Springs, South Africa
Springs is a former independent city that is now part of the City of Ekurhuleni, based in the east of Johannesburg, in Gauteng Province, South Africa. It lies east of Johannesburg and southeast from Pretoria. 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-era, the city was racially segregated under the Group Areas Act. 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 architecture. After Miami in Florida, it has the highest number of small-scale Art Deco buildings in the world.
Nadine Gordimer, the first South African Nobel Laureate in Literature, was born and raised in Springs.
History
The town of Springs, east of Johannesburg, is on the East Rand, or what is now known as the Metropolitan area of Ekurhuleni, in the Gauteng 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 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, namely Geduld, De Rietfontein and Brakpan.
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 resembled the Afrikaans word 'broek' 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, 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's first railway, the Randtram Line, was built by the Netherlands-South African Railway Company 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, 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 Witwatersrand 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
- Dersley
- Presidents Dam
- Presidents Ranch
- Krugersrus
- New State Areas
- 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
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 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 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 now-derelict Dutch Windmill in the former Martiens Kotze Park. 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.
Many theatrical productions are performed at the Springs Civic Theatre, now renamed Ken Gampu Theatre. The Civic Centre was opened in 1974 by the then State President JJ Fouche, at a massive cost of R45 million. With its impressive 1000-seat Main Hall and sprung ballroom floor, it became a cultural centre for top-class international artists such as Neil Diamond and Richard Clayderman. It is a unique building complex in that it rests on hey logs with water underneath.
The Springs Mall, which serves the town, is open from 6:00am – 10:00pm.
The Springs Fire Station is also one of the most attractive Art Deco Buildings as seen from Boksburg Road towards the north-east CBD.
The Mudhook Hall, formerly opposite the Springs Civic Centre, has recently been demolished. That Hall was built in honour of the M.O.T.H. association, which stands for 'Memorable Order of Tin Hats', who were soldiers who fought during World War II.