| Population nearly 256,000 People | ||||
| Elevation | 1,620 m | |||
| Area | 143.27 km2 | |||
| Makeup | Black | 62.3% | ||
| Coloured | 2.3% | |||
| Indian/Asian | 3.0% | |||
| White | 31.3% | |||
| Other | 1.1% | |||
It was established in the early days of the gold rush when two prospectors, John Jack from the farm of Germiston near Glasgowand August Simmer from Vacha in Germany, struck paydirt on the farm of Elandsfontein. Both men made fortunes and the town sprang up next to the mine. In 1921 the world’s largest gold refinery, the Rand Refinery, was established at Germiston. Seventy percent of the Western World’s gold passes through this refinery.
The WesBank Raceway motorsports facility was located in the city, but it was sold to industrial estate developers in November 2007. Germiston Stadium (formerly the Herman Immelman Stadium), home stadium of Moroka Swallows FC is also located in the city.
