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.
💎 1869: The Star of South Africa Diamond
💎 1869–1871 South Africa's Great Diamond Rush
💎 1867–1914: From Eureka to the Big Hole
💎 1914–1945: From Diamonds to War
💎 1945–1990: From Oppenheimer to Democracy
Kimberley Comes of Age
By 1914, Kimberley had matured from a rough mining camp into one of South Africa’s leading commercial and industrial centres. Substantial buildings lined its streets, electric lighting brightened public spaces, and rail links connected it to the rest of southern Africa. At the heart of the global diamond trade, the city remained prosperous even as the early diamond rush faded.
In 1914, one of its most respected citizens, Solomon Plaatje, travelled to England with a delegation from the South African Native National Congress (SANNC) to protest the Natives’ Land Act of 1913. Though he spent much of the next decade abroad, Kimberley remained his home.
The Big Hole graphic of diamonds extracted
A City Built on Diamonds
Mining had shifted from individual diggers to large-scale industrial operations run by major companies. Steam-powered equipment was giving way to electric machinery, allowing deeper extraction of vast quantities of “blue ground.” Engineering, geology, and skilled labour became as vital as good fortune.
Kimberley’s workshops, railways and supporting industries also expanded, providing employment for thousands of people whose livelihoods depended indirectly on diamond mining.
The Big Hole mineshaft headgear
The First World War
South Africa entered the war in August 1914 as a British dominion. Under Prime Minister Louis Botha and Jan Smuts, South African forces captured German South West Africa by July 1915. Over 74,000 troops served across multiple theatres, with more than 7,000 killed. The war deepened divisions, sparking the short-lived 1914 Maritz Rebellion among Afrikaners opposed to fighting Britain.
In Kimberley, the city supported the Allied effort. Many local men volunteered, and the diamond mines supplied vital industrial diamonds. Though briefly threatened early in the war, Kimberley contributed through local industries and civic leadership. The conflict accelerated urban migration of Black workers and heightened political awareness, helping set the stage for future anti-colonial sentiments while strengthening South Africa’s international standing.
Merchant and former Mayor John Orr continued his philanthropy, while his department store on Jones Street (now Phakamile Mabija Street) was a city landmark. Fergus Carstairs Rogers, designer of several notable buildings including the Alexander McGregor Memorial Museum, aided military recruitment and later received an MBE. Although Herbert Baker had left South Africa, his influence endured through landmarks like the Union Buildings in Pretoria, and later Rhodes House in Oxford and South Africa House in London.
John Orr's department store on Jones Street in Kimberley
Ernest Oppenheimer and a New Era
During the first half of the 20th century, Ernest Oppenheimer, who had arrived in Kimberley in 1902, became the dominant figure in the city’s development. Mayor in 1912 and later a Member of Parliament, he helped establish the Kimberley Regiment during the war and supported key infrastructure.
In 1917, he co-founded the Anglo-American Corporation. Despite wartime shortages and disruptions to international trade, diamond mining continued, although global demand fluctuated as economies adjusted to the realities of war.
De Beers Head Office in Stockdale Street Kimberley
Under Oppenheimer's leadership, Kimberley ceased to be simply the place where diamonds were discovered. Instead, it became the administrative and intellectual centre of the world's diamond industry. Decisions taken in Kimberley increasingly determined the price of diamonds worldwide, giving the city influence far beyond its size.
The Spanish Flu Pandemic
The Spanish Flu reached South Africa in September 1918, carried by returning soldiers at the end of the First World War. As a major railway junction and mining centre, Kimberley was particularly vulnerable. The disease reached the city in late September and spread rapidly through crowded mine compounds, townships and residential areas.
Within weeks, hundreds of Kimberley residents had died. Hospitals were overwhelmed, mining operations were disrupted, and schools, churches and many public gatherings were suspended as the epidemic swept through the city. Local newspapers described scenes of widespread grief, overworked medical staff and hurried burials as families struggled to cope with the scale of the disaster. Coming so soon after the losses of the Anglo-Boer War and the First World War, the pandemic left a profound mark on Kimberley and became one of the greatest public health crises in the city's history.
Life Between the Wars
After the First World War, overproduction caused a diamond price collapse. Oppenheimer responded by creating a controlled marketing system. Joining De Beers in 1926 and becoming Chairman in 1929, he established the Central Selling Organisation (CSO) and Diamond Corporation (1930), regulating supply to stabilise international diamond prices.
The Great Depression (following the Wall Street Crash in 1929) brought severe hardship, with reduced production and mine closures across the globe. Yet Kimberley endured through careful supply management.
Kimberley's Plaza Cinema (Cinema) opened in 1931
Although by the 1930s, the excitement of the diamond rush had long passed, the wealth created by the mines continued to shape everyday life. Schools expanded, sporting clubs flourished, and civic organisations became an important part of the community. Churches, theatres and public parks reflected a city that had grown well beyond its origins as a mining camp.
Kimberley's Railway Lifeline
The railway network remained Kimberley’s economic artery. Kimberley Railway Station was a bustling hub for passengers and freight. Behind Kimberley Railway Station, and in neighbouring Beaconsfield, railway workshops formed an important part of the city's industrial economy. Skilled engineers, fitters, boilermakers and mechanics maintained steam locomotives and rolling stock that operated across the arid landscapes of the Karoo and Kalahari. The workshops provided steady employment for hundreds of railway workers and supported many local families.
The railways shaped everyday life in Kimberley as much as the diamond mines themselves. The platforms bustled with miners travelling to new postings, businessmen, government officials, farmers, families setting off on holiday, and, during the two World Wars, thousands of soldiers leaving for military service or returning home. Station masters, signalmen, clerks, engineers and maintenance crews worked alongside large numbers of labourers who kept the tracks, sidings and freight yards operating efficiently.
Trains carried mining equipment, coal, livestock, and mail, linking Kimberley to Cape Town, Johannesburg, and beyond. During both World Wars, they also transported soldiers and letters between home and the front. By the end of the Second World War, Kimberley's railway network had become far more than a means of transport. It was the artery through which the city's commerce, industry and daily life flowed, linking the diamond capital of South Africa with the rest of the country and ensuring that Kimberley remained one of the nation's most important inland centres.
Kimberley's bustling train station between the wars
A Day in Kimberley
What was everyday life like in Kimberley between the two World Wars? While world events shaped the city's future, life continued very differently depending on where people lived, the work they did and, above all, the colour of their skin. Each weekday morning, children walked to schools across the city, but their opportunities depended largely on race. Schools serving white communities generally enjoyed better funding, facilities and resources, while non-white children were often educated in overcrowded classrooms with far fewer opportunities.
Blumenthal’s Corner on Jones Street (now Phakamile Mabija Street)
Jones Street (now Phakamile Mabija Street) offered one of the finest shopping districts in South Africa, with department stores such as John Orr, smaller family businesses, cafés and banks. In contrast, residents of No. 2 Location in Galeshewe township relied largely on local traders and businesses within their own communities, travelling into the city mainly for work or essential shopping. Racial segregation, although not yet formalised under apartheid, increasingly shaped where people could live, work and socialise.
Employment also reflected the divided nature of Kimberley's society. De Beers remained the city's largest employer, but work was allocated along racial lines. White employees generally occupied supervisory, technical and administrative positions, while Black workers performed much of the physically demanding labour in the mines, compounds, railways and municipal services.
Evenings brought entertainment for many residents. Cinemas, dance halls, church concerts and community gatherings were popular throughout the city, while De Beers sponsored sporting clubs and recreational facilities for many of its employees. In No. 2 Location, halls such as the Abantu-Batho Hall (the "People's Hall") became important centres for meetings, performances and political discussion. Those contrasting experiences would shape the leaders, ideas and movements that emerged from Kimberley in the decades that followed.
Kimberley's Voice for Justice
Long before apartheid became official government policy in 1948, Kimberley became home to influential men and women who challenged racial discrimination and helped lay the foundations for South Africa's future democratic society.
Solomon Tshekisho Plaatje campaigned internationally against the 1913 Land Act. He returned permanently in 1923, continued journalism and community work, and defended families facing eviction. Although Plaatje recovered after contracting Spanish Flu, the illness left him weakened. When he later contracted influenza in 1932, it developed into pneumonia from which he died. He is buried in Kimberley's West End Cemetery. Today, his legacy endures through Sol Plaatje University and the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality.
Frances Goitsemang Baard, who had been born in Green Point, Beaconsfield, in 1909, attended local schools before training as a teacher. She later moved to Port Elizabeth, where she became a prominent campaigner for workers’ rights, women’s rights, and democracy.
By 1945, both Solomon Plaatje's legacy and Frances Baard's early life illustrated an important truth: Kimberley was producing leaders whose influence extended far beyond the city's diamond mines. The political and social foundations laid during these years would play an increasingly significant role in South Africa's journey towards democracy.
Bronze statue of Solomon Plaatje in front of the Civic Centre
Bronze Statue of Frances Baard in Kimberley CBD
Kimberley During the Second World War
When the Second World War broke out in 1939, Kimberley once again contributed to the national war effort. Local residents enlisted in the armed forces, industries supported wartime production, and communities organised fundraising campaigns and volunteer initiatives. Newspapers regularly reported on local servicemen and developments overseas.
By 1945, Kimberley had transformed from a rough mining camp into a sophisticated city, the administrative heart of the diamond industry, an important railway and commercial centre, and the birthplace of national leaders.
Kimberley's war memorial on Dutointspan Road
The discovery of diamonds had placed Kimberley on the world map. The foundations for both its future economic power and role in South Africa’s democratic struggle were firmly laid. By 1945, the city's reputation rested as much on its people as on its diamonds.
Continue Exploring Kimberley's Story
Kimberley's story is far bigger than a single page.
We hope these articles inspire you to explore more of the city's remarkable history, heritage and attractions. And if your journey brings you to Kimberley, Solomon Edwardian Guest House offers a comfortable base from which to discover it all.