26°10′38″S28°13′19″E / 26.17722°S 28.22194°E /-26.17722; 28.22194
East Rand | |
|---|---|
Region | |
 From the top, left to right: O.R Tambo Int'l Airport, St Michael and All Angels Church, Germiston Central Business District, Old Boksburg Magistrates Office, Chris Hani Monument | |
 Interactive map of East Rand | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Gauteng |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
TheEast Rand is a majorurban area located in theGauteng province ofSouth Africa. It is the urban eastern part ofWitwatersrand that is functionally merged with theJohannesburgconurbation. The region extends fromAlberton in the west toSprings in the east, and south down toNigel. It includes the towns ofBedfordview,Benoni,Boksburg,Brakpan,Edenvale,Germiston,Kempton Park,Linksfield andModderfontein.[1] The East Rand is known as the transport hub of Johannesburg and includes Africa's largest and second busiest airport,OR Tambo International Airport.
After the end of apartheid, the municipal governments of the towns of the East Rand were combined (excluding Modderfontein and Linksfield), and eventually merged into a single administration: theCity of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality.
This area became settled by Europeans after a gold-bearing reef was discovered in 1886 and sparked thegold rush that gave rise to the establishment ofJohannesburg. As part of the restructuring of municipalities in South Africa at the time, the local governments of the East Rand (excluding Modderfontein and Linksfield) were merged into a single municipality in 1999, called theCity of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality (ekurhuleni meaning "place of peace"[2] inTsonga).
Despite having a separate municipal government, like theWest Rand, the East Rand is included as part of theWitwatersrand urban area. To this end, the East Rand shares the samedialling code as Johannesburg (011 locally) and the samemetropolitan route numbering system as Johannesburg (and the West Rand). It is not uncommon for residents of the East Rand to work in Johannesburg proper and vice versa.
