Today in Kimberley's History
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First Train arrives in Kimberley - 1885
First train arrives in Kimberley on the 28th November 1885. (Photo Public Domain)
44 days since beginning of the Siege of Kimberley, 1899
Extract from "The Diary of a Doctor's Wife – During the Siege of Kimberley October 1899 to February 1900" by Winifred Heberden.
All our available Mounted Men, and later on some of the Lancashires (Infantry), and Town-guardsmen, took the field in the afternoon; and we heard nothing but rumours of fighting. Nobody being allowed at the Forts, or on Debris Heaps to watch events.
Extract from "The Diary of a Doctor's Wife – During the Siege of Kimberley October 1899 to February 1900" by Winifred Heberden.
All our available Mounted Men, and later on some of the Lancashires (Infantry), and Town-guardsmen, took the field in the afternoon; and we heard nothing but rumours of fighting. Nobody being allowed at the Forts, or on Debris Heaps to watch events.
The Honoured Dead Memorial dedicated
The imposing monument known as The Honoured Dead Memorial was erected to perpetuate the memory of the British and Imperial soldiers who gave their lives in defending Kimberley from the Boers during the siege that lasted 124 days, 14 October 1899 to 15 February 1900. The prototype was the Nereid monument that was discovered in Xanthos, Asia Minor, in 1840-1842. The Nereid monument, presumed to be a tomb, had been destroyed but had been re-constructed in model form.
The idea for the Memorial came from Cecil Rhodes after the first action of the siege on 24 October 1899 and the Kimberley design was chosen by a Kimberley-based committee which included the colossus himself. The winning design was submitted by (later Sir) Herbert Baker, a friend of Rhodes. The inscription on the western wall is by Rudyard Kipling, famous for the Jungle Book stories as well as his ballads and verse.
All the stone, according to the history books, comes from the Matopos, although there is a strong belief that it in fact came from Nyamandhlovu as the Matopos does not have sand stone of the type used in the memorial. (Note from McGregor Museum: The material used for the construction of this edifice, situated at the highest point of Kimberley, was sandstone from the Pasipas Sandstone Quarry near the railway just north of Bulawayo – the same sandstone was used widely in Bulawayo and Livingstone, being easily shipped by rail. Suggestions that the stone came from the Matopos – grey granite – are incorrect)
The monument stands some 52 feet tall and weighs over 2000 tonnes. The cost came to ₤10 000.00, the majority coming from public subscription. The bronze tablets commemorating Long Cecil, George Labram, and the Honoured Dead, were designed by John Lockwood Kipling, father of Rudyard.
Twenty-seven British soldiers lie buried within the tomb, which was situated on the (then) highest point of Kimberley. The five roads leading to the Memorial were made by the unemployed blacks during the siege to afford employment.
The Memorial was dedicated on the fifth anniversary of the second battle of Carter’s Ridge that had taken place on 28 November 1899.
[Text by Steve Lunderstedt. Facebook page - Kimberley Calls... and Recalls]
The imposing monument known as The Honoured Dead Memorial was erected to perpetuate the memory of the British and Imperial soldiers who gave their lives in defending Kimberley from the Boers during the siege that lasted 124 days, 14 October 1899 to 15 February 1900. The prototype was the Nereid monument that was discovered in Xanthos, Asia Minor, in 1840-1842. The Nereid monument, presumed to be a tomb, had been destroyed but had been re-constructed in model form.
The idea for the Memorial came from Cecil Rhodes after the first action of the siege on 24 October 1899 and the Kimberley design was chosen by a Kimberley-based committee which included the colossus himself. The winning design was submitted by (later Sir) Herbert Baker, a friend of Rhodes. The inscription on the western wall is by Rudyard Kipling, famous for the Jungle Book stories as well as his ballads and verse.
All the stone, according to the history books, comes from the Matopos, although there is a strong belief that it in fact came from Nyamandhlovu as the Matopos does not have sand stone of the type used in the memorial. (Note from McGregor Museum: The material used for the construction of this edifice, situated at the highest point of Kimberley, was sandstone from the Pasipas Sandstone Quarry near the railway just north of Bulawayo – the same sandstone was used widely in Bulawayo and Livingstone, being easily shipped by rail. Suggestions that the stone came from the Matopos – grey granite – are incorrect)
The monument stands some 52 feet tall and weighs over 2000 tonnes. The cost came to ₤10 000.00, the majority coming from public subscription. The bronze tablets commemorating Long Cecil, George Labram, and the Honoured Dead, were designed by John Lockwood Kipling, father of Rudyard.
Twenty-seven British soldiers lie buried within the tomb, which was situated on the (then) highest point of Kimberley. The five roads leading to the Memorial were made by the unemployed blacks during the siege to afford employment.
The Memorial was dedicated on the fifth anniversary of the second battle of Carter’s Ridge that had taken place on 28 November 1899.
[Text by Steve Lunderstedt. Facebook page - Kimberley Calls... and Recalls]