Two brothers who left their mark on SA

Born in Germany, Alfred and Otto Beit came to the Transvaal's diamond fields in the late 1800s, helping to found mining companies and build crucial infrastructure, writes Graham Jooste.

- Graham Jooste

The Beit brothers played a significant role in establishing deep-level mining along the Witwatersrand Reef during the turn of the previous century, as well as developing new extraction methods.

Born in 1853 in Hamburg, Germany, Alfred was the eldest son and second of six children of an affluent family of gemstone traders in Hamburg, Germany. His younger sibling was Otto, with whom he developed a close and special bond during their boyhood days.

Alfred was a good scholar, and after his schooling he was apprenticed to Jules Porgès & Cie, an Amsterdam diamond firm, where he developed a talent for examining and grading various stones. At the age of 22 he was sent by his firm to Kimberley to purchase diamonds during the halcyon period of the diamond frenzy in South Africa.

By adapting well to the systems and conditions in the boisterous diamond industry, he met many influential people. They included Cecil Rhodes and his adversary, Barney Barnato, who were both trying to gain control of the diamond fields. Alfred watched with great interest as the two magnates approached each other on many issues, including the control of De Beers Mining.

Realising that property speculation might be of interest to him, Alfred bought land and erected 12 corrugated iron sheds for offices. He rented out 11 and kept one for himself. Twelve years later he sold the land for a considerable profit and invested in diamonds as well.

A BIG VISION

He was captivated by Rhodes’s talk of big schemes, and together they proceeded to buy out digging ventures and to eliminate opposition such as Barnato. He rapidly became one of a group of financiers who gained control of the diamond mining claims in the Central, Du Toit’s Pan and De Beers mines.