Kimberley City Hall
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.
Kimberley City Hall in September 2003. Designed by Fergus Carstairs-Rogers and opened in 1899, the City Hall remains one of Kimberley's most important Victorian landmarks. Photo: © Richard Jones, September 2003.
A Victorian landmark at the heart of Kimberley
When exploring central Kimberley, make sure you take a turn past City Hall. With its elegant cream-and-white façade, imposing Corinthian columns and richly decorated pediment, it remains one of the city's most recognisable landmarks. But the City Hall is much more than an impressive Victorian building.
For more than 125 years, it has stood at the centre of Kimberley's civic life. It has witnessed the city's extraordinary diamond boom, the Siege of Kimberley, royal visits, changing political administrations and the transformation of South Africa itself. It also came remarkably close to disappearing.
Today, Kimberley City Hall is a declared heritage site and one of the city's architectural treasures. Its survival owes much to the determination of people who believed that Kimberley's history was worth preserving.
Built for a Growing Diamond City
Kimberley's first Town Hall was destroyed by fire on 29 March 1898, taking with it much of the municipality's early records. The loss created an opportunity to build something larger and more impressive for a town that had grown extraordinarily quickly since the diamond discoveries of the late 1860s. On 13 April 1898, the decision was taken to construct a new Town Hall. A competition was held, with a £100 prize for the winning design.
The successful architect was Fergus Carstairs-Rogers, one of Kimberley's most important early architects.
His design was an ambitious Victorian building in the Roman Corinthian style, with a grand central entrance, monumental columns and an elaborately decorated pediment. The Directors of De Beers contributed substantially towards the cost of construction.
On 16 November 1898, the foundation stone was laid by the Mayor of Kimberley, Moses Cornwall, JP. The building was constructed by the local firm Grant and Downie and was completed remarkably quickly. Just ten months later, Kimberley's new Town Hall was ready. It was officially opened on 20 September 1899 by the Mayor, Robert H. Henderson. The timing could hardly have been more dramatic. Within weeks, Kimberley would be surrounded by Boer forces.
City Hall During the Siege
The Second Anglo-Boer War began in October 1899, only weeks after the new Town Hall had opened. Kimberley was soon surrounded by Boer forces, and the Siege of Kimberley began on 14 October 1899. For the next four months, the city was cut off from the outside world. The City Hall became an important centre of civic organisation during the crisis.
Among other functions, it was used for the issuing and rationing of food. The building also provided refuge for people displaced by the siege. The siege finally ended on 15 February 1900 when British forces entered Kimberley. The City Hall had been open for less than five months. It had already become part of one of the most dramatic episodes in Kimberley's history.
From Town Hall to City Hall
The building originally served as Kimberley's Town Hall and municipal headquarters.When Kimberley achieved city status in 1913, the building became known as City Hall. For decades it was the administrative and civic heart of the city.
The building accommodated the council chamber, Mayor's parlour, committee room, Town Clerk's office and other municipal offices, as well as the main hall and supper room. Mayors and councillors came and went, municipal staff worked within its offices and important civic occasions were held under its roof.
An early view of Kimberley Town Hall, built during the final years of the city's nineteenth-century diamond boom.
As Kimberley grew, however, the municipality increasingly needed more space. In 1962, municipal administration moved to the newly constructed Civic Centre. City Hall was no longer required as the city's main administrative headquarters. That was when its future became uncertain.
The Building That Almost Disappeared
For a time, City Hall stood largely unused.
Without the daily activity of the municipality, maintenance declined and the building began to deteriorate. By the early 1970s, serious structural problems had developed. The façade above the Corinthian entrance was threatening to fall towards the street, while the rear corner of the building was also badly cracked.
The building that almost disappeared. Kimberley City Hall seen from across the road in September 2003, with the Civic Centre rising behind it. Photo: © Richard Jones, September 2003.
The locally manufactured bricks and mortar had deteriorated after decades of exposure to Kimberley's extreme temperatures and weather. Demolition was considered. But a group of people believed that destroying City Hall would mean destroying an irreplaceable part of Kimberley's history. Among them was Alderman Lawrie Shuttleworth.