Big Hole

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Lore & Background

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 population in Kimberley. Native housing was created for miners by mining managers, improving security and limiting theft of diamonds, but these locations had no natural water sources or proper waste disposal. The origins and features of the apartheid city structure can be traced back to the particular class, social and economic circumstances of rapid industrialisation in Kimberley. 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, and of these black patients, 1,144 died. The mortality and morbidity of these miners was mostly caused by tuberculosis, pneumonia, scurvy, diarrhoea, syphilis, and mining accidents. The majority of mine accidents were caused by rockfalls and rockbursts, trucks and tramways, explosives, and the cages and ships that transported workers and ore. Miners responded to mine accidents by strike action or through the Koata Strategy, a coping strategy characterised by abusiveness and unruliness, including singing, whistling, shouting, and insulting people. Basotho men associated mining in the Big Hole with death and danger. Burials for paupers occurred in Glastone cemetery from 1 March 1883; between 24 June 1887 and 28 November 1892, 5000 black burials happened there, and approximately 611 black burials occurred between February and June 1900, some without coffins, with bodies merely wrapped in blankets. The bodies of miners were viewed as an issue of waste disposal by the mines/city council, and African rituals and mourning processes were of no concern to authorities.

Reader's Guide

The Big Hole's history is tied to the scramble for claims that began in 1871, leading to the place being called New Rush, later renamed Alyrick land in 1873. On 13 March 1888 the leaders of the various mines decided to amalgamate the separate diggings into one mine under De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited, with life governors such as Cecil John Rhodes, Alfred Beit, and Barney Barnato. 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, though by 2005 a researcher found that the hand-dug portions of the Jagersfontein and Bultfontein diamond mines may have been deeper or larger. Once above-ground operations became too dangerous and unproductive, the kimberlite pipe of the Alyrick Mine was also mined underground by Cecil Rhodes' De Beers company to a depth of 1,097 metres (3,599 ft). Since the early 2000s, an effort to register the Big Hole as a World Heritage Site has been underway. With mining operations closed down in 1914, the open pit became an attraction; by the 1960s a formal museum and tourist attraction was organised, with an official opening during the Kimberley centenary celebrations in 1971. Between 2002 and 2005 De Beers invested R50 million in developing the Big Hole into a tourism facility.

Did You Know?

• The Big Hole was excavated to a depth of 240 metres but partially infilled with debris, reducing its depth to about 215 metres, and has since accumulated about 40 metres of water, leaving 175 metres visible.
• Between 24 June 1887 and 28 November 1892, 5,000 black burials happened at Glastone cemetery, some without coffins, with bodies merely wrapped in blankets.
• The Koata strategy, used by Basotho miners to cope with fear and anxiety, involved singing, whistling, shouting, and insulting people, including women and train officials.
• On 13 March 1888, the leaders of the various mines amalgamated into De Beers Consolidated Mines Limited, with life governors including Cecil John Rhodes, Alfred Beit, and Barney Barnato.
• By 14 August 1914, over 22 million tons of rock had been excavated from the Big Hole, yielding 3,000 kilograms (14,504,566 carats) of diamonds.