History

Johannesburg is an extraordinary City, born just over 120 years ago with the discovery of gold and since then it always has been a City of Commerce and Opportunity.

Even today Joburg continues to attract those looking for opportunity – it’s a city populated by people who have come to realise their DREAMS.

The area of Johannesburg began as unassuming farm land in an area known as The Witwatersrand; named after the white water springs that coursed the land. Beneath that rough but serene country was Gold.

Until George Harrison, an Australian prospector, came pioneering, the mineral wealth of the Witwatersrand lay undiscovered, as did the potential for a city. In 1886, after George had sold his gold claim for just £10, Johannesburg was born. He could not have been conscious of the profound world history that would unfold here. If he’d had only a glimmer of the city it would one day become, now in Gauteng, place of gold.

Much like its recently declared sister city, New York, Johannesburg has always attracted diverse people and been a place of extremes; its been everything from the best to the worst of cities since 1886.

Johannesburg celebrated its centenary in 1996, twenty years after the students’ uprising in Soweto (1976) which marked the turning point in South African history. After the youth uprising 1976, the socio-political scenario changed drastically and irrevocably ...

This Egoli with gold in its mud, became the hotbed for radical economic, social and political transformation. For most Jozi citizens, the first democratic elections in 1994 signalled a well being among all citizens, and a beginning of a new era.