4 DECEMBER 1899, Work ceases in the De Beers Mine because of the siege.
4 DECEMBER 1901, The first annual sports meeting of Christian Brothers’ College.
4 DECEMBER 1907, The equestrian statue of Cecil Rhodes unveiled by Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson.
4 DECEMBER 1912, The first combined Council meeting of Kimberley and Beaconsfield.
4 DECEMBER 1926, War Memorial dedication – the Chancel of St Cyprian’s Cathedral by Archbishop William Cater.
4 DECEMBER 1987, The Big Hole Caravan Park opened, one of the top ten in RSA.
4 DECEMBER 1994, Kimberley’s Peace Torch lit.
CECIL RHODES’ STATUE UNVEILED
The statue of Cecil Rhodes was erected by public subscription on a site acquired for the purpose and presented by his valued friend, Alfred Beit, as an enduring token of the esteem in which he was held and the affection with which his memory was cherished by the people among whom he spent the best years of his life.
Sir William Hamo Thorneycroft did the sculpture and it depicts Rhodes as the Kimberley people knew him, mounted on his horse, riding from the Sanatorium to town. The horse was modelled from his personal animal. Rhodes is facing North with a map of Africa across his knees.
The statue is of scots granite plinth with bronze panels with highlights in his meteoric career:
• Rhodes receives his Honorary Doctorate in law at Oxford, 1899;
• As Premier of the Cape Colony 1890-1896 Rhodes addresses parliament;
• Rhodes in conference with the Matabele indunas at the Matopos during 1896.
This memorial was unveiled and dedicated to the people of Kimberley on 4 December 1907 by His Excellency Sir Walter Francis Hely-Hutchinson, G.C.M.G., Governor of the Cape Colony.
From Kimberley Calls and Recalls on Facebook By Steve Lunderstedt
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