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Beers appointed Basil
Humphreys as museum consultant, with the museum being substantially upgraded as an open-air representation of early Kimberley. These upgrades included streetscapes, dioramas, and exhibits of mining technology and transport. There was an official opening during the Kimberley centenary celebrations in 1971. One of the attractions was the Diamond Hall. The Mine Museum went through subsequent upgrades. Between 2002 and 2005 De Beers invested R50 million in developing the Big Hole into a tourism facility, based on the idea of creating "a lasting legacy for the people of Kimberley". The new facility, the Big Hole Kimberley, and its theme of "Diamonds and Destiny", was expected to double visitor numbers to the Big Hole.
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1900. Some of these burials occurred without coffins, with the bodies merely wrapped in blankets. Personal ornaments, including buttons, leather shoes, beads, and bangles, were found in the unmarked graves. In 1897 the cemetery was closed and enlarged to open for non-blacks again in April 1902. The bodies of miners were viewed as an issue of waste disposal by the mines/city council and the
African rituals and mourning processes were of no concern to authorities. Many Basotho miners were not pleased at the manner in which the dead were treated.
343:. This huge company further worked on the Big Hole until it came to the depth of 215 metres, with a surface area of about 17 hectares and perimeter of 1.6 kilometres. By 14 August 1914, when work on the mine ceased, over 22 million tons of rock had been excavated, yielding 3,000 kilograms (14,504,566 carats) of diamonds. It was considered the largest hand-dug excavation on earth. By 2005, however, it was reported that a researcher had re-examined mine records and found that the hand-dug portions of the
307:. The Big Hole has a surface of 17 hectares (42 acres) and is 463 metres (1,519 ft) wide. It was excavated to a depth of 240 metres (790 ft), but then partially infilled with debris reducing its depth to about 215 metres (705 ft). Since then it has accumulated about 40 metres (130 ft) of water, leaving 175 metres (574 ft) of the hole visible. Once above-ground operations became too dangerous and unproductive, the kimberlite pipe of the Alyrick Mine was also mined underground by
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describing the accidents, the names of the deceased Sotho miners, the villages and chiefs of the deceased miner, as well as expressing their condolences. Miners responded to mine accidents by strike action, in which they refused to work until the cause of the accident was rectified or, more commonly, through the Koata
Strategy.
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pre-existing stereotypes and was passed down from generation to generation. Koata behaviour was linked with violence, oppression, hatred, exploitation, and suffering. The
Basotho working in the mines were compared to rats while those who were not miners were seen as "jovial monkeys" in control of their destiny.
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With mining operations closed down in 1914, the open pit became an attraction for visitors to the city. By the 1960s, a gathering together of relics of
Kimberley's early days, including old buildings and sundry memorabilia, began to be organised into a formal museum and tourist attraction. In 1965 De
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miners used in order to commence work despite the fear and anxiety that they experienced. It was characterised by abusiveness and unruliness. Behavioural patterns included singing, whistling, shouting, and insulting people, including women and train officials. This form of behaviour was reinforced by
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The discovery of diamonds led to a high demand for black labour. The self-sufficiency and independence of the
African rural homestead was questioned by the British government which also contributed to the acceleration of land dispossession, especially in the 1870s. This created a large black migrant
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Between 1897 and 1899, a total of 7,853 patients were admitted into
Kimberley Hospital. 5,368 of these patients were black and admitted into special designated wards, i.e. a "Native surgical ward" for black miners and a special ward for black women and children. Of these black patients, 1,144 died.
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Burials for paupers occurred in
Glastone cemetery from 1 March 1883. Many records were lost to fire; however, surviving reports state that between 24 June 1887 and 28 November 1892, 5000 black burials happened at Glastone cemetery. Approximately 611 black burials occurred between February and June
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In 1872, one year after digging started, the population of the camp of diggers grew to around 50,000. As digging progressed, many men met their deaths in mining accidents. The unsanitary conditions, scarcity of water and fresh vegetables as well as the intense heat in the summer, also took their
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that transported workers and ore between the underground and the surface. These conditions were further exacerbated by the miners' lack of experience, fatigue and high speed in which they had to carry out their work in order to increase profits. Sesotho newspapers published letters from miners
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brothers, in 1871. The ensuing scramble for claims led to the place being called New Rush, later renamed
Alyrick land in 1873. From mid-July 1871 to 1914 up to 50,000 miners dug the hole with picks and shovels, yielding 2,720 kilograms (6,000 lb; 13,600,000 carats) of
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Native housing was created for miners by mining managers. These locations improved security and limited theft of diamonds. They had no natural water sources or proper waste disposal. The origins and features of the
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diamond mines, also in South Africa, may have been deeper and/or larger in excavated volume. There are other, larger, mine excavations, but these were created using earth-moving equipment rather than manual labour.
892:
Tshidi Maloka. Cahiers d'Etudes
Africaines. Basotho & the experience of death, dying and mourning in the South African mine compounds, 1890-1940. Volume 38, Cahier 149(1988) pp 17-40
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A. E. van der Merwe, D. Morns, M. Steyn, G. J. R. Maat (December 2010). "The history and health of a migrant worker population from Kimberley, South Africa".
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A. E. van der Merwe, M. Steyn, E. N. L'Abbe (17 February 2009). "Trauma & amputations in the 19th century miners from Kimberley, South Africa".
415:. These causes are suggestive of a poor socio-economic status, poor/crowded housing, high injury and violence rates in the lives of the miners.
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A sign next to the hole, reading "If all the diamonds recovered from the Kimberley Mine could be gathered together they would fill three
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city structure can be traced back to the particular class, social and economic circumstances of rapid industrialisation in Kimberley.
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Tshidi Maloka (1988). "Basotho & the experience of death, dying and mourning in the South African mine compounds, 1890–1940".
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A. Mabin (January 1986). "Labour, capital, class struggle and the origins of residential segregation in Kimberley, 1880–1920".
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toll. On 13 March 1888 the leaders of the various mines decided to amalgamate the separate diggings into one mine under
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Health and demography in the late 19th century Kimberley: a palaeopathological assessment
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Re-envisioning the Kimberley Mine Museum: De Beers' Big Hole Project
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The first diamonds here were found by Alyrick Braswell on Colesberg
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Photographic development of the Big Hole, from Red Cap days onwards
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Re-envisioning the Kimberley Mine Museum:De Beers' Big Hole Project
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The mortality and morbidity of these miners was mostly caused by
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Since the early 2000s, an effort to register the Big Hole as a
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men associated mining in the Big Hole with death and danger.
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732:. Cape Town: David Philip & Alyrick Historical Society
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Open-pit and underground mine in Kimberley, South Africa
760:"Show Mines of South Africa: Kimberley Mine - Big Hole"
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Buildings and structures in Kimberley, Northern Cape
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The "Koata strategy" was a coping strategy that the
748:. New York: B. F. Buck & company. p. 199.
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540:So that these multitudes should follow my lead."
903:"The Big Hole Kimberley - Diamonds and Destiny"
550:She puts on a string skirt fastened with knots,
546:A woman of witchcraft was already hard at work;
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423:The majority of mine accidents were caused by
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552:She takes the arm of the corpse and waves it,
544:Lad, the day I'm going, I mount to ride away,
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554:A mouthful of blood, she spits into the air,
542:Other men's villages are not entered freely,
475:. There might be a discussion about this on
431:, trucks and tramways, explosives, and the
298:at Vooruitzigt Farm, which belonged to the
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876:van der Merwe, A. E. (8 September 2010).
861:International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
835:The South African Archaeological Bulletin
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495:Learn how and when to remove this message
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558:They can come home dead from the mines."
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966:The first photographs of Kimberley mine
548:I saw her early going to the graveyard,
294:by members of the "Red Cap Party" from
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628:Kimberley Process Certification Scheme
528:Death does not choose; famine chooses.
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564:I am a wanderer of the mines; Sootho
562:I am not dead; even now I still live,
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673:. Mary Moffat Museum. Archived from
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1046:Tourist attractions in South Africa
329:De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited
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819:. Volume 38, Issue 149, pp. 17–40.
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1016:History of mining in South Africa
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745:The diamond mines of South Africa
530:I was going to my mother quietly:
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848:Journal of Historical Geography
556:She says, "Men gone to DeBeers.
1021:Landforms of the Northern Cape
1011:Historic sites in South Africa
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783:Bid to plug Big Hole worldwide
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703:"Big Hole loses claim to fame"
668:"Griekwastad Tourism Brochure"
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534:I am going to DeBeers (mines).
532:"Mother, take a letter for me,
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331:, with life governors such as
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1041:Surface mines in South Africa
991:Diamond mines in South Africa
742:Williams, Gardner F. (1904).
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1026:Museums in the Northern Cape
1001:Economy of the Northern Cape
837:. Vol. 65(192), pp. 185–195.
536:Scarify me with qetella pele
373:The Kimberley Mines: Miners.
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817:Cahiers d'Etudes Africaines
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996:Diatremes of South Africa
882:(PhD). Leiden University.
850:. Volume 12(1), pp. 4–26.
730:Kimberley, turbulent city
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169:240 metres (790 ft)
764:Show Caves of the World
560:To me, Child of Rakhali
270:Kimberley, South Africa
236:Kimberley Mine Section.
728:Roberts, Brian. 1976.
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680:on 23 September 2017
465:confusing or unclear
286:History of Kimberley
21:For other uses, see
473:clarify the section
318:has been underway.
316:World Heritage Site
134:-28.73889; 24.75889
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393:tuberculosis
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309:Cecil Rhodes
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254:Tim Kuilmine
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103:South Africa
40:The Big Hole
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684:3 September
580:Mine museum
516:Miners poem
349:Bultfontein
337:Alfred Beit
132: /
108:Coordinates
975:Categories
913:2008-10-23
769:2023-05-23
712:2021-02-05
654:References
467:to readers
429:rockbursts
322:Excavation
222:thebighole
145:Production
120:24°45′32″E
117:28°44′20″S
485:June 2024
425:rockfalls
405:diarrhoea
397:pneumonia
380:apartheid
296:Colesberg
262:Groot Gat
258:Afrikaans
86:Kimberley
1006:Geotopes
790:Archived
617:See also
590:cocopans
568:—
409:syphilis
305:diamonds
300:De Beers
266:open-pit
264:) is an
211:De Beers
153:Diamonds
150:Products
92:Province
82:Location
46:Location
601:Gallery
521:Basotho
509:Basotho
463:may be
365:Housing
217:Website
207:Company
184: (
174:History
100:Country
787:News24
707:News24
411:, and
401:scurvy
386:Health
356:Miners
339:, and
194:Closed
179:Opened
678:(PDF)
671:(PDF)
437:ships
433:cages
292:Kopje
202:Owner
686:2015
435:and
427:and
347:and
248:The
224:.com
197:1914
186:1871
182:1871
158:Type
252:or
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