Transport Heritage in Kimberley
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.
Railways, Trams, Aviation and the Motor Age
Kimberley's diamond discoveries transformed a remote part of South Africa into one of the world's greatest industrial cities. Moving thousands of people, millions of tonnes of equipment and vast quantities of diamonds demanded constant innovation in transport. As new technologies emerged, Kimberley embraced them with remarkable speed, becoming a pioneer of railways, trams, motor vehicles and aviation.
Visitors today can still explore much of this remarkable story through museums, historic sites and surviving heritage vehicles.
Timeline
1867 Diamond discovered on bank of the Orange River at Hopetown
1870 First diamonds discovered in Kimberley
1885 Railway reaches Kimberley
1887 Horse trams begin
1900 Steam trams
1905 Electric trams
1911 First flight in Kimberley
1913 Flying School established
1914 All tram routes electrified
1920s Motor cars become common
1947 Tram system closes
1985 Heritage tram opens
1. Railways and the Transport Museum
Historic Platform 1 at Kimberley Railway Station, home of the Kimberley Transport Museum. The surviving canopy, platforms and railway infrastructure are an important part of the museum experience. Photo: © Richard Jones, October 2022.
The Kimberley Transport Museum offers a fascinating journey through the history of South Africa’s railways and the technologies that connected towns, industries, and communities across the country.
Appropriately, the museum is housed within Kimberley Railway Station, placing its collection in a setting that remains part of the story it tells. Historic platforms, railway architecture, signals, equipment and rolling stock surround the visitor, making this much more than a conventional museum display.
Kimberley is one of only two locations in the country with a Transnet Transport Museum, the other being in George. Together, the museums preserve important elements of South Africa’s railway and transport heritage, including historic rolling stock, railway equipment, photographs, documents and everyday objects associated with life on the railways.
The Kimberley Transport Museum is housed in the historic Kimberley Railway Station, allowing visitors to explore railway history in the surroundings where much of it actually happened. Photo: Richard Jones, 2014.
From engineering to everyday railway life
Inside the museum, displays trace the development of railways and transport technology while also revealing something of the lives of the people who travelled on, operated and maintained South Africa’s railway system.
The collection includes railway photographs and information panels alongside furniture, silverware, railway porcelain and other objects once associated with passenger travel. A preserved railway carriage interior offers a glimpse of an era when long-distance train journeys included dining compartments, compartment seating, and a distinctive culture of railway travel. For children in particular, standing inside a locomotive cab turns railway history from something seen in photographs into something tangible.
Extraordinary Anglo-Boer War patrol cycle
Among the museum's most unusual exhibits is a remarkable multi-rider patrol cycle associated with the Anglo-Boer War of 1899–1902.
Its long metal framework contains several saddles and independent sets of pedals, allowing a team of riders to propel the machine together. The museum display identifies it as a patrol cycle used during the Anglo-Boer War, while museum descriptions associate it with the Southern Rhodesian Volunteers.
It is one of those exhibits that immediately stops you in your tracks. Part bicycle, part railway vehicle, it illustrates the extraordinary variety of experimental transport employed during the conflict.
Walking along Platform 1, beneath the long station canopy and rows of decorative iron supports, conveys the scale and importance of rail transport in an earlier Kimberley.
Other exhibits reveal how the railway worked in practice. Outside the museum rooms, some of the most evocative exhibits remain in their natural railway environment: a large platform scale, a station bell, fire buckets and early firefighting equipment, a tall bank of semaphore signals, and mechanical levers that once operated railway points.
Taken together with the historic platform canopy, signs, and railway tracks, they let visitors see not only individual museum objects but also how a major railway station once worked.
The giant of Platform 1 – SAR Class 25NC
The most imposing exhibit stands outside on the platform: South African Railways Class 25NC 4-8-4 steam locomotive No. 3411. Built in 1953 by the North British Locomotive Company as works number 27311, No. 3411 was the last of eleven Class 25NC locomotives numbered 3401–3411 built by the British manufacturer. Henschel of Germany built the remaining 39 locomotives in the original class of 50.
The locomotive and tender together stretch for approximately 91 feet – almost 28 metres. In working order, the locomotive weighed about 117 tons and its tender another 105 tons, putting the combined weight at more than 220 tons. Its driving wheels are five feet in diameter. Standing beside it is probably the easiest way to appreciate just how immense the steam railway age really was.
Visitor Information
The Kimberley Transport Museum is located at the historic Kimberley Railway Station, close to the city centre. It sits on Quinn Street, just 2.5 km from Solomon Edwardian Guest House.
Allow 1-2 hours.
The museum occupies part of the station complex, with exhibits both inside the museum rooms and along the platforms.
As opening arrangements can vary, it is advisable to confirm current visiting times before travelling to the museum (053 838 2376).
From Diamond Rails to the Blue Train
From the late 19th century, railway lines stretched across Southern Africa, connecting coastal ports with the diamond mines of Kimberley and the goldfields of the Witwatersrand. These railways carried more than industrial demands. They also ushered in an era of elegant long-distance travel, in which the journey itself became part of the attraction.
From 1923, the Union Limited and Union Express connected Cape Town’s ocean-going mail ships with Johannesburg. With comforts such as ceiling fans, card tables and hot and cold running water, they brought a new level of refinement to overnight rail travel. Services were suspended during the Second World War and resumed in 1946 under the official name The Blue Train. A further transformation followed in 1997, when the refurbished Blue Train was relaunched, with President Nelson Mandela taking part in the celebrations.
For visitors to Kimberley’s Transport Museum, this history gives the railway exhibits a wider meaning. The tracks that helped build the Diamond City also formed part of a network that shaped how generations travelled and experienced Southern Africa.
Another Railway Gem is Found at the Big Hole Mine Museum
The De Beers Directors' Train
Standing beside the Kimberley Big Hole Mine Museum is one of its most impressive railway exhibits: Steam Locomotive No. 462, coupled to the beautifully restored De Beers Directors' Pullman Coach. Together they evoke an era when railway travel was the fastest, most comfortable and most prestigious way to journey across southern Africa.
Built in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1897 by Dübs and Company, this elegant 4-6-0 steam locomotive began its working life as Cape Government Railways No. 182 on the Western System. During the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), the locomotive was transferred to the Imperial Military Railways, where it was renumbered C509 and helped keep military supplies and personnel moving across South Africa's expanding railway network.
When the South African Railways (SAR) was established in 1912, the locomotive became No. 462, a designation it still carries today. After many years of service, it was preserved as part of South Africa's National Collection and now stands on permanent display at the Big Hole Mine Museum. Although no longer operational, No. 462 represents the type of locomotive that helped connect Kimberley with Cape Town, Johannesburg and the wider region during the height of the diamond industry.
Steam Locomotive No. 462 at the Kimberley Mine Museum. Built in Glasgow in 1897 by Dübs and Company, this Class 6A locomotive served the Cape Government Railways, the Imperial Military Railways during the Anglo-Boer War, and later the South African Railways. Photo: Richard Jones, 2026.
Steam Locomotive No. 462 leads the De Beers Directors' Pullman Coach at the Kimberley Mine Museum. Built only a year apart (1897–1898), the locomotive and coach together evoke the golden age of rail travel, when Kimberley's mining elite travelled in remarkable comfort across southern Africa. Photo: Richard Jones, 2026.
The De Beers Directors' Pullman Coach
Coupled behind the locomotive is an exceptionally rare Pullman coach built for the exclusive use of the Directors of De Beers. Manufactured by the Pullman Company of Chicago and assembled in the De Beers Workshops in Kimberley in 1898, the coach provided luxurious accommodation for directors travelling on both the South African Railways and the Rhodesian Railways.
Unlike ordinary passenger coaches, the Pullman was designed as a travelling residence. Visitors can still admire its beautifully crafted timber interior, complete with upholstered lounges, an elegant dining area, private compartments and a compact kitchen where meals were prepared during long journeys. Every detail reflects the high standards expected by one of the world's leading mining companies at the turn of the twentieth century. The coach remained in service until 1937 before being preserved at its present location in 1954.
A Journey Back in Time
Together, Locomotive No. 462 and the De Beers Directors' Pullman Coach provide a rare glimpse into railway travel during Kimberley's golden age. They tell the story not only of steam locomotives and engineering, but also of the people who built and managed the diamond industry that shaped the city's history. Visitors can walk alongside the locomotive and explore the remarkably preserved Pullman coach, where polished woodwork, period furnishings, and original fittings recreate the atmosphere of luxury rail travel from more than a century ago.
The De Beers Directors' Pullman Coach. Built in 1898 for the exclusive use of De Beers directors, the coach travelled extensively on the South African and Rhodesian railway systems before being preserved at the Kimberley Mine Museum. Photo: Richard Jones, 2026.
2. Pioneers of Aviation Museum
Inside Kimberley’s Pioneers of Aviation Museum, the reconstructed hangar houses a replica of the Compton Paterson biplane used at South Africa’s first flying school at Alexandersfontein. On the far wall, a large wooden aircraft propeller provides another striking reminder of the simple materials and pioneering technology used by the earliest aviators. Photo: Richard Jones, September 2026
Few people realise that Kimberley is widely regarded as the birthplace of aviation in South Africa. Long before commercial air travel became commonplace, the open plains at Alexandersfontein, just outside Kimberley, witnessed some of the country's earliest powered flights, pioneering aviation experiments and the establishment of South Africa's first flying school.
Today, the Pioneers of Aviation Museum, situated on the original flying school site, preserves this remarkable chapter of South African history. The museum comprises a reconstructed hangar, a National Monument and a full-size replica of the famous Compton Paterson biplane, the aircraft used to train South Africa's first military pilots. The life-size replica was constructed and unveiled in 1981.
When you visit here, you are standing on the very ground where South Africa's first flying school operated.
The Pioneers of Aviation Museum at Alexandersfontein, which houses the replica aeroplane, can be seen from the gravel road. Photo: Richard Jones, Sept. 2026
The Pioneers of Aviation Museum at Alexandersfontein. The reconstructed hangar stands beside the memorial commemorating Kimberley's role in the birth of South African military aviation. Photo: Richard Jones, Sept. 2026
In honour of South Africa's first airmen, Gen. Kenneth Reid van der Spuy unveiled this memorial on 17 October 1981, at the age of 89. He was South Africa's first qualified military pilot and a pupil at the school. "He truly warmed both his hands before the fire of life." Photo: Richard Jones, Sept. 2026
The Birth of Aviation in South Africa
Kimberley's aviation story began on 18 June 1911, when pioneering aviator John Weston completed the city's first powered flight. Flying his Weston-Farman biplane—the first aeroplane built in South Africa—Weston remained airborne for eight and a half minutes, setting a new South African endurance record and demonstrating that powered flight had become a practical reality in the country.
Weston's flights captured the public imagination and were soon followed by spectacular demonstrations by Cecil Compton Paterson, Captain Guy Livingstone and E.F. "Bok" Driver. Their exhibition flights, together with South Africa's first official airmail flights, introduced thousands of people to aviation at a time when flight was still considered almost miraculous.
A closer view of the replica Compton Paterson biplane at Kimberley’s Pioneers of Aviation Museum shows just how lightly early aircraft were built, with a timber framework braced by wires and wings covered in fabric rather than metal. The large wooden propeller is mounted immediately behind the pilot’s position, between the upper and lower wings, a striking reminder of the exposed and remarkably simple engineering of early flight. Photo: Richard Jones, September 2026
South Africa's First Flying School
Inspired by this growing enthusiasm, Cecil Compton Paterson established South Africa's first flying school at Alexandersfontein in July 1913. Recognising aviation's military importance, Paterson negotiated with the Union Government to train the country's first military pilots. On 10 September 1913, General Jan Christian Smuts signed a Memorandum of Agreement appointing Paterson to train ten pilot candidates for the newly established Union Defence Force.
The training was demanding and highly practical. Five of Paterson's graduates became the first pilots of the South African Aviation Corps, South Africa's first military air arm. On 6 May 1915, one of those pilots, Kenneth van der Spuy, flew a reconnaissance mission over Walvis Bay during the First World War—marking the operational beginning of South African military aviation. The Aviation Corps would later evolve into today's South African Air Force.
Breaking New Ground
The flying school also welcomed civilian students. Among them was Ann Maria Bocciarelli, who earned her pilot's licence after training at Alexandersfontein and became the first woman on the African continent to qualify as a pilot. Her achievement remains one of the most significant milestones in African aviation history.
Although the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 ended flying training at Alexandersfontein and Cecil Compton Paterson returned to England, the foundations laid in Kimberley permanently changed the course of South African aviation.
Cecil Compton Paterson and E. W. Cheeseman pictured with an early biplane at the South African Flying School in Kimberley. Established at Alexandersfontein in 1913, the school played an important pioneering role in the development of military aviation in South Africa.
This surviving Paterson aircraft brochure advertises machines adapted for South African conditions, including landing gear for rough ground and instruments such as a compass, aneroid altimeter, revolution counter and revolving chart holder.
Aviation Timeline
18 June 1911
John Weston completes the first powered flight in Kimberley using the South African-built Weston-Farman biplane.
1911
The Aeronautical Society of South Africa is established as public interest in aviation rapidly grows.
1912
The African Aviation Syndicate relocates to Kimberley, making Alexandersfontein the centre of South African aviation.
July 1913
Cecil Compton Paterson establishes South Africa's first flying school at Alexandersfontein.
10 September 1913
General Jan Smuts signs an agreement with Paterson to train the Union Defence Force's first military pilots.
1913
Ann Maria Bocciarelli, who trained in Kimberley, is the first woman in Africa to earn a pilot's licence.
1914
The outbreak of the First World War closes the flying school, and Paterson returns to England.
6 May 1915
Kenneth van der Spuy, one of Paterson's trainees, flies the South African Aviation Corps' first operational reconnaissance mission.
Visitor Information
The Pioneers of Aviation Museum is located on the original flying school site, in an area known as Alexandersfontein.
It sits along a gravel road, General van der Spuy Drive, just 8 km from Solomon Edwardian Guest House.
The museum is not normally open for casual walk-in visits, and it is not open on weekends.
Visitors should arrange access in advance through the McGregor Museum in Kimberley (053 839 2700). Allow 45–60 minutes.
3. Kimberley's Trams
Heritage Tram No. 1 at the Kimberley Mine Museum. Built in 1905 for the Kimberley and Alexandersfontein Electric Railway, this beautifully restored open-sided tram once carried passengers through the Diamond City and today preserves the legacy of one of South Africa's earliest electric tram systems. Photo: Richard Jones, 2014.
For six decades, trams were part of Kimberley's everyday life. From horse-drawn cars in the 1880s to electric trams running through the city streets, the system reflected Kimberley’s rapid growth from a mining settlement into a modern industrial city.
The tramway began operating on 21 June 1887 with horse-drawn cars running on 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge track. During the early 1890s, mules gradually replaced horses, and for a short period from 1900, steam-powered tram engines were also used on parts of the network. Steam traction marked an important step in the city's transport evolution before electric trams arrived in 1905.
"Puffing Billy" Steam Tram. Introduced into Kimberley on 15 July 1900, this type of steam tram replaced mule-drawn tramcars on the route between Kimberley and Beaconsfield. Photo: ©Richard Jones, 2026.
A major change came on 25 April 1905, when Kimberley’s first electric trams entered public service. The first electric fleet consisted of four single-deck tramcars built by the John Stephenson Company of New York. Additional vehicles were later acquired from the J. G. Brill Company and the United Electric Car Company.
Electrification did not happen overnight. Horse- and mule-drawn services continued alongside the electric system for several years, and it was only in 1914, when the Kenilworth route was converted, that the last mule trams disappeared from Kimberley’s streets.
The electric tram system continued to serve the city for another 33 years. By then, however, motor cars and buses were becoming increasingly important forms of transport. Kimberley’s regular tram service finally ended on 30 November 1947 with the closure of the Kenilworth route.
Kimberley’s Tramway at a Glance
Horse and mule tram era: 1887–1914
Track gauge: 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Power: Horses and mules
Steam tram era: 1900–1906
Track gauge: 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Power: Steam
Electric tram era: 1905–1947
Track gauge: 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Power supply: 500 V DC using overhead trolley wire
Two mules pulling a tram along Du Toitspan Road, Kimberley, circa 1900
From Trams to Motor Cars
By the middle of the twentieth century, Kimberley’s streets were changing. Motor cars, taxis and buses offered a flexibility that fixed tramlines could not provide. The closure of the tram system in 1947 therefore marked more than the end of a transport service: it symbolised the city’s transition into the motor age.
Historic photographs from this period capture that transition vividly, showing pedestrians, electric trams and increasingly numerous motor cars sharing the same streets.
In the early 1920s, pedestrians, electric trams and early automobiles jostle for road space outside Kimberley City Hall
A tram bound for Beaconsfield travels along Du Toitspan Road in Kimberley in the 1930s, approaching the junction with Memorial Road. The photograph was taken from the verandah of Cooper’s Chemist, at the corner of Du Toitspan Road and Hemming Street. Across the road is the Grewer Memorial Nurses’ Home, now the James Exum Building, with the grand Kimberley Hospital building visible behind it. The hospital was demolished in 1982. Photo: McGregor Museum Photo Archive, detail from mmkp 13289.
The Heritage Tram
Nearly four decades after the original tram network closed, part of Kimberley’s tramway was revived as a heritage attraction. The heritage line opened in October 1985, using a 1.4 km route linking Kimberley City Hall with the Big Hole Mine Museum. The line passes through part of central Kimberley before continuing towards the Big Hole.
The tram used for the service has an especially interesting history. Open-sided four-wheel tram No. 1 was built in 1905 by the John Stephenson Company for the Kimberley and Alexandersfontein Electric Railway. In the mid-1920s it was converted into a maintenance vehicle, or “tower car”, used for work on the overhead electrical wires. Between 1983 and 1985 it was restored and converted back into a passenger tram for the new heritage service.
The heritage route is entirely single-track. It includes street running through the city as well as sections alongside the former Pniel Road and North Circular Road. Over the years, the service has been interrupted several times. It was suspended during redevelopment of the Big Hole museum complex in 2005 and resumed in November 2006. Operations stopped again in 2008 after concerns about erosion around the Big Hole led to the closure of part of Pniel Road. Mechanical work, including improvements to the tram’s braking system, was also required.
The tram returned to service in June 2010, although in more recent years it has operated only intermittently. Visitors wishing to experience the tram should check with the Big Hole Mine Museum before travelling, as services are not guaranteed. Even when stationary, the surviving tram remains an important reminder of a period when electric trams were an everyday sight on Kimberley’s streets.
Heritage Tram No. 1 in service at the Kimberley Mine Museum, 2011. Built in 1905 for the Kimberley & Alexandersfontein Electric Railways, this beautifully restored open-sided tram once carried visitors between Kimberley City Hall and the Big Hole, recreating one of South Africa's earliest electric tram journeys. Photo: Richard Jones, 2011.
Inside Heritage Tram No. 1 during a journey to the City Hall, 2011. The polished wooden benches and open-sided design recreate the experience enjoyed by Kimberley's tram passengers more than a century ago. Heritage services operated between City Hall and the Kimberley Mine Museum before the tram was withdrawn from service. Photo: Richard Jones, 2011.
Heritage tram era: from 1985
Track gauge: 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in)
Power supply: 500 V DC using overhead trolley wire
Current status: Operates only intermittently.
4. Motor Cars and the Motor Age
Two pioneers of motoring in Kimberley. The 1901 Panhard et Levassor (right), believed to be Kimberley's first motor car, stands beside the 1906 Columbia Electric Victorian Phaeton (left), one of South Africa's earliest surviving electric cars. Together they illustrate the dawn of the motor age in the Diamond City. Photo: Richard Jones, 2011.
The arrival of the motor car brought another transport revolution to Kimberley. While horse-drawn carts and electric trams had dominated the city's streets during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the motor vehicle introduced a faster, more flexible way of travelling that would eventually transform daily life.
The first automobiles appeared in Kimberley during the opening years of the twentieth century. Initially they were expensive machines owned by wealthy businessmen, mine officials and professionals, attracting curious crowds wherever they travelled. Their novelty soon gave way to practicality as improving roads, greater reliability and falling prices encouraged wider ownership.
For several decades, motor cars shared Kimberley's streets with electric trams. Historic photographs from the 1920s and 1930s show trams running through the city centre alongside motor cars, delivery lorries, horse-drawn wagons and pedestrians. Kimberley was a city in transition, where nineteenth-century transport met twentieth-century technology.
As the number of motor vehicles increased, businesses quickly adapted to meet demand. New garages, workshops and fuel stations appeared across the city, offering repairs, servicing and spare parts. International manufacturers established local representation, with Ford and General Motors dealerships becoming prominent features of Kimberley's commercial district. Large painted advertisements on buildings and dedicated motor garages reflected the growing importance of the motor industry in the local economy.
Motor vehicles also transformed public transport. Although the electric tram remained reliable and popular, buses offered greater flexibility because they were not confined to fixed tracks or overhead power lines. Bus operators could introduce new routes as suburbs expanded, while motor taxis provided convenient door-to-door transport for residents and visitors alike. As road transport improved, the economic advantages of buses gradually outweighed the costs of maintaining the tramway network.
By the 1940s, the balance had shifted decisively in favour of motor transport. On 30 November 1947, Kimberley's electric tram system made its final journey after more than sixty years of service. Buses became the city's principal public transport system, while private motor cars increasingly became part of everyday life.
Visitors can still glimpse this remarkable period of change through Kimberley's surviving streetscapes and historic photographs, where electric trams, early automobiles and horse-drawn vehicles appear together in scenes that capture a city embracing the modern age.
Today, Kimberley has no scheduled municipal bus service. Public transport is provided almost entirely by privately operated minibus taxis, while many residents who have access to private vehicles travel by car. As in many South African cities, patterns of transport use are still influenced by the legacy of apartheid-era spatial planning, as well as by differences in income and car ownership.
Gardner Williams, first general manager of De Beers, at the wheel of his Panhard et Levassor automobile, 1901
Kimberley’s first motor car was a 1901 Panhard et Levassor purchased by Gardner Williams, General Manager of De Beers. The car took to Kimberley’s streets for the first time on 3 July 1901, driven by Williams’ son Alpheus. Its appearance caused considerable excitement in a town where horse-drawn transport still dominated the roads.
The Panhard represented what would become the conventional layout of the modern motor car, with its engine and radiator mounted at the front and power transmitted to the rear wheels. The vehicle was transferred to the Big Hole Mine Museum in 1964 and is now preserved in the Transport Hall.
The 1901 Panhard et Levassor, believed to be Kimberley's first motor car, is on display in the Transport Hall at the Kimberley Mine Museum. Photo: Richard Jones, 2026.
1911 EMF Model 30 Tourer (Studebaker) on a gravel road near the first Kimberley Golf Course, 1911-1914
Delaunay-Bellville automobile parked in front of the Honoured Dead Memorial, 1914
The Transport Hall – Holmes’ Garage at the Big Hole Mine Museum
The Transport Hall at the Big Hole Mine Museum preserves a fascinating collection of early vehicles that illustrate the transition from animal-drawn transport to the motor age. Among the exhibits are a Spider, Cape cart, buckboard, Scotch cart, Jewish hearse, an Anglo-Boer War ambulance stretcher carrier, and two particularly important early motor cars: a 1901 Panhard et Levassor and a 1906 Columbia Electric Victorian Phaeton.
The 1901 Panhard et Levassor is regarded as Kimberley’s first motor car. Gardner Williams, the first General Manager of De Beers Consolidated Mines, used it, and it marks the arrival of motorised transport in a city that had until then depended largely on horse-drawn vehicles and trams.
The 1906 Columbia Electric Victorian Phaeton belonged to Williams' wife. Powered by electricity rather than petrol, it could reach a top speed of about 21 km/h (13 mph) and was added to the museum collection in June 1961. It is a striking reminder that electric vehicles are no modern invention.
Also on display is a Jewish hearse that dates from the late nineteenth century. Originally, it consisted of a wooden box-style body mounted on a horse-drawn chassis and was pulled by two black horses. With the arrival of motorised transport, the original body was transferred to a six-cylinder Chevrolet chassis around 1926. It remained in use until the 1960s.
Jewish Hearse (Late 19th Century). Originally built as a horse-drawn hearse with a wooden body pulled by two horses, this vehicle was converted around 1926 by mounting the original body on a six-cylinder Chevrolet chassis. It remained in service until the 1960s, illustrating Kimberley's gradual transition from horse-drawn transport to motor vehicles. Photo: Richard Jones 2011
1906 Columbia Electric Victorian Phaeton Originally owned by the wife of Gardner Williams, the first General Manager of De Beers Consolidated Mines, this early electric car could reach about 21 km/h (13 mph). It is a striking reminder that electric motoring formed part of Kimberley’s transport story more than a century ago. Photo: Richard Jones 2011
More About Holmes’ Garage
The Transport Hall's history is closely connected with Harold Holmes, an important figure in Kimberley’s early motoring history. Holmes arrived in South Africa from England in 1897. In Cape Town, he met Mr Garlick of Garlick’s Engineering Works in Kimberley, who offered him work assembling bicycles. When motor vehicles began appearing in Kimberley from 1901, Holmes quickly developed expertise in the engines used in both cars and motorcycles. He bought Garlick’s Engineering Works in 1907, and by 1908 the business was known as Holmes’ Garage.
By 1911, Holmes was importing Model T Fords, which he sold for £197. His engineering skills extended beyond motor vehicles. He also helped build the Compton-Paterson biplane associated with Kimberley’s pioneering aviation history. Holmes’ Garage was originally situated in Old Main Street and became an important part of Kimberley’s early motor industry. At its height, the business had branches in Kimberley, Vryburg and Barkly West.
Holmes' story neatly brings together several strands of Kimberley's transport history. Beginning with bicycles, he became involved in the city's emerging motor industry and then contributed his engineering skills to its pioneering aviation story. Few individuals illustrate the technological changes taking place in early twentieth-century Kimberley quite so well.
Holmes' Garage at the Kimberley Mine Museum. Founded by pioneering motor engineer Harold Holmes, the garage became one of Kimberley's earliest motor dealerships and workshops. Holmes imported Ford Model T motor cars from 1911 and played a leading role in the city's transition from horse-drawn transport to the motor age. Photo: Richard Jones, 2026.
The restored frontage of Holmes' Garage. Period Shell petrol pumps, vintage advertising and decorative Victorian ironwork recreate the appearance of one of Kimberley's earliest motor garages, where cars, motorcycles and commercial vehicles were sold and serviced during the early twentieth century. Photo: Richard Jones, 2026.
The Motor Transport Timeline
|
Period |
Event |
|
Early 1900s |
The first motor cars arrive in Kimberley. |
|
1905 |
Motor vehicles begin sharing the streets with the new electric trams. |
|
1910s–1920s |
Ford, General Motors and other motor agencies establish local dealerships and service garages. |
|
1920s–1930s |
Motor taxis and buses become increasingly common as road transport expands. |
|
1947 |
Kimberley's tram system closes as buses, motor taxis and private cars increasingly dominate urban transport. |
Visiting the Big Hole Mine Museum
The Big Hole Mine Museum has two main areas:
a) The reconstructed old town
This heritage precinct includes the Heritage Tram, the De Beers Directors’ Train and Holmes’ Garage. Entry to this part of the museum is free.
Allow around 1–2 hours to explore the reconstructed old town, including the trams, the De Beers Directors’ Train, Holmes’ Garage and the surrounding historic buildings. Allow a little longer if the Heritage Tram is operating; a separate fare may apply.
b) The main Mine Museum
The main museum experience includes a short introductory film at the Visitor Centre, viewing the Big Hole, a guided visit through a replica underground mine, the diamond display and the main museum exhibition.
Allow around 2–3 hours for the full museum experience.
An entrance fee applies. The museum is normally open daily, except Christmas Day, from 08h00 to 17h00.
As opening arrangements can change, it is advisable to confirm current visiting times before travelling.
Address:
The Big Hole Mine Museum is off the West Circular Road in Kimberley's West End. It is just 3.5 km from Solomon Edwardian Guest House.
Contact:
Tel: 053 839 4600
Email: info@thebighole.com
Why This History Matters
Kimberley’s transport history is about much more than old vehicles and machinery. It tells the story of how an isolated settlement on the edge of the diamond fields became connected to South Africa and the wider world.
Railways brought people, machinery and supplies to the diamond mines. Trams moved residents through the growing city. Motor vehicles changed the shape of its streets and suburbs, while pioneering aviators at Alexandersfontein helped lay the foundations of South African aviation.
Much of this history can still be explored today. Historic railway infrastructure survives at Kimberley Station; early locomotives and railway artefacts are preserved in the Transport Museum; the Pioneers of Aviation Museum stands on the site of South Africa’s first flying school; a surviving electric tram recalls Kimberley’s once extensive tramway, and some of the city’s earliest motor vehicles can still be seen at the Big Hole Mine Museum. Together, they reveal a city that repeatedly embraced new ways of moving people, goods and ideas.
Continue Exploring Kimberley
Whether your interests lie in history, culture, dining, shopping, entertainment, or simply discovering somewhere new, we hope these guides help you make the most of your time in Kimberley. If you're planning a visit to the City that Sparkles, Solomon Edwardian Guest House offers elegant accommodation in the historic suburb of Beaconsfield. Ideally situated for business and leisure travellers alike, The Solomon provides a comfortable base from which to explore.