The East Rand region of Gauteng enccludes the towns Alberton, Benoni, Boksburg, Brakpan, Edenvale, Germiston, Kempton Park, Nigel and Springs. Johannesburg International Airport is also in this region. All of the above mentioned towns used to be separate municipalities, but have been incorporated into the new Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality. The whole area has grown and developed as a direct result of the discovery of gold in the area. The East Rand is now an extremely important region in terms of the economics of Gauteng.
Situated on the banks of the Natal Spruit close to the major urban centres of Johannesburg (15 kilometres) and Pretoria, Alberton is unique and has a long interesting history.
The first official post office was opened in 1926. Building work started in 1938 on the new town hall. Street names in the Alberton North suburb were named after the Voortrekker heroes. Alrode, which is Alberton's current industrial suburb, was established in 1943.
Bedfordview is an affluent town on the East Rand, situated in Gauteng, a vibrant and central hub of luxury and leisure, shopping and entertainment, wining and dining.
Benoni has more than 30 parks with walks and nature trails. The early development of the town was led by the chairman of the mining syndicate, Sir George Farrar, who had many thousands of trees planted, and stocked the local lake with rainbow trout.The Korsman Bird Sancturay is a 60Ha nature reserve, and home to 250 species of birds and some mammals.
Edenvale arose from the splitting up and sale of farms in the area. At the end of the 2nd Anglo-Boer War stands were sold for £20 each. It was not until 1909 that a post office was opened, and the following year a police station opened. It was not until the 1950s that growth of the town accelerated until the sizeable city we have today was reached.
Germiston is a city in the East Rand of Gauteng in South Africa. It is the sixth largest city in the country with South Africa's biggest railway junction. 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 sprung up next to the mine. In 1921 the world's largest gold refinery, the Rand Refinery, was established at Germiston. The refinery sees seventy percent of the Western World's gold passing through it. 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.
The town of Kempton Park owes its growth and development to its proximity to the Johannesburg International Airport. The Airport is South Africa’s main point of entry, and from it extend a network of highways that link to all the major cities of the country. Close to the airport is situated the World Trade Centre, famous as the venue for the negotiations that led to South Africa’s new Constitution. Tourists can chose from a large selection of restaurants in the area and there is plenty of hotel accommodation at and near to the Airport.
