 THE OPEN MINE MUSEUM
& THE "BIG HOLE"
|
Phone |
Address |
+27
(0)53 839 4902
+27 (0)53 830 4417 |
Tucker Street |
| Hours |
Museum Admission |
"Big Hole" Admission |
08:00 until 17:00 Every Day
(Closed on Christmas Day
and Good Friday) |
Free
|
Adults
U/17
Family (2+2)
Pensioners |
Phone |
The Open Mine Museum has undergone a
major reconstruction and re-opened on 25 November 2006.
|
|
Please note that entrance to the museum facility, as well as to the
retail area within the new visitor’s centre, is free.
The above
"Big Hole" admission fees will apply only to visitors wishing to view the Big Hole and other
new attractions.
Consisting of original and carefully reconstructed buildings this
museum has preserved a great deal of the city's past.
The Eureka,
the first recorded diamond discovered in South Africa, can be
viewed at the museum.
Have some fun sifting through diamond bearing gravel, looking for your
own diamond.
Experience a diamond mining operation - complete with blastings! Play
skittles in the old bowling alley, or just stroll through the old buildings
which have been reconstructed here at the museum. Food and refreshments are
available at the Occidental Bar.
The largest hand-dug excavation in the world.
The "Big Hole" was mined to a depth of about 800m [2625
feet] (depth of shaft = 1100m [3610 feet]).
The distance from the surface to the layer of debris lying on top of the kimberlite
pipe is about 215m [705 feet], including (in 2001) some 40m [131 feet] of water. It
has a surface area of ±17
hectares [42 acres] and a perimeter of ±1.6km [1 mile]. It is the largest hand-dug excavation
in the world. By 14 August 1914 22,7 billion kg [22.5 million tons] of
rock had been
excavated, yielding 2722 kg [2.7 tons] of diamonds.
Underground mining was also eventually carried out at the Kimberley Mine, not just open
pit mining. |
ALEXANDER McGREGOR MEMORIAL MUSEUM
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)53 842 0099
|
Chapel Street
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
Closed Sat & Sun
|
Donation
|
Situated in Chapel Street in the CBD. The original McGregor Museum was
built in 1907 in memory of Alexander McGregor, a former mayor.
|
 WILLIAM HUMPHREYS ART GALLERY
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)53 831 1724
|
Jan
Smuts Boulevard
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
Mon
to Sat 10am to 5pm
Sun and public holidays 2pm to 5pm
|
Phone
|
One of the most important galleries in the country, the WHAG houses a collection of traditional and
contemporary South African graphics, sculptures and paintings. It hosts
many special exhibitions from time to time.
|
SOL PLAATJE MUSEUM
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)82 804 3266
|
Angel St.
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
Office hours
Weekends by appointment
|
Phone
|
|
THE
TRANSPORT MUSEUM
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)53 838 2376
|
Florence St (Railway Station)
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
Mon
- Fri 08:30 - 15:30
except public holidays
|
Phone
|
Has a fine collection of railway memorabilia from the early days of
steam locomotion. Kimberley was a main line terminus on the routes to and
from Cape Town and the goldfields of the Transvaal.
|
RHODES' BOARDROOM
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)83 732 3189
|
Warren Street
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
|
By
Appointment.
|
Free
|
Rhodes' Boardroom is on Warren St, Gladstone. It is a National Monument
and was the De Beers Mining Company Head Office from 1886 to 1889 when it
moved to Stockdale St. Many artifacts of Rhodes, Jameson, etc are on
display, including the original boardroom table and chairs. This was the
building where the mines amalgamation took place in 1888.
|
 McGREGOR MUSEUM
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)53 842 0099
|
Atlas Street
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
Mon-Sat 9am-5pm
Sun 2-5pm
Holidays
10am-5pm.
|
Phone
|
Originally
constructed in 1897 by De Beers as a sanatorium, the building has served as a luxury hotel
(Hotel Belgrave) and later as a convent school. The museum provides research and
advice to a wide range of community projects throughout the Northern Cape.
|
 DUNLUCE
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)53 842 0099
|
10
Lodge Road
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
By
appointment only
Maximum group of 15 persons
|
Phone
|
An elegant home built in 1897 for Gustav Bonas. It was John Orr's family home from 1902 to 1975.
It was declared a national monument in 1990. This home may be viewed
by appointment with the McGregor Museum.
|
 RUDD HOUSE
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)53 842 0099
|
5
Loch Road
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
By appointment only.
Maximum group of 15 persons
|
Phone
|
Formerly the lavish home of HP Rudd, a mining magnate. It was
restored to its full grandeur by the McGregor Museum. It was
declared a national monument in 1990. This house can be viewed by
appointment with the McGregor Museum.
|
 DUGGAN CRONIN GALLERY
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)53 842 0099
|
Egerton Road
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
Mon-Sat 9am-5pm
(closed from 1-2pm)
Holidays
10am-5pm
(closed from 1-2pm)
Sun 2-5pm
|
Donation
|
Exhibits indigenous cultures and lifestyles in some 8000 photographs
taken by Irishman AM Duggan Cronin between 1919 and 1939 are just some of
the invaluable ethnographic collection.
|
BELGRAVIA & THE GREAT KIMBERLEY NORTH WALK
If you enjoy walking there are two walks around Kimberley taking you past
all the historic sights. Guides can be arranged through the McGregor
Museum.
|
KIMBERLEY GHOST TRAIL
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)53 832 7298
|
|
Visit the haunted corners of the city.
|
CLYDE TERRY HALL OF
MILITARIA
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)53 832 7013
|
Memorial Road (MOTH Centre)
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
|
By
Appointment.
|
Donation
|
|
FG TAIT GOLF MUSEUM
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)53 841 0179
|
Kimberley Golf Club (Transvaal Road)
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
Tuesday to Sunday 8am to 8pm
Open Public holidays
|
Free
|
|
MEMORIAL TO THE PIONEERS OF AVIATION
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)53 851 1197
|
General Ken van der Spuy Drive
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
Mon-Fri 9am-5pm.
Closed Sat & Sun and Public Holidays
|
Donation
|
Established in 1912/13. The birthplace of the South African Air Force. It is
a reconstruction of the hangar, with a replica of the Compton Paterson bi-plane
used in flight training. Just past the airport on the way to Magersfontein.
|
WILDEBEEST KUIL ROCK ART
CENTRE
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)53 833 7069
|
Barkly West Road (± 15km)
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
Mon
to Fri 10am to 5pm
Sat and Sun 11am to 4pm
|
Phone
|
Wildebeest Kuil is one of some 15 000 known rock art sites in South
Africa. The art occurs in two forms: paintings and, as at Wildebeest Kuil,
engravings.
|
MAGERSFONTEIN BATTLEFIELD AND MUSEUM
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
+27
(0)53 842 0099
|
Airport Rd to Modder River (±30Km)
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
Open daily 8am-5pm
Tours
available.
|
Phone
|
Tours to the many battlefields can be designed around individual
needs.
|
PAARDEBERG BATTLEFIELD
MUSEUM
|
Phone
|
Address
|
|
|
Paardeberg (±50km)
|
|
Hours
|
Admission
|
|
9am to 4pm Tuesday to Saturday
|
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|
|
