![]() The simple minded Boer that Van Niekirk was, he said that he would take no money for the stone, but if Reilly was interested he could have it for free. Reilly picked up this stone and after a casual examination offered to buy it from Van Niekirk, who was puzzled by Reilly's extraordinary interest on a worthless pebble. Among the pebbles, was one stone which attracted John O'Reilly's attention, as it was reflecting the evening rays of sunlight very strongly. Later in the evening he casually observed one of Van Niekirk's children, a little girl, playing on the floor with some pretty pebbles, collected from the neighborhood. Van Niekirk and perhaps lodge with him for the night, before proceeding with his journey. John O'Reilly, the trader and hunter, was returning from the interior to Colesberg, and decided to call on Mr. Griqualand West was about 600 miles from each of the sea ports, and could be approached by several land routes such as the Western Table Bay route, the eastern route from Port Elizabeth, the East London route, and the Durban or Natal route.Ĭolonists settled in the Griqua territory of Albania, two years before the discovery of diamonds. It was in this territory that alluvial diamond mines were later discovered. The Griquas were under the Chieftainship of Nicholas Waterboer, who later ceded his territory to the British, which became a Crown Colony. At this time a trader and hunter by the name of John O'Reilly was living in a place called Albania, which was part of the province of Griqualand West. It was the year 1867, when things were at the very worst for the settlers and colonists from the west, and they came to regard the whole of South Africa as God forsaken country. Atherstone, an authority on gems and minerals, Bishop Ricards, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Grahamstown, Griqua Witch Doctor Swartbooi (Griqua shepherd boy in another version). Van Niekirk a pioneering colonist of the Griqua territory, Dr. The discovery of the diamond was purely an accident and the main characters involved in this drama are the trader and hunter Mr. The story of the Dudley diamond, is the history of the beginning of diamond mining in Southern Africa, starting from the region of the Cape of Good Hope. Star of South Africa Diamond History of the diamond The diamond takes pride of place as one of the most significant and historical diamonds in the world, not so much for it's size, shape, color, or clarity, but because it has gone down in history, as the diamond that turned the tides of fortune in South Africa, setting off a diamond rush that eventually led to the discovery of the world famous Kimberley mines, and other diamond mines, that changed the course of history in South Africa forever, and created unforeseen and enormous economic prospects for the development of the country. The diamond is a D-color, pear shaped, three-sided stellar brilliant cut stone, weighing 47.69 carats. ![]() The diamond thus became known as the Dudley Diamond, after it's new owner. Hunt &Roskell for £25,000, and presented it to his wife the Countess of Dudley. The diamond eventually became the property of the Earl of Dudley, who purchased it from the Queen's jewelers Messrs. Subsequently after Lilienfeld forwarded the diamonds to their office in England, it was purchased by Louis Hond, a diamond cutter, who fashioned it into an oval three-sided brilliant. The Star of South Africa was the initial name given to this diamond, when it was purchased as an 83.5-carat rough diamond, by Lilienfeld Brothers of Hopetown, from Schalk van Niekerk, in 1868, for £11,200. Several mines were established, leading to the Canada diamond rush.Open FREE Unlimited Store Join Our Newsletter Origin of name Fipke around Lac de Gras, a lake in the Northwest Territories of Canada. In the 1990s, several frequency domain heliborne electromagnetic anomalies were discovered by Charles E.In 1908, the discovery of a diamond near the Grasplatz station in German South-West Africa led to a diamond rush developing the town of Lüderitz and creating several mining settlements that today are ghost towns.This diamond rush was termed the "New Rush", as diamond prospectors were already operating in the country. In 1871, the discovery of an 83.50 carat (16.7 g) diamond on the slopes of Colesberg Kopje on the farm Vooruitzigt in South Africa led to the foundation of Kimberley Mine, and eventually the town of Kimberley.Major diamond rushes took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in South Africa and South-West Africa. The New Rush market, Kimberley, South Africa, 1873Ī diamond rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area where diamonds were newly discovered.
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