Springs is a city in the East Rand area of the Gauteng province of South Africa. Situated 50kms east of Johannesburg the city of around 375,000 people forms part of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality, along with its near-neighbours Benoni, Boksburg, Germiston and Brakpan. The name of the town is derived from the large number of springs in the vicinity.

Springs had a somewhat inauspicious formation: when the large farms located around the area were surveyed and mapped in mid-1880’s, it was found that there were odd parcels of land that did not belong to any farm.  These parcels became state property and the resultant area was named Springs by the land surveyor. The discovery of gold and coal deposits in the area saw the land value rocket.

The first contract to mine coal was signed in 1888, and by 1904 Springs was proclaimed as a town. The discovery of gold in the area led to eight mines opening by the 1930’s, leaving the town as one of the most productive golf mining areas in the world. As the returns of the mines have diminished over time, large-scale industry has replaced mining as the economic focus of the town.

Companies with large manufacturing or processing presence in Springs include Kelloggs, Impala Platinum refineries, Zincor, PFG Building Glass, the paper manufacturers Sappi and Mondi, Kimberly-Clark, and McCain Foods. With the large number of factories and the city’s mining history, Springs is well served by major rail and road links with the N12 and N17 national highways bordering the city to the north and south respectively.

A little-known fact about the city is that is contains what is reputed to be the second-largest number of small-scale Art Deco buildings in the world after Miami, with the central fire station being one of the best examples.