Kimberley, Northern Cape
Location and Geography
- Kimberley is the capital and largest city of the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
- It is located approximately 110km east of the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers.
- The city has an elevation of 1,184m (3,885ft).
- Kimberley covers an area of 212.64km (82.10sqmi).
- The population of Kimberley in 2011 was 225,160, with a density of 1,100/km (2,700/sqmi).
Historical Significance
- Kimberley has historical significance due to its diamond mining past.
- The city was sieged during the Second Anglo-Boer war.
- Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato made their fortunes in Kimberley.
- Rhodes established the De Beers diamond company in the early days of the mining town.
- Kimberley was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere and the second in the world to integrate electric street lights into its infrastructure.
Discovery of Diamonds
- In 1866, Erasmus Jacobs found a small brilliant pebble on the banks of the Orange River.
- The pebble was sold and proved to be a 21.25-carat (4.3g) diamond, known as the Eureka.
- In 1869, the Star of South Africa, an 83.5-carat (16.7g) diamond, was found nearby.
- The Star of South Africa was sold for £25,000 in the London market.
- Esau Damoense, the cook for prospector Fleetwood Rawstornes Red Cap Party, found diamonds in 1871 on Colesberg Kopje, sparking the famous New Rush.
Ownership and Naming
- The Cape Colony, Transvaal, Orange Free State, and Griqua leader Nicolaas Waterboer all laid claim to the diamond fields.
- The Keate Award went in favor of Waterboer, who placed himself under British protection.
- Griqualand West was proclaimed on 27 October 1871.
- The place was initially named Vooruitzigt before being renamed New Rush.
- Finally, it was named Kimberley, after Lord Kimberley, the British Secretary of State for the Colonies.
Cultural and Linguistic Diversity
- The racial makeup of Kimberley in 2011 was 63.1% Black African, 26.8% Coloured, 1.2% Indian/Asian, 8.0% White, and 0.9% Other.
- The first languages spoken in Kimberley in 2011 were Afrikaans (43.2%), Tswana (35.8%), English (8.7%), Xhosa (6.0%), and Other (6.3%).
- Kimberley operates on the South African Standard Time (UTC+2).
- The postal code for street addresses in Kimberley is 8301, and the PO box code is 8300.
- The area code for Kimberley is 053.
Kimberley, Northern Cape Data Sources
Reference | URL |
---|---|
Glossary | https://harryandcojewellery.com.au/blogs/glossary/kimberley-northern-cape |
Wikipedia | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimberley,_Northern_Cape |
Wikidata | https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q125905 |
Knowledge Graph | https://www.google.com/search?kgmid=/m/01tjpx |