The Big Hole Mine Museum
The Big Hole Mine Museum in Kimberley is a window back to a time when fortune seekers converged here to dig for diamonds. This mining museum recreates what the town must have looked like, while allowing visitors to admire a replica of the stone on which the country’s diamond wealth was founded.
The Big Hole Mine Museum offers a trip back in time to when diamonds were first found in Kimberley in the 1870s. In 1871, fortune seekers converged from all over the world, and the grey, dusty air around the Kimberley camp was soon filled with the rocking of soil sifting cradles, metal clanging on rocks and honky-tonk.
In 1871, Cecil Rhodes arrived at the "New Rush" Camp. In no time, the kopje had disappeared to be replaced by the famous Big Hole. The town was then a place of weather-discoloured tents and corrugated iron houses, interspersed with trading stores and many bars and brothels. However, the surface and alluvial diamonds became increasingly difficult to find, forcing many diggers to leave.
In 1871, Cecil Rhodes arrived at the "New Rush" Camp. In no time, the kopje had disappeared to be replaced by the famous Big Hole. The town was then a place of weather-discoloured tents and corrugated iron houses, interspersed with trading stores and many bars and brothels. However, the surface and alluvial diamonds became increasingly difficult to find, forcing many diggers to leave.
The Big Hole (Photo by Richard Jones)
Tram at the Big Hole (Photo by Richard Jones)
The Visitor Carpark is located off the West Circular Road, on the opposite side of the road to the Big Hole. There is a walk-through underpass that leads you to the Big Hole Mine Museum.
In 1873, Barney Barnato arrived at "New Rush". This is also the year that "New Rush" becomes a town and is named Kimberley, after the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Kimberley. Kimberley settled to become a respectable, elegant Victorian city.
It was not until 1888 that De Beers Consolidated Mines was formally incorporated, with Rhodes, Beit, Phillipson-Stow and Barnato as life governors. A snippet of those early days has been captured by the Big Hole Mine Museum, with various displays and exhibitions detailing what life was like for the fortune-seekers who converged on the area hoping to strike it lucky.
There is a lookout point over the famous Big Hole at the museum. The hole itself is 225m deep, with a surface area of 17 hectares and a perimeter of 1.6 kilometres. It ceased production on August 14, 1914, when the lower reaches were flooded. The De Beers Hall, located in the grounds of this mining museum, features a display of jewellery and uncut diamonds, including a replica of the first Hope diamond.
In 1873, Barney Barnato arrived at "New Rush". This is also the year that "New Rush" becomes a town and is named Kimberley, after the British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Lord Kimberley. Kimberley settled to become a respectable, elegant Victorian city.
It was not until 1888 that De Beers Consolidated Mines was formally incorporated, with Rhodes, Beit, Phillipson-Stow and Barnato as life governors. A snippet of those early days has been captured by the Big Hole Mine Museum, with various displays and exhibitions detailing what life was like for the fortune-seekers who converged on the area hoping to strike it lucky.
There is a lookout point over the famous Big Hole at the museum. The hole itself is 225m deep, with a surface area of 17 hectares and a perimeter of 1.6 kilometres. It ceased production on August 14, 1914, when the lower reaches were flooded. The De Beers Hall, located in the grounds of this mining museum, features a display of jewellery and uncut diamonds, including a replica of the first Hope diamond.
