Cape Police Memorial

Why Kimberley Matters

Over the years, we have noticed that many of our guests—whether visiting Kimberley for business or leisure—have wondered why this remarkable city has played such an important role in South Africa's history over the past 160 years.

These pages invite you on a coffee-table journey through Kimberley's past, from the discovery of the Eureka Diamond in 1867 and the Great Diamond Rush, through wars, political change and the rise of the world's diamond industry, to the city we know today. They are not intended to be an academic history, but rather an enjoyable introduction to the people, places and events that shaped Kimberley.

So, make yourself comfortable, pour a cappuccino or a cup of chai, and enjoy exploring the remarkable story of one of South Africa's most fascinating cities.

One of Kimberley's Least-Known Memorials

Hidden among the quiet streets of Belgravia stands one of Kimberley's least-known war memorials. The Cape Police Memorial, unveiled in 1904, commemorates the officers and men of the Cape Police who lost their lives during the South African War (Anglo-Boer War) of 1899–1902.

Although overshadowed today by larger memorials such as the Honoured Dead Memorial, this monument possesses a quiet dignity and tells an important chapter in Kimberley's military history. It honours a force that played a vital role in defending the town during the famous 124-day Siege of Kimberley.

The Cape Police

The Cape Police served as the mounted colonial constabulary of the Cape Colony. Combining military discipline with civilian policing duties, its officers patrolled remote frontiers, maintained law and order, and were frequently called upon for military service. When war broke out in October 1899, many members of the Cape Police were assigned to Kimberley's garrison.

Throughout the siege, they manned defensive positions, undertook reconnaissance patrols and fought alongside British Army units and the Kimberley Town Guard. Several members were killed defending the town, particularly during actions around Carter's Ridge, north of Kimberley, where some of the fiercest fighting of the siege took place.

A Memorial for Fallen Comrades

Following the war, it was decided to erect a permanent memorial to those members of the Cape Police who had made the ultimate sacrifice. De Beers Consolidated Mines donated the land in Belgravia for the memorial. At the time the site was known as Belgrave Park, although the surrounding area had previously been called Rendlesham Gardens, described in contemporary accounts as "nicely laid out grounds and pretty villas." The memorial was officially unveiled on 17 April 1904 by Lieutenant-Colonel H. T. Tamplin, Crown Prosecutor of Kimberley.

Built in Scotland, Erected in Kimberley

The memorial was manufactured by Messrs MacDonald Monumental Works of Aberdeen, Scotland.

Constructed from red and grey granite, the monument combines polished granite columns with unpolished masonry and finely carved granite lions guarding the base. Standing above everything is the life-sized figure of a Cape policeman. Interestingly, the statue measures 6 feet 4 inches (1.93 metres) in height, reflecting what was then considered the ideal height for a Cape policeman.

The decorative boundary originally consisted of cast-iron rifles with fixed bayonets linked by chains. These were manufactured in Kimberley by E. W. Tarry & Co. at a cost of thirty shillings per rifle. Sadly, the bayonets have been vandalised, although much of the original character survives. The monument itself cost approximately £650, while transport from Scotland would have increased the cost to around £1,400 had generous concessions not been granted by Union-Castle Line and the railway authorities. De Beers funded the erection of the memorial.

Facing Carter's Ridge

One of the memorial's most thoughtful design features is its orientation. The granite policeman faces towards Carter's Ridge, the battlefield where several members of the Cape Police lost their lives during the defence of Kimberley. Even today, more than 120 years later, the statue continues to look silently across the city towards the ground where those men fought.

A Forgotten Memorial

Today the Cape Police Memorial is enclosed within a small garden in Belgravia, surrounded by later residential development. Although it no longer occupies the open parkland setting envisaged by its builders, it remains one of Kimberley's most important military memorials and deserves to be better known.

Together with the Honoured Dead Memorial, the Kimberley Regiment Memorial and the nearby battlefields of the Siege of Kimberley, it forms part of an extraordinary collection of monuments that tell the story of one of South Africa's defining conflicts.

Did You Know?

The granite policeman standing atop the memorial was deliberately sculpted 6 feet 4 inches tall, reflecting the ideal physical standard expected of members of the Cape Police at the beginning of the twentieth century.