A Diamond Of A Day

Explore Kimberley and uncover history, culture, art … and ghosts.

- Dawn Jorgensen

Situated in the Northern Cape, the city of Kimberley was founded in the 1870s on the hope and fervour of the diamond rush that saw prospectors descend on the area to stake their claims with dreams of striking it rich. This was a definitive turning point in South African history.

It all began in 1866 on a farm called De Kalk, when two children found a large shiny stone while out playing. Giving it to their father, who sold it, the stone eventually made its way to Grahamstown in a bid to ascertain its value. It was discovered to be a 21.25 carat diamond, later named Eureka. 

Not long afterwards, a local farmer bartered an even larger stone (83.5 carats) off a Griqua shepherd that would become known as The Star of South Africa. News soon spread as more diamond deposits were found, leading to a mad scramble for fame and fortune, and the digging of the great Kimberley mine began. By 1872, the tents and shacks of more than 50,000 hopeful diggers crowded the area. Insufficient water, unsanitary conditions, disease, heat and dust were ever-present challenges in the town’s early days. But the stakes were high, and with money made and lost in a day, the early prospectors were not deterred.