Springs
Springs is located about 50 km east of Johannesburg. From about 1840 farmers moved into the area and declared farms for themselves, and the town of Springs was founded as a coal and gold mining town in 1904.
Once upon a time, by the late 1930s, some 50 years or so after the first discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, there were eight gold mines near Springs, making it one of the largest single gold-producing areas in the world. The City of Springs boasts the largest number of small-scale Art Deco design buildings in the world, outside of Miami, Florida USA.
Springs used to have a large lido-style swimming pool, known as Olympia Park, which was the home to the Olympia Swimming Club. Natalie Myburgh, a local schoolgirl and member of the club, won a bronze medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in the 4x100 freestyle relay.
Penny Heyns, a double Olympic gold (Atlanta 1996) medallist and holder of 14 swimming world records was born in Springs and attended a local primary school, before moving to Amanzimtoti High School.
Alas, today the Olympia pool is derelict, and the town only has one pool, at Selection Park. In 2024 there seems to be only one swimming club, the H2O
Springs does have several school swimming pools
