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Nigel | |
|---|---|
  Nigel  Nigel | |
| Coordinates:26°25′13″S28°28′6″E / 26.42028°S 28.46833°E /-26.42028; 28.46833 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Gauteng |
| Municipality | Ekurhuleni |
| Area | |
• Total | 139.07 km2 (53.70 sq mi) |
| Population (2011)[1] | |
• Total | 38,318 |
| • Density | 275.53/km2 (713.62/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 44.9% |
| • Coloured | 16.7% |
| • Indian/Asian | 3.9% |
| • White | 33.4% |
| • Other | 1.1% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Afrikaans | 43.5% |
| • Zulu | 23.3% |
| • English | 16.1% |
| • Sotho | 5.3% |
| • Other | 11.8% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 1491 |
| PO box | 1490 |
| Area code | 011 |
Nigel is a smallgold mining town inGauteng Province,South Africa, south-east ofJohannesburg. The town is at the south-eastern edge of theCity of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality and theEast Rand.
A farmer, shopkeeper and prospector, Petrus Johannes Marais, having read SirWalter Scott'sThe Fortunes of Nigel at the time (seeNigel), formed theNigel Gold Mining Company after the discovery of gold on the farmVarkensfontein in 1886.[2]: 286 The town, which grew around the mine, still bears names derived from Scott's book and its characters with the suburb ofGlenvarloch and its streets derived from that source.[2]: 286
Today the town is focused primarily on mining and also has various heavy industries.
The town became known as the setting of the popular Afrikaans-sitcomVetkoekpaleis,[3] a sitcom that revolves around the daily lives of staff members of the Vetkoekpaleis (aVetkoek-themed fast-food restaurant).
Nigel's municipal government became part of the much largerCity of Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality following the creation of new local government structures in 2000, along with most of rest of theEast Rand.
On 1 August 2010, a fire at the Pieter Wessels old age home led to the deaths of 22 people.[4]
Dennis Hardman,Olympic shooter for Zimbabwe, was born in Nigel in 1943.[5]
Communities ofEkurhuleni,Gauteng | ||
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Seat:Germiston | ||
| Places in Ekurhuleni | .svg) | |
| Suburbs of Kempton Park | ||
| Suburbs of Germiston |
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