Why Kimberley Matters
Kimberley has played an extraordinary role in South Africa's history for more than 150 years.
From diamonds and the Great Diamond Rush to war, political change and the growth of the international diamond industry, the city has helped shape modern South Africa.
These pages are an informal journey through the people, places and events that made Kimberley remarkable. Make yourself comfortable and enjoy exploring the story of one of South Africa's most fascinating cities.
Diamonds, Apartheid and Hope
Although the Kimberley Mine (the Big Hole) closed in 1914, the city remained the spiritual home of De Beers. After World War II, mining continued at Wesselton, Dutoitspan and Bultfontein, while Kimberley's sorting houses, laboratories and administrative offices played a vital role in the global diamond trade.
Under Ernest Oppenheimer and later his son Harry (born in Kimberley in 1908), De Beers maintained tight control over diamond production and marketing, enforcing strict security, including X-ray screenings of Black workers. The 1948 National Party victory introduced apartheid, placing Kimberley — with its tradition of activism since Sol Plaatje — at the heart of growing resistance.
British Royal Visits
Kimberley’s diamond fame drew British royalty. The highlight came on 18 April 1947, when King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Elizabeth (future Queen Elizabeth II), and Princess Margaret visited. Sir Ernest Oppenheimer guided them around the Big Hole and De Beers operations. The family viewed diamond displays, received gifts including stones presented by Mary Oppenheimer, lunched at the Kimberley Club, and attended an ex-servicemen’s parade. Subsequent visits by members of the Royal Family reinforced Kimberley's historic ties with Britain and the Oppenheimer family.
Princess Elizabeth viewing diamonds in 1947
Kimberley at the Heart of the Diamond Trade
Apartheid was a daily reality. Pass laws restricted movement, families lived in racially designated areas (Galeshewe as the main African township), and schools, parks, hospitals and facilities were segregated. Black mine workers remained under the strict compound system.
By the mid-1950s, the neighbouring mines remained productive. After Ernest’s death in 1957, Harry Oppenheimer took over De Beers, strengthening the company’s global dominance through the Central Selling Organisation (CSO). Kimberley benefited from stable employment and modest infrastructure improvements, including worker housing, while the Big Hole endured as a powerful symbol.
Harry Oppenheimer was awarded the Freedom of the City in 1973. Apartheid policies, however, limited broader prosperity and eventually contributed to a gradual shift of some operations elsewhere.
1986 debate Harry Oppenheimer discussed the future of mining and labour in SA with Cyril Ramaphosa, then a National Union of Mineworkers leader. (Photo: African Media Online)
Arthur Letele: Leads the Defiance Campaign
Kimberley played a key role in the 1952 Defiance Campaign. Local leader Dr Arthur Letele helped mobilise volunteers who deliberately used “Whites Only” facilities at the Kimberley Railway Station, Market Square and the Post Office.
Mass arrests followed, and tensions led to the Mayibuye Uprising, during which police opened fire, killing thirteen people. The Mayibuye Uprising Memorial in Galeshewe today honours the victims and Kimberley’s contribution to the struggle.
Mayibuye Uprising Memorial
Frances Baard: a Tireless Campaigner
Born in Beaconsfield, Frances Baard helped draft the Freedom Charter and mobilised women for the 1956 Women’s March to Pretoria. Repeatedly imprisoned, she remained a tireless activist. Kimberley later honoured her by naming the Frances Baard District Municipality after her; a bronze statue stands in the city.
Frances Baard
Robert Sobukwe: Banished to Kimberley
The government sent PAC leader Robert Sobukwe to isolated Kimberley after Robben Island to silence him. Placed under house arrest at his home in Naledi Street, Galeshewe, he ran a small legal practice from offices on Royal Street.
He stayed active in the community until his death at Kimberley Hospital in 1978. The hospital was renamed Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital in 2017.
Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe Hospital in Kimberley
Z.K. Matthews: Calls for a Congress of the People
Zachariah Keodirelang (ZK) Matthews (1901–1968), a cousin of Sol Plaatje, grew up in the city before becoming a leading academic and the first Black South African to earn a law degree from a South African university. Believing that a dramatic new initiative was needed, Matthews proposed the idea of the Congress of the People in his presidential address to the ANC’s Cape conference in August 1953. He subsequently became a key figure in drafting the Freedom Charter. Today, the Prof. Z.K. Matthews Hospital in nearby Barkly West bears his name.
Oppenheimer House
In the early 1970s, De Beers built the 14-storey Harry Oppenheimer House (HOH) as the central diamond sorting facility for Southern Africa. Opened in 1974, it employed hundreds and symbolised the industry’s importance.
In 2023, De Beers donated the building to Sol Plaatje University.
The Road to Democracy
The 1976 Soweto Uprising sparked protests in Galeshewe. The 1980s brought states of emergency, sanctions, mine strikes and intensified local resistance. Building on the legacy of Baard, Letele and Sobukwe, activists kept pressure on the regime. By the late 1980s, secret negotiations and mass defiance signalled apartheid’s end. Kimberley waited with cautious hope until Nelson Mandela’s release in February 1990.
Everyday Life in Kimberley
Segregation shaped daily routines — separate suburbs, schools and facilities — yet community life endured. Motor cars replaced steam trains at the railway station, the Harry Oppenheimer House dominated the skyline, and families enjoyed Saturday rugby, church services, shopping areas, and the drive-in cinema. Television arrived in 1976. De Beers sports clubs and facilities enriched social life, while new suburbs reflected both diamond-driven growth and apartheid’s divisions. Despite segregation, churches remained important centres of community life across all of Kimberley's neighbourhoods.
Looking to the Future
By 1990, Kimberley had been central to both South Africa’s diamond wealth and its liberation struggle. As Mandela walked free, the city prepared to reinvent itself in a democratic South Africa.
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.