a
list of twenty diamonds which had passed through his hands in a
communication to the Press dated 20 January 1869, specifically stating
that 'other diamonds have been found besides these 20'. There were
stones found by 'Natives', 'Hottentot servants', 'Griquas', 'Bechuanas'
and by farmers or their sons on farms or land near the Vaal, the Orange
and the Riet Rivers.2 But even at this primitive stage of
diamond 'recovery', the first steps had been taken which led to an
organized market in South African diamonds. Hopetown was in the late
sixties a 'frontier' town; among the leading merchants there was the
firm of Lilienfeld Brothers, great dealers, like the Mosenthals, in
ostrich feathers, and also the buyers from, and the sellers to, 'the
majority of inland traders'. It was to them, as reported by Mr. Louis
Hond, 'lapidary' at Hopetown and actually, then, or at a somewhat later
date, their buyer, that Mr. Schalk van Niekerk, whose name was
associated with the first diamond ever to be discovered in South
Africa, sold a stone, christened by Mr. Hond as 'Niekerk's pandeloque',
a 'magnificent diamond . . . [of] 83$ carats, first water', which
would, after cutting, 'be one of the finest class of brilliants'. This
was the stone bought for f 11,200 which was to be subsequently
celebrated as the 'Star of Africa'. The date of the communication of
these events to the Colesberg Advertiser was 17 March 1869.
Such
tidings could not fail to arouse the desire for more systematic
exploration. The first such party, under the leadership of Captain
Rolleston, and inspired by Major Francis, of Her Majesty's 20th
Regiment, reached the Vaal in November 1869. They were joined by some
Australians, and subsequently by a party from 'British KafFraria' led
by Mr. Mcintosh. Diamonds were found at Khpdrift in January 1870, at
the 'Natal Kopje': not by searching, but by digging. The inevitable
rush followed, first along the banks of the Vaal River, the two
headquarters being Khpdrift (later Barkly West) and Pniel, facing each
other on opposite sides of the river. But within a relatively short
period of time, the 'River Diggings', though never abandoned, paled
into insignificance, as compared to the 'Dry Diggings'. The fact of the
existence of diamonds on the farm Bultfontein preceded the Klipdrift
discoveries, having become known in November 1869. By
2 This and the following information is derived from a contemporary (and most valuable) pamphlet: 'The
Diamond Discovery in South Africa': A collection of articles and
original correspondence extracted from various Colonial journals. Colesberg, Cape of Good Hope, 1869.
The date of publication indicates that it antedated the true age of diamond digging and exploitation.
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