Speak about Kimberley and visions of diamonds come to mind. Visit Kimberley and you will get to see real diamonds in the mine museum and in the show rooms outside. No wonder tourists throng to this city in the Northern Cape of South Africa just to view the ‘Big Hole’ and the diamonds that were unearthed here. A guided tour to this mining city will tell visitors all about the story of diamonds.
The Diamond Story
It was in Kimberley that the first diamond of South Africa was found almost a hundred and fifty years ago. The story goes that children playing in a farm called De Kulk picked up the first diamond while playing a game called ‘klip-klip.’ A pebble collector named Schalk Van Niekerk recognized the uniqueness of the stone during a visit to the farm. He passed it on to experts who recognized the stone to be a 21 carat diamond.
The Star of South Africa
They named the diamond ‘Eureka’ and sold it for 500 pounds to the then Governor of the Cape, Sir Philip Wodehouse. In 1869, Niekerk bought a magnificent 83 carat white diamond from a shepherd for 500 sheep, ten head of cattle and a horse. The diamond soon became known as ‘the Star of South Africa.’
Big Hole Diamond Mine
In 1871, diamond deposits found in a hillock named Colesberg Kopje on a farm, owned by the De Beers brothers, led to a mad scramble for fortune. It resulted finally in the hand digging of the colossal Kimberley Mine, now known as the Big Hole. From this date to August 14, 1914, the mine yielded 2722 kilograms of diamonds, extracted from 22.5 million tons of excavated earth.
Today there remains only a massive crater 214 meters deep with a surface area of 17 hectares and a perimeter of 1.6 km. The crater, of course, has become a major tourist attraction luring people from all over the world to view this archeological wonder from a viewing platform that is exactly the size of a 19th century mining claim.
Diamond Tour in Kimberly
Down at the mining museum visitors can view a recreated mine shaft of the period. Tourists can also get to touch the hard, black Kimberlite stone out of which diamonds were extracted. The most interesting part of the tour, though, is the entry into the Real Diamond display chamber. Inside this vault, visitors can view a variety of diamonds in different shades and sizes, including the ‘Eureka’ diamond and the renowned ‘616’ named after its carat size.
Kimberley Landmarks
To get a nostalgic ride down Kimberley, one can get into a tram for a ride from the mining town to the landmark City Hall. Those who have a day more to spare then take the heritage walk to view the city’s quaint Victorian cottages, war monuments, conical church steeples, spacious parks and galleries. The Mcgregor Museum, the starting point of the walk, is a store house of the natural history of Africa and the Anglo-Boer war.
Kimberley is the historical city of South Africa and is pulsating with life. It is the city where diamond mining created the kind of wealth that ushered in the industrial revolution of South Africa. It is also the site that witnessed the Anglo-Boer war and from where regiments were sent to participate in the world war. To travel to this city in the far away land of South Africa is to unravel facts about South African history and diamond discovery.
Fact File of Kimberley
Location: 500 km from Johannesburg, South Africa
Status: Capital of Northern Cape, South Africa
Reputed for: Diamond Mining
Situated: 1200 m above sea level.
Climate: Hot wet summers (Dec. to Feb.) and Mild Dry Winters (June to Aug.)
To Reach: South African Airlines and other airlines from Europe, US and Asia fly to
Johannesburg regularly. From Johannesburg Kimberley can be reached by
road or air.
Best time to Visit: September to Nov. & March to May.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
