Today in Kimberley's History
January 11th
"Every day has a story about Kimberley's past."
On this day...
The eleventh day of January highlights the remarkable ingenuity of Kimberley's defenders during the Siege of 1900 and recalls two important milestones in South Africa's liberation history, both closely linked to the annual January 8 celebrations of the African National Congress.
1900 – Building Kimberley's Secret Weapon
88 days into the Siege of Kimberley
On 11 January 1900, Winifred Heberden was given a rare opportunity to witness one of Kimberley's greatest wartime engineering achievements taking shape.
In The Diary of a Doctor's Wife – During the Siege of Kimberley, October 1899 to February 1900, she described riding to the Stone Crusher Fort, where a gun positioned on one of Kimberley's towering mine debris heaps overlooked Felsted's Farm, Dronfield, the Intermediate Station, and the Waterworks. Using a telescope, she observed the Boer laager spread across the surrounding veld.
Afterwards, she visited the De Beers Workshops, where engineers under the direction of George Labram were hard at work constructing the enormous gun that would soon become famous as Long Cecil. The weapon was still being bored when Winifred visited. Measuring around 10 feet (3 metres) in length and designed to fire shells weighing 28½ pounds (almost 13 kg), it represented a remarkable feat of engineering for a town completely cut off from outside supplies.
Between 30 and 40 skilled craftsmen were employed on its construction, at an estimated cost of £800 to £1,000—a considerable sum in 1900. The gun's carriage was also being manufactured entirely from iron in the De Beers workshops.
Winifred also toured Kimberley's newly completed cold storage facility, capable of holding around 500 carcasses. It had been built to safeguard precious food supplies and would later play an important role in preserving meat during the siege.
Just ten days later, Long Cecil would roar into action, becoming one of the most celebrated symbols of Kimberley's determination and ingenuity.
Did You Know?
Long Cecil remains the largest gun ever designed and manufactured entirely in a besieged town. It was built in just 24 days using De Beers' engineering workshops.
1962 – Nelson Mandela Appears in Addis Ababa
On this day in 1962, Nelson Mandela made a surprise appearance at the Pan-African Freedom Movement Conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Having secretly left South Africa using an Ethiopian passport under the name David Motsamayi, Mandela addressed delegates from liberation movements across Africa. In his speech, he explained why the African National Congress had decided to establish Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) and begin armed resistance after decades of peaceful protest had failed to end apartheid.
During the same journey, Mandela received military training in Algeria before travelling to London to meet British political leaders. He returned to South Africa later that year but was arrested near Howick in August 1962. His imprisonment would ultimately last 27 years, during which he became the world's most recognised political prisoner.
Did You Know?
Nelson Mandela travelled across Africa in 1962 using the alias "David Motsamayi" and an Ethiopian passport to avoid detection by the apartheid authorities.
2020 – ANC January 8 Statement Comes to Kimberley
On this day in 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the ANC's annual January 8 Statement at Taafel Lager Rugby Stadium in Kimberley (now part of the Sol Plaatje University sports complex).
The January 8 Statement commemorates the founding of the South African Native National Congress (SANNC) on 8 January 1912, the organisation that later became the African National Congress (ANC). It has become the party's principal annual policy address, setting out priorities for the year ahead.
Kimberley was a fitting venue for the 2020 celebrations because of its close association with Solomon Plaatje, who served as the SANNC's first Secretary-General. Earlier in the week, President Ramaphosa laid a wreath at Plaatje's grave, honouring one of the organisation's founding leaders.
The event reinforced Kimberley's place in South Africa's political history, linking the city's past with the continuing legacy of one of the country's oldest liberation movements.
Did You Know?
Kimberley has hosted the ANC's January 8 celebrations twice in recent years—first in 2010 and again in 2020—reflecting the city's close association with Solomon Plaatje.
Can't find a Kimberley connection for a particular date? Our Today in Kimberley's History collection is continually expanding as we research Kimberley's rich history. If you know of a notable local event that occurred on a specific date, we'd love to hear from you using the Contact Us page.
Kimberley's Story Continues
These are just two of the many events that helped shape Kimberley. Every date on the calendar reveals another chapter in the city's remarkable history.
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