1900 – Kimberley Begins Rebuilding After the Siege

In the weeks following the relief of Kimberley in February 1900, the city began the difficult task of rebuilding after the 124-day Siege of Kimberley. For many residents, particularly the Black communities who had endured immense hardship during the siege, life would never be quite the same.

Several of Kimberley's established locations and townships had been demolished for military purposes during the conflict. Locations 1 and 4, together with the Flenters and Mankurwane settlements, disappeared, while only Location No. 2 remained largely intact and was immediately expanded to accommodate displaced families (In 1952, No. 2 Location was renamed Galeshewe after Kgosi Galeshewe). These changes marked the beginning of a new pattern of urban planning that increasingly restricted where Black residents could live and laid the foundations for the segregation that would later become entrenched under apartheid.

Many Black residents found employment with Lord Roberts' army as wagon drivers and conductors, transporting supplies to the front and returning with wounded soldiers. Yet despite their contribution during the war, there is still no major memorial dedicated to the Black men, women and children who suffered and died during the Siege of Kimberley. One poignant reminder survives outside St Mary's Cathedral on Du Toitspan Road, where a memorial honours Sarah, a 40-year-old domestic worker who died during the siege.

Did You Know?

The stone kerbing along the roads leading to the Honoured Dead Memorial was largely laid by Black labourers during the Siege of Kimberley. More than 125 years later, visitors still walk on this tangible reminder of their contribution to the city's wartime history.

Based on an article by Steve Lunderstedt in www.kimberley.org.za/today-in-kimberleys-history-03-march/

Kimberley Invents Rugby's "Dummy Pass"

Few rugby supporters realise that one of the sport's most famous attacking moves was first introduced in Kimberley. During the late nineteenth century, Daniel Walter "Dan" Smith, a brilliant Griqualand West and South African international, developed what became known as the "dummy pass" or "giving the dummy." Playing on Kimberley's rugby fields, Smith perfected the art of pretending to pass the ball before accelerating through a gap in the defence. The move proved so effective that it was quickly adopted throughout South Africa before spreading to rugby-playing nations worldwide. 

Smith represented Griqualand West between 1889 and 1895, captained the province on five occasions, and played for South Africa against the British Isles in Kimberley in 1891. Off the field, he worked for De Beers Consolidated Mines and later served with the Cycle Corps during the Siege of Kimberley. His innovation permanently changed the way rugby is played, and more than a century later, the dummy pass remains one of the game's most effective attacking skills.

Based on an article by Steve Lunderstedt in www.kimberley.org.za/today-in-kimberleys-history-03-march/