Kimberley
City guide · Northern Cape · South Africa
The Big Hole, a former diamond mine excavated from 1871 to 1914, yielding 2,722 kg of diamonds · Historic city centre with landmarks including Griqualand West High Court, Kimberley Town Hall, Trinity Church, and the Honoured Dead Memorial
About Kimberley
Kimberley is the capital and largest city of South Africa's Northern Cape province, located about 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city is historically significant for its diamond-mining past and its role in the Second Boer War, with British businessmen Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato having made their fortunes here. Rhodes established the De Beers diamond company in the early days of the mining town. Kimberley was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to install electric street lighting on 2 September 1882, and the first stock exchange in Africa was built here in 1881. The city's most famous landmark is the Big Hole, a former diamond mine excavated by 50,000 miners from mid-July 1871 to 1914, yielding 2,722 kg of diamonds. The Big Hole has a surface of 17 hectares, is 463 metres wide, and was excavated to a depth of 240 metres before being partially infilled with debris. A popular local myth claims it is the largest hand-dug hole in the world, but Jagersfontein Mine appears to hold that record. The city was established on 5 July 1873 and had a population of 96,977 in 2011, with Afrikaans (55.5%) and Tswana (18.7%) as the most common first languages.
Who this destination fits
Highlights worth planning around
Strong fit
- Rich historical significance as a diamond-mining hub with the famous Big Hole landmark
- First city in the Southern Hemisphere to install electric street lighting (1882)
- Home to the first stock exchange in Africa, built in 1881
- Distinctive interior city character different from coastal South African destinations
Tradeoffs
- Population data is from 2011, so current demographics may differ
- The Big Hole is not the largest hand-dug hole in the world despite local myth; Jagersfontein Mine holds that record
- Limited current operational information available for attractions and services