Diamond Fields Travel Guide — Things to Do, Food & Hotels
About Diamond Fields
In 1866, Erasmus Jacobs found a small brilliant pebble on the banks of the Orange River, near Hopetown, which was his father's farm. He showed the pebble to his father, who sold it. The pebble proved to be a 21.25-carat (4.3 g) diamond, and became known as the Eureka. Three years later, in 1869, an 83.5-carat (16.7 g) diamond, which became known as the Star of South Africa, was found nearby Esau Damoense, the cook for prospector Fleetwood Rawstorne's "Red Cap Party", found diamonds in 1871 on Colesberg Kopje after he was sent there to dig as punishment. Rawstorne took the news to the nearby diggings of the De Beer brothers; his arrival there sparking off the famous "New Rush" which, as historian Brian Roberts puts it, was practically a stampede. Within a month, 800 claims were cut into the
Diamond Fields Travel Guide Sections
Our comprehensive guide covers 11 sections including: