Vryburg - Kimberley (225km) (Stage
34)
South Africa - arriving at Kimberley from Vryburg on 28th June 2004
A relaxed drive, for once, the cars leave Dryburg heading directly south following the railway line from Vryburg via Huhundi crossing the Vaal river to Valspan, then Warrenton to Kimberley. Kimberley Kimberley is in the Northern Cape Province. With a population approaching 200,000 the city is primarily a diamond-mining center, although textiles, construction materials, and machinery are manufactured. The city is also an important railway junction. In 1871 a labourer found diamonds at Colesberg Kopjein 1871; this would become known as the Kimberley Mine or the Big Hole. Thousands of diggers from all over the world rushed to peg out the whole area, the hillock quickly vanished and was replaced by a huge hole. A shanty town sprang up of tents and small houses made from wood and corrugated iron. In 1873 the town’s name was changed to Kimberley, in honour of the Earl of Kimberley, British Secretary of State for the Colonies. The De Beers Consolidated Mines, organized by Cecil Rhodes , assumed control of the diamond fields in 1888. In 1899-1900, during the South African War, the city was besieged by Boer (Afrikaner) forces. Northern Cape Technical College and the Alexander McGregor Memorial Museum are in Kimberley. The rally leaves the following morning for Beaufort West. |
