Vorna Valley is a suburb of

Midrand Midrand is a town in central Gauteng, South Africa. It is situated in-between Centurion, Gauteng, Centurion and Sandton. Formerly an independent municipality, Midrand now forms part of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality. History ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It is located in Region A of the

City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality The City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality () is a metropolitan municipality that manages the local governance of Johannesburg, the largest city in South Africa. It is divided into several branches and departments in order to expedite se ...

History

Vorna Valley derives its name from the Galaun family's home village of Varniai (Vornia), Lithuania. Jacob and Michle, father and mother of brothers Joseph, Israel, Louis, Harry, Abe, and sisters Leah, Malka and Tzira, lived in Lithuania. Jacob owned a butchery and leased a piece of land on which they kept cattle. Michle came from a cheese-making family. The Galaun family sold cheese as well as milk to supplement their income from their butchery. Many Jewish youths from Lithuania emigrated due to the military conscription, poverty and anti-semitism. Harry Galaun moved to South Africa where he established himself as an established property developer and owned a bottle store and land known as Halfway House. Harry eventually established the township of Vorna Valley in the 1970s. The main arterial road was named after Harry Galaun while other streets in the suburb were named after mainly South African artists, poets, writers, performers and influential people in the world of arts at that time.

References

Johannesburg Region A {{Johannesburg-stub