by Francesca Dent

Created on: March 13, 2009

These days, the diamond represents status and quality. We think of diamond bracelets, necklaces and rings. We think of the beauty and the wealth associated with these rocks. Throughout time and cultures the diamond has also represented magic and protection, it inspires creativity and imagination. Some believe that the diamond also has the power to heal. So how does this link into a chunk of South African history?

The year was 1866; 17-year-old Erasmus Jacobs, a shepherd from a farm near Hopetown in South Africa was walking alongside the Orange River. As he walked, he picked up a small white pebble which looked different to anything he had seen before. Not knowing what it was, he passed it onto neighbouring farms in the hope someone would be able to identify it. Eventually, it fell into the hands of W.G. Atherstone, a doctor from Grahamstown. As it turned out, what young Jacobs had discovered would be the start of something big in South Africa. Atherstone announced that the small pebble was, in fact a 21.25 carat diamond. It was the diamond that was hailed as the Eureka'.

In 1870, more diamonds were unearthed at three other farms and, a year later, an 83.50 carat diamond was found on the slopes of Colesberg, Kopje. The primary diamond rush' in the area began. Thousands of miners arrived and the hill at Colesberg Kopje started to disappear and was replaced by a huge open-pit mine known as the Big Hole'. The discovery of diamonds in South Africa brought unparalleled richness and changed the diamond from a rare gem to one which was made available to anyone who could afford it.

The town of Kimberly began as New Rush'. It was renamed Kimberly in 1873 after the 1st Earl of Kimberly, a diamond trader from England. The Big Hole' eventually became the Kimberley Central Mine'. Kimberley swiftly became the largest city in North Cape as a result of massive migration of miners from all over the African continent. Due to the British control of much of South Africa, the area surrounding the diamond mine was annexed and Kimberley was besieged on October 14 1899, the beginning of the Second Boer War.

The production of diamonds in South Africa has totalled 505 million carrots with 269,000 of those being mined in 1870 and 3 million in 1903. Today the big hole is about 215m deep but 40m of ground water leaves only 175m visible. The mine was originally 240m deep but was used to through debris in after its closer. Today 8 to 10 million carats are extracted from the Kimberley mine.

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