Originally a mining town established in 1886 at the start of the Witwatersrand Gold Rush, Germiston has since developed into one of the largest manufacturing, trucking and railway hubs in Africa, and is a major centre of the South African steel industry.

The builder of the hotel, Alexander Stuart, some of whose descendants still live in Germiston, died when the RMS Lusitania was torpedoed in the First World War on 7 May 1915.

According to the 2001 census, the population of Germiston consisted of 139,719 people living in 49,062 households, and its land area was 129 square kilometres (50 sq mi).

The club is home to some of the best canoeists and rowing crews in the country, including the twenty-time South African School Champions, St Benedict's College.

The WesBank Raceway motorsports facility was located in the city, but it was sold to industrial estate developers in November 2007.

The crest was a rising falcon (representing Rand Airport); the supporters were two eland, each resting a foot on an heraldic fountain (a white and blue striped disc); the motto was Salus populi suprema lex.

The industrial areas are serviced by rail spurs and stations and the Transnet has a large depot north of the CBD in Keswick Road.

Germiston is also the location of Rand Airport, at one time one of the busiest in Africa and the southern hemisphere.

Today it caters largely for light aircraft and flying schools, but is also home to the South African Airways Museum.

In 1964, due to the need to relocate the Afrikaans Delville Primary School, the girls were moved back to combine with the boys in the original historic buildings.

Famous past pupils include Dr Sydney Brenner, winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize.

The rowing club, which won the South African National Championships in 1980, is still flourishing, and the oarsmen and women compete at all the school regattas.