Today in Kimberley's History
October 26th
Extract from "The Diary of a Doctor's Wife – During the Siege of Kimberley October 1899 to February 1900" by Winifred Heberden.
(the diary had one entry covering the dates 25th, 26th and 27th October)
Spent in patrolling round Kimberley and cattle guarding. No Boers to be seen in any number, though they are known to be within 6,000 yards of Wesselton Mine.
We heard that Tuesday's fight so frightened the Boers in Klipdam that they promptly evacuated it. They returned, however, within the week, and made two attempts to proceed to Barkly - only to be ordered to return by dispatches from their headquarters.
Kimberley Club decides to allow women into the Club - 1936
At that year’s Annual General Meeting, G.S. Scott argued that the Kimberley Club should follow the example of other clubs and make permanent provision for women guests. Some older members regarded his proposal as almost revolutionary. One member thought entertaining women twice a week was “going altogether too far”. Another believed the subject was so explosive that it should only be discussed at an extraordinary meeting.
Scott persisted. The debate might have continued indefinitely had E.H. Farrer, a De Beers director and later President of the Club, not intervened. At an extraordinary meeting on 26 October 1936, Farrer announced that De Beers would provide £2,000 towards the construction of a Ladies’ Annexe. That changed the argument considerably. The next question was where women should be accommodated. Some members wanted an entrance from Du Toitspan Road. Others preferred an annexe facing Currey Street, thereby keeping the traditional clubhouse itself essentially unchanged. The arrangement eventually chosen says much about the social conventions of the period.
A two-storey building at the rear of the Club, previously used for staff accommodation and storerooms, was converted into the Ladies’ Annexe. Women entered through the garden from Currey Street, leaving the principal male clubhouse largely undisturbed. Messrs Verheyen undertook the conversion. The new annexe included a lounge and dining facilities, allowing members to invite women for morning or afternoon tea and luncheon. It opened on 12 May 1937 with a banquet that also celebrated the coronation of King George VI.