Historical

13 February 1946, Joseph van Praagh, Pioneer of Rhodesia dies. JOSEPH VAN PRAAGH – A MASONIC LEGEND Joseph Van Praagh (pictured) was born in the County of Middlesex, England on 15 July 1864 and died in Kimberley on 13 February ...

UPDATED: 12/02/2020 12 February 1872, Seat of Magistracy for Pniel District moved from Dutoitspan to New Rush. 12 February 1872, William Coates Palgrave appointed ARM for Beaconsfield. 12 February 1876, Telegraph office opens in Kimberley. 12 February 1880, SA cricketer ...

11 February 1898, Kgosi Galeshewe (pictured) sentenced to ten years gaol for his part in the 1896 uprising. 11 February 1900, 3000 women and children lowered into the Kimberley and De Beers Mines to escape the shelling of the Boer Long ...

UPDATE: 10/02/2020 10 February 1887, St Alban’s Anglican Church consecrated. 10 February 1919, Railway Engineer George Pauling dies. RAILWAY ENGINEER AND PIONEER DIES George Craig Sanders Pauling (pictured here with his first wife) was the engineer and the man in ...

UPDATED: 07/02/2020 7 February 1900, Famous British golfer and Black Watch officer, Freddie Tait, killed fighting Boers at Koodoosberg. 7 February 1900, The Boer Long Tom fires into Kimberley for the first time at 11am. 7 February 1901, Military stores burnt out ...

6 February 1899, The Kimberley Rifles and the Diamond Fields Horse amalgamate to form the Kimberley Regiment. DID YOU KNOW The Kimberley Regiment is an infantry regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status ...

5 February 1891, Wesselton Mine rushed by diggers. 5 February 1950, Rugby great FJ “Uncle” Dobbin dies. DID YOU KNOW Despite common knowledge of Henry Ward having the mineral rights to the land owned by JJ Wessels, as well as ...

4 February 1884, West Indian Samuel Trott, murders storekeeper John Jackson in Dutoitspan village. MURDER IN DUTOITSPAN VILLAGE It is difficult to imagine a citizen of the West Indies islands being executed for murder in Kimberley, but that is exactly ...

UPDATED: 30/01/2020 30 January 1884, Arthur E Caldecott awarded the Chancellor’s Gold Medal. 30 January 1903, Mrs Joseph Chamberlain (Mary Crowninshield Endicott, daughter of the US Secretary of War) lays the foundation stone of the Women’s Hostel in Lennox Street. ...

UPDATED: 29/01/2020 29 January 1961, Fatima Shrine in Galeshewe suburb opens for worship. 29 January 1980, Kuruman man wins R35 000 first prize in the Bonus Bonds draw. EFFIGY OF CECIL RHODES BURNT ON STOCKDALE STREET That a month before ...