Today in Kimberley's History
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The four corner stones of the castle (Kasteel de Goede Hoop) at the Cape are laid - 1666
On 2 January 1666 the four corner stones of the Castle of Good Hope (Kasteel van Goede Hoop) at the Cape were laid by Zacharias Wagenaer, Johan van Arckel, Gabbema and Lacus, the structure was completed by 1679. The Castle of Good Hope is the oldest surviving building in South Africa. This fortification replaced a small clay and timber fort built by Jan van Riebeeck in 1652 upon establishing a maritime replenishment station at the Cape of Good Hope for the Dutch East India Company, better known as the VOC. The castle has a pentagonal plan a five-pointed star, with moat and bastions at each corner, the five bastions were called Leerdam, Buuren, Katzenellenbogen, Nassau and Oranje, In 1936 the Castle was declared a National Monument.
On 2 January 1666 the four corner stones of the Castle of Good Hope (Kasteel van Goede Hoop) at the Cape were laid by Zacharias Wagenaer, Johan van Arckel, Gabbema and Lacus, the structure was completed by 1679. The Castle of Good Hope is the oldest surviving building in South Africa. This fortification replaced a small clay and timber fort built by Jan van Riebeeck in 1652 upon establishing a maritime replenishment station at the Cape of Good Hope for the Dutch East India Company, better known as the VOC. The castle has a pentagonal plan a five-pointed star, with moat and bastions at each corner, the five bastions were called Leerdam, Buuren, Katzenellenbogen, Nassau and Oranje, In 1936 the Castle was declared a National Monument.
Leander Starr Jameson's raiding party captured at Doornkop in 1896
Since the finding of gold in the Witwatersrand in 1884, the Boers had resented the influx of uitlanders (foreigners) that had entered the Transvaal Republic to work the mines. The Kruger government put pressure on the mining companies in the form of taxes and controlling the supply of dynamite, to the frustration of Cecil Rhodes and other mine owners.
In 1895 the Reform Movement, led by mine owners in the Transvaal Republic and secretly supported by Cecil Rhodes, plotted to overthrow the Transvaal government. A raid was launched on 29 December 1895, when Leander Starr Jameson led a band of 600 British armed men across the border from Mafikeng in Bechuanaland in an illegal attempt to support the rebellious Uitlanders. Jameson, however, had been too hasty. Communication was poor and plans were botched when all telegraph lines were not cut as planned.
Consequently, the Boers received warning of the attack, and Jameson was forced to surrender at Doornkop on 2 January 1896. Jameson and his officers were sent to Pretoria, and, after a short delay, during which time sections of the Boer populace clamoured for the execution of Jameson, President Kruger handed them over to the British government for punishment following the on the surrender of Johannesburg on 7 January 1896.
Since the finding of gold in the Witwatersrand in 1884, the Boers had resented the influx of uitlanders (foreigners) that had entered the Transvaal Republic to work the mines. The Kruger government put pressure on the mining companies in the form of taxes and controlling the supply of dynamite, to the frustration of Cecil Rhodes and other mine owners.
In 1895 the Reform Movement, led by mine owners in the Transvaal Republic and secretly supported by Cecil Rhodes, plotted to overthrow the Transvaal government. A raid was launched on 29 December 1895, when Leander Starr Jameson led a band of 600 British armed men across the border from Mafikeng in Bechuanaland in an illegal attempt to support the rebellious Uitlanders. Jameson, however, had been too hasty. Communication was poor and plans were botched when all telegraph lines were not cut as planned.
Consequently, the Boers received warning of the attack, and Jameson was forced to surrender at Doornkop on 2 January 1896. Jameson and his officers were sent to Pretoria, and, after a short delay, during which time sections of the Boer populace clamoured for the execution of Jameson, President Kruger handed them over to the British government for punishment following the on the surrender of Johannesburg on 7 January 1896.
79 days since beginning of the Siege of Kimberley, 1900
Extract from "The Diary of a Doctor's Wife – During the Siege of Kimberley October 1899 to February 1900" by Winifred Heberden.
The Boers fired at our cattle guards this morning. We replied and silenced them. The veld is very poor round Kimberley itself; all the best grass being within dangerous proximity to the enemy. Thirteen head of our cattle straying a little too far were captured. But we also scored. For two fine horses belonging to a Commandant came our way, and were promptly brought into the town.
Our meat allowance is only a quarter lb a day each; and 2 ozs for children under 12. The butchering arrangements are now taken charge of by the Military, who have erected strong barriers and gates outside two entrances to the Market House, whilst the third is used as an exit. The people are drawn up in double file according to the Municipal Ward they live in, and the lines extend a good way across the Market Square. Vegetables are also divided and sold after the meat. It was amusing to see rich and poor, high and low, standing together. The Secretary of De Beers and his basket jostling a little shoemaker; an ex M.L.A. (Member Legislative Assembly) standing behind a cabby - and so on; but the crowd was mostly composed of women, the male relations being in the Forts at that early hour. Several photographers were busy.
The sun was frightfully hot from the time it rose, and many poor women who probably had left home without waiting even for a cup of coffee nearly fainted from the long delay. Directly the meat and vegetables were secured and paid for, most people went on to the grocer (who has very little but pickles and sauces left), and there joined another crowd. And so, from shop to shop, Permit Office to Declaration Office, they generally spend the first and hottest part of the day. We all here pray that this hotel will hold out till everything is all right again.
Extract from "The Diary of a Doctor's Wife – During the Siege of Kimberley October 1899 to February 1900" by Winifred Heberden.
The Boers fired at our cattle guards this morning. We replied and silenced them. The veld is very poor round Kimberley itself; all the best grass being within dangerous proximity to the enemy. Thirteen head of our cattle straying a little too far were captured. But we also scored. For two fine horses belonging to a Commandant came our way, and were promptly brought into the town.
Our meat allowance is only a quarter lb a day each; and 2 ozs for children under 12. The butchering arrangements are now taken charge of by the Military, who have erected strong barriers and gates outside two entrances to the Market House, whilst the third is used as an exit. The people are drawn up in double file according to the Municipal Ward they live in, and the lines extend a good way across the Market Square. Vegetables are also divided and sold after the meat. It was amusing to see rich and poor, high and low, standing together. The Secretary of De Beers and his basket jostling a little shoemaker; an ex M.L.A. (Member Legislative Assembly) standing behind a cabby - and so on; but the crowd was mostly composed of women, the male relations being in the Forts at that early hour. Several photographers were busy.
The sun was frightfully hot from the time it rose, and many poor women who probably had left home without waiting even for a cup of coffee nearly fainted from the long delay. Directly the meat and vegetables were secured and paid for, most people went on to the grocer (who has very little but pickles and sauces left), and there joined another crowd. And so, from shop to shop, Permit Office to Declaration Office, they generally spend the first and hottest part of the day. We all here pray that this hotel will hold out till everything is all right again.