gavin Ramsay (1963 - 4 February 2017), five-time South African

motorcycling Motorcycling is the act of riding a motorcycle. For some people, motorcycling may be the only affordable form of individual motorized transportation, and small-engine displacement, displacement motorcycles are the most common motor vehicle in ...

champion, spent his life in Springs. * Justine Robbeson (born 15 May 1985), former world junior

heptathlon A heptathlon is a track and field combined events contest made up of seven events. The name derives from the Greek ἑπτά (hepta, meaning "seven") and ἄθλος (áthlos, or ἄθλον, áthlon, meaning "competition"). A competitor in a hep ...

champion (2004), current African record holder in the women's

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon. Today, the javelin is predominantly used for sporting purposes such as the javelin throw. The javelin is nearly always thrown by hand, unlike the sling ...

(63.49m in February 2008), and participant in the

2008 Beijing Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

, grew up in Springs and attended Springs Girls' High School. * Tony Schiena (born 4 December), an Undefeated World Karate Champion, former intelligence operative, founder and CEO of defense intelligence agency MOSAIC and action movie star most recognizable for the cult hit "DARC". * Lawrence Sephaka (born 8 August 1978), a Springbok rugby player (

prop A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...

) from 2001 to 2006 gaining 24 caps and playing in the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

, former Lions rugby player, and current professional player for

Rugby Pro D2 The Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was introduced in 2000. It ...

, the second level of the French professional league, for

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

, attended Hoer Tegniese Skool in Springs. * Eudy Simelane (11 March 1977 – 28 April 2008), a well-known former South Africa women's national football team ("Banyana Banyana") midfielder, future

South African Football Association The South African Football Association (colloquially known as SAFA) is the national administrative governing body that controls the sport of football in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and is a member of the Confederation of African Footbal ...

referee, and gay rights

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

grew up in and was murdered in KwaThema, Springs. * Haydn Smith (born 1973), cricketer *Glenda Steyn (born 2 January 1964), notable liberal politician from the Democratic Party (now Democratic Alliance), grew up in Springs and is now a DA Member of the

Provincial Legislature, spokesperson on the Standing Committee on Public Accounts, former

Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom I ...

, as well as a former Provincial Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance. *Shirley Sutherland (born 17 December 1973), a well-known

coloratura soprano A coloratura soprano () is a type of operatic soprano voice that specializes in music that is distinguished by agile run (music), runs, leaps and Trill (music), trills. The term ''coloratura'' refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, whi ...

opera singer, director, and performer in musicals, grew up in Springs and attended Springs Girls' High School. *Andre Viljoen, former president and CEO of

South African Airways South African Airways (SAA) is the flag carrier of South Africa. Founded in 1929 as Union Airways it later rebranded to South African Airways in 1934, the airline is headquartered in Airways Park at O. R. Tambo International Airport in Johannes ...

(SAA) (2001–2004), grew up in Springs and attended Springs Boys' High School. * Rolly Xipu (born 12 January 1952), grew up in Payneville and was a South African boxer, who fought from 1972 to 1981. Xipu held the South African

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing (sport), rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) boxing weight classes, weight class in the spor ...

title.

References

External links

Springs Personal WebsiteEkurhuleni Official Website
{{Authority control East Rand Populated places in Ekurhuleni Populated places established in 1904