When was gold discovered in johannesburg

Harry, the business brain behind the pair, stayed long enough to be appointed the first president of the Chamber of Mines in In he retired to Cape Town, and lived in a suburban mansion until his death, at the age of 75, in John Davis, a Welshman, discovered gold near Krugersdorp in , but when he showed it to President Andries Pretorius, he was ordered out of the country.

A year later Pieter Marais, who had gone to California and Australia in search of gold, discovered alluvial gold in the Jukskei River which runs out of Johannesburg. He was allowed to continue with his search but was threatened with death if he revealed the discovery. He lived because his discoveries ran dry.

How was gold discovered in Johannesburg? Fred Struben discovered gold at the Confidence Reef Mine - but his luck didn't last long The two brothers joined the rush to Kimberley, when diamonds were discovered there in , but returned shortly afterwards when Fred's health suffered. One of Johannesburg's distinctive mine dumps, scattered around the area south of the city What became of the Strubens?

Fred retired to a large estate in Devon in England in He died at the age of 80 in The first real gold diggers on the Rand John Davis, a Welshman, discovered gold near Krugersdorp in , but when he showed it to President Andries Pretorius, he was ordered out of the country.

The plumage of this species is also sexually dimorphic. Begin typing your search term above and press enter to search. Press ESC to cancel. Cover Letter. Ben Davis March 29, Why is Johannesburg called the city of gold? How was gold discovered in Johannesburg? Notice the location of the hospital and the parks Kruger Park and Joubert Park. The Rand Tram was installed in There is a gas works to the West and the Johannesburg Waterworks Company was there to solve the problems around a regular water supply.

Andrews Map of Johannesburg in The first fold out photographic group see images below shows the Masonic Lodge exterior and interior , a Dutch farmhouse pre dating Johannesburg , mine headgear, the gold commissioners residence, the Market Square with the government building in the background. The perspectives show wide streets. Ox wagons out spanned. Horses and mules arrive pulling carts and canopied carriages, buggies. I am surprised at the early establishment of the Masonic lodge, but perhaps the importance of male camaraderie was due to predominance of males for the first few years.

Panoramic and General Views of Johannesburg - Image 1. The gold mines dominated the landscape. Remember how close they were to the early mining camps Natal Camp, Meyer's Camp and Ferreira's camp. The style of mining was changing rapidly from outcrop surface mining, with shallow incline shafts and the simple crushing of the ore to the deeper level mining, far more sophisticated capital intensive pit headgear in corrugated iron batteries. The stamp batteries, milling the seams of banket, moving up and down relentless, were pushing up production.

Thousands of stamp batteries proliferated on the Rand. These were worked day and night and early memoirs talk of people not being able to sleep because of the sound of the dollies.

All the early headgear and batteries were imported from engineering plants in Lincoln and Liverpool, Birmingham and Manchester and were shipped to a port and then transported inland by wagon. Panoramic and General Views of Johannesburg - Image 2. The original farms of the Witwatersrand and their owners are listed as Doornfontein owned by Mr Bezuidenhout, Elandsfomtein Viljoen , Turfontein a Mr Ras and others , Braamfontein Lindigue sic , Langlaagte and so on: the farm owners were beguiled and cajoled by the adventurers, the prospectors and the financiers who made offers too good to be resisted.

Entrepreneurs such as Meyer, Charlton, Knights, Ferreira, Marshall, the Struben brothers were the first to stake mining claims and were quickly followed by those with bigger bank accounts, men such as Rudd, Rhodes, J B Robinson, Dr Sauer. All these names drop into the Cowin account.

The third component was law and order represented by the government surveyor, Johan Rissik. A magistrates court was an early institution. The earliest of townships were declared by The Banks came to town along with the first settlers, Standard Bank, Natal Bank, the Bank of Africa, the Cape of Good Hope Bank and bank buildings in the style of London bank architecture stood for solidity profitability and early success.

Substantial commercial and office buildings were erected at a surprisingly early date on stands in Commissioner St. Market St, Loveday, Simmonds There were two Land and Building Societies with the objective of encouraging savings by working men for the construction of houses.

Hotels were opulent from early days with marble columns, teak staircases and pavements using imported building materials and "retarded only by the absence of building materials and skilled workmen". Note too the Beaconsfield Hotel, taking its name from Kimberley and the Earl of Beaconsfield connection. Curiosities Sapphires.

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