THE HISTORY OF TSE KIMBERLEY PUBLIC LIBRARY 
1870 - 1902 
Febe van Niekerk 
Submitted to fulfil the requirement of the degree 
MAGISTER BIBLIOTBECOLOGIAE 
in the 
FACULTY OF ARTS 
DEPARTMENT OF INFORMATION SCIENCE 
at the 
• 
UNIVERSITY OF THE ORANGE FREE STATE 
Supervisor : Prof D w Fokker September 1990 
Co-supervisor: Prof A H Marais 
FOR MY FAMILY, 
BEN, PHILIP, NOELINE AND RENETTE 
AND GRANDSONS, IVAN AND BRYCE. 
i 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Prefa ce 
1. INTRODUCTION 1 
1.1 The problem and its setting 1 
1.2 The purpose of the study 2 
1.3 The sub-problems 3 
1.4 The hypotheses 3 
1.5 Assumptions 4 
1.6 The delimitations 5 
1.7 Definition of terms 5 
1.8 Abbreviations 7 
1.9 The need for the study 8 
1.10 Methodology of study 9 
2. ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 12 
2.1 The beginning 12 
2.2 The birth of a city 17 
2.3 Social and cultural background 18 
2.4 Conclusion 22 
3. EARLY LIBRARY HISTORY 2·3 
3.1 Library development in England 23 
3.1.1 The Free Libraries' Act 24 
3.1.2 Mechanics' Institutions 25 
3.1.3 Book Clubs and Circulating Libraries 26 
3.2 Libraries in America 26 
3.3 Library conditions at the Cape 27 
3.3.1 The South African Library 27 
3.3.2. Other South African libraries 29 
3.4 Conclusion 30 
4. THE FIRST ATTEMPT AT ESTABLISHING A PUBLIC 
LIBRARY IN KIMBERLEY 3 2 
4.1 Early Reading Rooms and Circulating Libraries 32 
4.2 The establishment of the first Public Library 39 
4.3 Conclusion 54 
5. THE SECOND ATTEMPT AT ESTABLISHING A PUBLIC 
LIBRARY IN KIMBERLEY 5 7 
5.1 Conditions on the Diamond Fields after 1876 57 
--
ii 
5.2 Goch's Circulating Library and other Reading 
Rooms 58 
5.3 The Kimberley Literary Institute· 61 
5.4 The second Public Library in Kimberley 63 
5.5 The Athenaeum- Club 74 
5.6 The opening of the Public Library 76 
5.7 The collapse of the library scheme 80 
5.8 Conclusion 88 
6. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KIMBERLEY PUBLIC 
LIBRARY ' 90 
6.1 The liquidation of the second library 90 
6.2 The library in New Main Street 91 
6.3 Cultural societies in the nineteen-eighties 103 
6.3.1 The Presbyterian Literary Society 103 
6.3.2 The Young Men's Musical, Dramatic, 
Literary and Debating Society 104 
6.3.3. The Newton Debating and Dramatic Society 105 
6.4 Events leading up to the establishment of 
the Kimberley Public Library 105 
6.5 The opening of the Kimberley Public Library 114 
6. 6 Conclusion · 115 
7. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PUBLIC LIBRARY AND 
INSTITUTE AT BEACONSFIELD 117 
8. LIBRARY GROWTH INTO THE 20TH CENTURY 136 
8.1 An outline of general progress, 1887-1902 136 
8.2 The finances of the Kimberley Public Library 142 
8.3 Extension of the lij:>rary service 148 
8.4 Books tock 151 
8.5 Conclusion 154 
9. POLICIES AND PEOPLE IN THE KIM):IERLEY PUBLIC 755 
LIBRARY 
9.1 Library policies and librarians 155 
9.2 Library policies as applied to subscribers 164 
9.3 Conclusion 168 
10. NOTES ON PROMINENT KIMBERLEY MEN AND AN 170 
ASSESSMENT OF THEIR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE 
LIBRARY 
10.1 Members of the Library Committee 170 
10.2 Justice Percival Laurence 171 
10.3 George H Gach 174 
10.4 J B Currey 175 
10.5 Moses Cornwall 177 
10.6 James Lawrence 177 
iii 
10.7 Cecil John Rhodes 177 
10.8 Barney Barnato 180 
10.9 Leander Starr Jameson 181 
10.10 Sidney s Mendelssohn 182 
10.11 Conclusion 183 
11. EVALUATION AND COMMENT 184 
Conclusion 195 
BIBLIOGRAPHY 199 
ANNEXURE : TABLE SHOWING THE KIMBERLEY PUBLIC 
LIBRARY'S GROWTH FROM 1885 - 1902 
BRIEF SUMMARY IN AFRIKAANS. 
iv 
' . 
LIST OF ILtUSTRATIVE MATERIAL 
After 
Map of Diamond Fields, 1873, showing Ch.3 
Pniel, Klipdrift, Dutoits Pan, 
Bultfontein and New Rush. 
Plan of Kimberley Township 1875, showing Ch 4 
streets and mines. 
Photograph of Kimberley Public Library Ch 5 
1882-1886 and a floor plan and photograph 
of the library erected in 1887. 
Map of the Diamond Fields 1886, showing Ch 6 
the towns of Kimberley and Beaconsfield. 
Photograph of the Off ices of the London Ch 7 
and south African Exploration company, 1889 
and an early floor plan of the Beaconsfield 
Library and Institute. 
The historical record of a library book Ch 8 
as indicated by a series of bookplates. 
Photographs of s T Solomon, Librarian Ch 9 
of Kimberley Public Library, 1883-1889 
and B L Dyer, Librarian 1900-1908. 
Photographs of P M Laurence ChlO 
G H Goch and J B Currey. 
-----------------------------------
PREFACE 
The Kimberley Public Library, which was built in 
1886 and officially opened in 1887, was vacated at 
the beginning of 1984 when a new public library came 
into use. The old building was in a state of 
disrepair and could easily have been demolished as 
has happened to so many old buildings in Kimberley. 
It is to the credit of the City Council of Kimberley 
that a decision was taken to renovate and restore 
the building as a repository of Africana material. 
The Cape Library Services substantially subsidised 
the project. 
The building now houses valuable Africana as well as 
a large part of the original library stock, which 
was preserved as part of the assets of the old 
Public Library when it was affiliated to the Cape 
Provincial Library Services in 1960. 
I was privileged to be appointed City Librarian in 
1973 and to be given the opportunity of acquainting 
myself with some of the books and documents which 
had obviously been acquired in the last century. 
The odd references in old newspapers to the early 
library history stimulated my curiosity about the 
beginnings of the library and the far-sighted people 
who collected and preserved material which has now 
become rare and in some cases, unobtainable. 
Furthermore, Kimberley is a place so steeped in 
history, that it is difficult not to become immersed 
in the past. 
I became acquainted with Miss Olive Mcintyre, a 
previous librarian, whose reminiscences date back to 
the beginning of the century, and Mrs Muriel Macey, 
whose love of books and tireless search for 
information infected me with enthusiasm. To these 
librarians I owe a debt of gratitude for inspiring 
me to document the history of the library. 
I also wish to record a vote of thanks to the 
present staff of the Africana Library, in particular 
Mrs Lesley Brits, for help so willingly given. 
This thesis is dedicated to all librarians and 
bibliophiles, especially the truly remarkable Mr 
Justice Laurence, who was the force behind the early 
Kimberley Public Library. 
1 
CHAPTER 1 
INTRODU~I6N 
1.1 The problem and its setting 
Kimberley sprang up virtually overnight. Where 
there had been nothing but veld before the discovery 
of diamonds, there appeared in the 1870's a 
settlement of approximately SQ 000 diggers on the. 
so-called "dry diggings" (Roberts, 1978; p.5). At 
this particular time there were between 30 000 and 
40 000 people living in Cape Town, 12 000 in Port 
Elizabeth and 17 000 Whites in Natal (Babe, 1872, 
pp. 73, 77, 81). On the "diggings", the most 
densely populated area in south Africa, people of 
all cultures, creeds and races were thrown together 
and had to make a life for themselves under 
extremely harsh conditions. A unique city was born, 
the City of Kimberley. 
It is interesting to note that as early as April 
1871, mention is made of Hurley's Reading Room at 
Pniel (today · about 20km · from Kimberley). 
Subsequently, various other attempts at 
establishing library facilities of some kind were 
made, but, as a result of financial and other 
problems, they were destined to failure. 
Nevertheless, the Kimberley Public Library was 
already well-established by 1889 and considered a 
model institution. 
"The Kimberley Public Library, in a town 
similar to Johannesburg and the former 
home of many Johannesburg people,. was 
always cited as a successful institution, 
worthy of emulation" (Kennedy, 1970, p. 
15) • 
2 
It was a sore point with the Library Committee of 
the Johannesburg Library that progress did not come 
up to expectations and that the Kimberley Library 
seemed to be better off financially despite very 
little aid from outside sources. As Bertram Dyer, 
the Librarian of the Kimberley Public Library at the 
beginning of the 20th century, pointed out: 
"The town Kimberley does not owe its 
library to the benevolence of a Carnegie 
or a Passmore Edwardsl nor to that of one 
of its citizens, who, having made a 
fortune here r designed a useful provision 
for the rising generations of the. town. 
The Library has been provided entirely by 
the collective action of the citizens of 
Kimberley, practically unaided from any 
outside source, and it remains as a 
standing monument of usefulness of ·such 
collective action" (Dyer, 1903, p.47). 
1. 2 l'urpose of study 
The purpose of this study is to trace the origin and 
d.e velopment of th.e  Kimberley Public Library and to 
show that it came into existence as a result of a 
great need for this facility, which evinced its elf 
from the start but only reached fruition when the 
community had stabilised; the origin of the 
Kimberley Public Library's present branch library, 
the Beaconsfield Library, will also be established 
and the role of these institutions in the community 
life of the time will be assessed. The study will 
be taking a closer look at the so-called "collective 
action" of the citizens and will seek to identify 
1. J Passmore Edwards, born in Cornwall and MP for 
Salisbury 1880-85, was noted for his generosity in 
founding libraries and other institutions. 
----------------------------------. 
3 
those who played a significant role in the library 
history of Kimberley. 
For over a century the Beaconsfield Library ~as been 
housed in a building which is known to have been 
built to accommodate the first offices of the London 
and South African Exploration company. Very few 
library records are available, the minute books and 
reports presumably having been destroyed in a fire 
which caused a great deal of damage to the building 
in the nineteen-forties. How this library came to 
be established and which people were responsible for 
its founding are aspects which need to be researched 
and documented. Both the Kimberley Public Library 
and the· Beaconsfield Library have recently been 
declared historical monuments and a closer look at 
the past history of both libraries, and an 
assessment of their relationship to each other, is 
warranted. 
1.3 The sub-problems 
The first sub-problem is to establish to what extent 
the socio-economic conditions on the diggings 
influenced the establishment and nature of libraries 
which came into operation. 
The second sub-problem is to evaluate the role of 
the library in the community life of Kimberley. 
The third sub-problem is to establish how libraries 
were financed and to what extent the governing 
bodies were responsible for funding. 
The fourth sub-problem is to identify individuals 
who were involved with the establishment of the 
library and to evaluate the roles they played in the 
library history of Kimberley. 
1.4 The Hypotheses 
The first hypothesis is that a community, based on a 
particular socio-economic infra-structure, will 
4 
provide a setting in which a library can grow 
successfully only when living conditions are 
relatively stable or when the economic climate is 
favourable. 
The second hypothesis is that the Public Library, .as 
a result of a diversity of functions, recreational 
as well as intellectual, fulfilled a vital need in 
the community life of Kimberley. 
The third hypothesis is that libraries are unable to 
exist and develop solely from funds generated by 
themselves and that financial support from 
governing bodies is vital for the success of a 
service of this kind. 
The fourth hypothesis is that if it wer~ not for the 
continued efforts of certain dedicated people, 
public libraries w0uld not have survived and 
achieved the success they obviously did. 
1.5 Assumptions 
The first assumption is that the people who 
converged on the Diamond Fields did not have much 
faith in the future of the Diggings and intended to 
leave as soon as their fortunes were made. 
The second assumption is that access to the 
libraries on the Diamond Fields was available to 
anyone who could afford the required subscription 
fees; 
The third assumption is that government and 
municipal grants to subscription libraries were 
inadequate if not non-existent; 
The fourth assumption is that the Kimberley Public 
Library was a successful and respected library by 
the end of the 19th century. 
5 
1.6 The Delimitations 
The recorded history of tlie Kimberley Public Library 
dates back to 1882, but it has come to light that 
libraries, such as circulating libraries and reading 
rooms did in fact exist on the Diamond Fields in the 
preceding ten years. This study will therefore 
begin at 1870 and span roughly thirty-two years of 
' 
library history; it will cover early attempts at 
establishing libraries and will describe events 
leading up to the founding of the Kimberley Public 
Library and the Beaconsfield Library and Institute; 
it will trace their development through the years of 
depression preceding the Anglo-Boer War and follow 
through to 1902 when the war ended and conditions 
stabilised to a certain extent. 
The study will not attempt comparisons with library 
development in other towns in South Africa, but will 
give a brief survey of library conditions at the 
Cape and overseas in the early eighteen-seventies as 
it may be assumed that the library experience of 
newcomers to the Diamond Fields would have had a 
bearing on the nature and scope of the facilities 
that came into existence. 
1.7 Definition of terms 
Public Library 
"A Public Library is an organised 
collection of graphic materials arranged 
for relatively easy use, cared for by an 
individual or individuals familiar with 
that arrangement and available for use by 
at least a limited number of persons for 
general information or recreational 
purposes" (Johnson, 1965, p.78). 
Reading room 
A Reading room implies premises housing a collection 
of books, magazines and newspapers available for 
1-.~---
6 
browsing purposes by the general public, either free 
of charge or on payment of an admission fee and for 
loan by subscribers on payment of a fixed 
registration fee. · 
Circulation/ Circulating Library 
A circulation or circulating library is a collection 
of books, usually of a popular kind, which may be 
borrowed by the public on payment of a small feei it 
may form part of a commercial undertaking. 
Subscription Library 
A subscription library is a public library which is 
financially dependent on subscription fees payable 
monthly, quarterly or annually by registered members 
and which entitles them to borrow books for a 
stipulated period. 
Mechanics' Institutions 
Mechanics' Institutions are centres which were 
established in the 19th century by philanthropists 
for the purpose of providing constructive and 
cultural leisure time activities, such as lectures, 
debates and games , to the working class i the 
library was the most important feature of these 
Institutions. 
A Community 
"A community is a set of people occupying 
an area with defined territorial limits 
and so far united in thought and action as 
to feel a sense of belonging together" 
·(Finberg, 1967, p.33). 
The Diamond Fields 
The Diamond Fields denotes the territory in the 
Northern Cape where diamonds were first discovered 
in the eighteen-seventies. It covered an area of 
about 10 000 square miles and was situated, 
according to Babe (1872, p.11), 
7 
"between latitude 28030' . south, and 
longitude 24028 1 east {Greenwich}. The 
Vaal River runs north and south through 
the centre of this country ... The Orange 
River runs along the southern part of the 
diamond district, and may be considered 
the southern boundary of the 
diamondiferous country. The part which 
lies on the east bank of the Vaal River 
comprises part of the Orange Free State', 
a Dutch republic". 
Initially the Diamond Fields were restricted to the 
river diggings on the vaal River, Klipdrift on the 
one side of the river and Pniel on the opposite 
side. When diamonds were discovered further inland, 
resulting in the establishment of the so-called 
"dry-diggings" at Dutoitspan, Bultfontein (now 
Beaconsfield), De Beers and New Rush in 1871, the 
Diamond Fields encompassed this area as well. 
1.8 Abbreviations 
DN is the abbreviation for the newspape·r "Diamond 
News", 1870-1884; published as "Diamond News and 
Griqualand West Government Gazette", 1874-81. 
Published at Pniel, Dutoitspan, New Rush and 
Kimberley. 
DF is the abbreviation for the newspaper "The 
Diamond Fields, 1770-1877; published at Klipdrift, 
1870 - 1873; at Dutoitspan, 1873-1874. New series 
published at Kimberley, 1875-1877. 
DFA is the abbreviation for the newspaper "The 
Diamond Fields Advertiser", 1878 First 
published as "Diamond Fields Advertiser and 
Commercial Gazette." 
8 
~ is the abbreviation for the newspaper "Daily 
Independent", 1879-1892. Previously the 
"Independent" 
Ind is the abbreviation for the newspaper, the 
"Daily Independent", 1875-1879, before it became a 
daily newspaper in 1879. 
KPL is the abbreviation which is used for the 
Kimberley Public Library. 
1.9 The need for the study 
Historical research of any kind is important as it 
puts past events into perspective and gives an 
insight into the causes and results of past 
happenings. 
"Our experience in the past r II maintains 
Arnold J. Toynbee (1966, p.3), "gives us 
the only light on the future that is 
accessible to us. Experience is another 
name for history. When we speak of 
history, we are usually thinking of the 
collective experience of the human race." 
Public libraries of today are beset by problems. As 
free institutions they are expected to justify their 
existence in terms of quantifiable services; the 
future of the public library in its present form is 
in jeopardy. The belief that all library material 
should be issued free of charge to all registered 
members is receiving serious reconsideration and 
some authorities are no longer prepared to subscribe 
to the principle of free library facilities. 
These and other problems need to be viewed in the 
light of what has gone before. Perspective will be 
gained and a ·pattern in the history of South African 
J..ibrarianship established when findings of relevant 
studies are carefully examined and correlated. 
Benade ( 1977, p. 8 l rightly contends that research 
9 
into the background of :t!i.dividual libraries shouJ,d 
prove enlightening, "contributing to an increased 
knowledge and greater understanding of South African 
libraries as a social phenomenon". 
The findings of other librarians, such as R F M 
Immelman, R F Kennedy, T Friis and R Benade are of 
special significance for the substantiation of 
relevant hypotheses which could con:tribute to the 
formulation of theories with a direct bearing on 
present day problems. This aspect will receive 
closer attention in the concludi.ng chapter. 
Another reason for this study is that it will fill 
gaps in the historical record of Kimberley. Any 
supplementary research serves to complete the 
picture .of social life on the Diamond Fields. Many 
famous figures, such as Cecil John Rhodes, J B 
Currey, and Justice P M Laurence, spent a large part 
of their lives in Kimberley and were actively 
involved with the events of the time. This study 
will indicate to what extent they and others like 
them played a role in the library history of the 
town. 
l.lOMethodology of study 
The heuristic method of research, entailing the 
tracing of records and documents with a bearing on 
the history of the early days of Kimberley, was 
employed to reconstruct the past. 
Life on the diggings was filled with hardships and 
privation and the only records of that period that 
have survived are letters that were written to 
family "at home" or travelogues by overseas visitors 
who visited the Diamond Fields out of curiosity or 
as part of a journey through South Africa. J L 
Babe, for instance, was a correspondent from the New 
York World in South Africa for two years and was 
10 
"the first to inform the American public of the very 
great value of the South African Diamond Mines" and 
his trustworthiness was vouched for by a Mr D G 
Croly (Babe, 1872, p.viii). 
In trying to form a picture of the living conditions 
of the early days, use has been made of authentic 
descriptions by such early Kimberley residents as J 
L Babe, · J Angove, F Boyle, C A Payton and A 
Williams. Kimberley, turbulent city, the well-
researched book by Brian Roberts ( 1976) was 
consulted for reliable background information. 
It was, however, mainly the early newspapers which 
had to be searched for authentic accounts of 
happenings. The editors of early newspapers, such 
as the Diamond Fields Advertiser, Diamond News and 
the Daily Independent, were deeply involved with the 
everyday life on the Fields and expressed their own 
opinions in no uncertain a manner. Newspapers were 
,· 
the most important and most popular reading material 
of the time and the editors were important opinion-
makers. It was often feasible for a politician to 
print his own newspaper to enable him to express his 
opinions freely. Biased reporting often led to 
confrontation between the editors, with one 
maligning the other. 
For a study of this kind it is fortunate that 
reporting was so detailed and that even 
advertisements were worded in such a manner as to be 
very subjective and revealing. At the same time, 
discrepancies and errors, resulting from inaccurate 
reporting, cause innumerable problems for the 
researcher. Despite all efforts to provide full and 
accurate information details, such as initials, had 
sometimes to be omitted. 
Fairly complete runs of newspapers dating back to 
1870 are available for consultation but often the 
-- -- - -- --------------------------------------
11 
papers are too fragile for use and microfilms almost 
illegible. Nevertheless they · are invariably the 
only source material; and, as such, were used 
extensively for this study. Official documents and 
letters, traced in the South African Archives, De 
Beers Archives and in the records of the Kimberley 
Public Library, were used to substantiate certain 
references. 
A collection of facts does not, however, constitute 
a history and Young ( 1964" p.150) points out that 
"the social process as a whole must be synthesized 
and explained". This was attempted in the context 
of library development. 
The approach of this work is chronological rather 
than thematic so that the sequence of events may be 
followed. A brief survey of the political and 
socio-economic conditions before and immediately 
after the discovery of diamonds will be given in the 
second chapter; this will be followed by a resume 
of library conditions in the Cape Colony and 
overseas in order to assess possible preconceptions 
with regard to the nature and function of l.ibraries, 
and also to place the library development of 
Kimberley in perspective. 
The next chapters will cover events leading up to 
the establishment of the Kimberley Public Library 
and the Beaconsfield Library. Chapters 8 and 9 will 
be devoted to an interpretation of aspects such as 
library finances, bookstock, policies and staffing. 
Chapter 10 will briefly relate and evaluate the role 
played by some of the prominent people of Kimberley; 
these biographical notes will not be restricted to 
the three-decade period of study. A summary and 
evaluation in Chapter 11 will conclude the study. 
12 
CHAPTER 2 
ECONOMIC, POLITICAL AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 
2.1 The beginning 
The birth of the city of Kimberley is directly 
attributable to the discovery of diamonds at the 
Cape in 1867. In a wider context the discovery of 
diamonds can be referred to as "the dawn of 
prosperity" in South Africa (Angove, 1910, p.198) at 
a time when the country was in the throes of an 
economic depression caused by various factors: 
agriculture had been badly affected by a prolonged 
drought; the completion of the Suez canal had 
harmed the economy of the Cape (Williams, 1948, 
p.560) and the United States had closed its market 
to South African wool in preference to wool from 
Australia, causing the price of wool to drop to two 
and a half pence per pound (Botma, 1947, p.105). 
Continual wars between the Basutos and the Orange 
Free State had drained the country's financial 
resources and the printing of worthless paper money, 
the "blue-blacks", had caused a drop in currency 
which resulted in further economic deterioration 
(Williams, 1948, p.55). 
The discovery of diamonds heralded a new 
.industrial age and transformed the Cape Colony, 
which used to be the ·cinderella of the British 
Colonial family' into a prosperous country "which 
soon eclipsed her sisters in the 
brilliancy of wealth" (Angove, 1910, p.199). As a 
result of a railroad extension to Beaufort We;t in 
1880 and to Kimberley in 1885, places became more 
accessible and industrial development was 
facilitated. 
13 
The London Missionary Society had penetrated the 
Northern Cape early in the 19th century, setting up 
mission stations at Lattakoo, afterwards kuruman, 
for the Tswana, and at Pniel and Hebron for the 
Korannas and Griquas. Boers in the area lived a 
nomadic existence as a result of absence of winter 
feeding' and transport facilities. Continual 
livestock raiding by Black tribes and retaliation 
by White farmers caused a rift between 
missionaries and colonists, which was one of the 
causes of the Great Trek (Lucas, 1898, p .124) and 
of a growing hostility between Boer and British 
which culminated in the Anglo-Boer War. 
In 1839 a mission station named Griquatown was 
established at Klaarwater to serve as a settlement 
for half-breeds, known as Bastards ( af:terwards 
Griquas). Two hundred miles south-east lay the 
only other village in the Northern Cape, 
Colesberg, which was founded on an abandoned station 
of the London Missionary Society. 
In 1853 a village was established on 'the Orange 
River and named after the Acting Secretary of the 
Cape Colonial Government, Major William Hope. Brian 
Roberts (1876, p.4) remarks that Hopetown seemed an 
"incongruous choice of name for this forlorn 
villaqe", but nevertheless turned out to be very 
appropriate because, by a strange turn of events, 
it "was destined to bring hoper not only to the 
Grigua wilderness, but to the whole of South 
Africa." 
It was here, in 1866, that the first diamond 
was discovered. In 1869 a second diamond, the Star 
of South Africa, was picked up, presumably on the 
northern side of the Orange River. A diamond 
prospecting company, the Diamond Metal and 
Mineral Company, was founded in Colesberg and 
negotiations for mineral and mining concessions 
14 
in the Griqua territory were c_onunenced with the 
Griqua chief, Nicholas Waterboer. 
When the discovery of diamonds became public 
knowledge, a large number of fortune-seekers 
converged on the Hopetown area and then moved 
further afield, heading for the Vaal River. Two 
farms, Bultfontein and Dorstfontein, which were 
regular stopping places for travellers on their way 
to the Vaal, were also found to have diamonds, as 
was the adjoining farm, Vooruitzicht·, owned by 
Nicholas de Beer. Licences for digging on the 
farms were procured by some, but progress was 
impeded ·by a chronic shortage of water; 
consequently, when rumours of rich· deposits in the 
Vaal River area reached their ears, the prospect of 
having water close at hand enticed the diggers to 
leave the farms and to join the ranks of those 
already operating on the river banks (Roberts, 1976, 
p.20 et seq. l. 
"The sudden discovery of qreat mineral 
wealth", wrote Lucas (1898,·p.246), "works 
something like a revolution. It brings in 
a stream of adventurers from other lands, 
men of strength and enterprise." 
By 1870 two sizeable towns had sprung up on the Vaal 
River, Pniel, in the territory of Pniel Mission 
Station, and Klipdrift, ··two miles down river from 
Pniel and on the opposite side of the river. They 
lay about 40 miles from the nearest town, Jacobsdal, 
from which their mail was forwarded (Babe, 1872, 
p.34). 
In the meantime the ownership of the Diamond Fields 
was being bitterly contested. The badly defined 
boundaries between the Griqua territory, the Orange 
Free State and the Transvaal had not presented a 
15 
problem before the mineral wealth in' the Vaal River 
area was discovered. 
The seemingly valid claim of the Orange Free State2 
was contested by David Arnot, a Cape Coloured 
lawyer acting on behalf of the Griqua chief, 
Nicholas Waterboer, who maintained that the Diamond 
Fields lay within the Campbell lands to which he 
had previously laid claim. He astutely made sure 
of Britain's backing by offering to cede the 
territory to her, should it be awarded to him. The 
Transvaal asserted that the land fell within its 
province as its boundary was the northern banks of 
the Vaal River. 
A deadlock was reached. In 1871 Sir Henry Barkly, 
Governor of the cape, appointed an arbitration court 
presided over by Robert Keate, the Lieutenant 
Governor of Natal, to settle the dispute. Keate 
upheld Waterboer's claim and both the Transvaal and 
the Free State had to forego ownership of the 
Diamond Fields. 
"To this transaction," maintains Theal 
(1889, p.301), "more than to any other is 
due the feeling of suspicion of English 
policy, mingled with erunity towards it, 
which, for the next thirty years was 
entertained by many residents of the 
secluded farms in the republic". 
Despite bitter protestations from the Orange Free 
State, Sir Henry Barkly issued a proclamation on 21 
October 1871, declaring the territory of Nicholas 
Waterboer, about 17 800 square miles in area, part 
2. Twenty years previously it was accepted that all 
the land east of the Vaal was included in the Orange 
River Sovereignty. 
16 
of the British Dominion and named it Griqualand 
West.3 Included in this territory·was the ground on 
which the mission station, Pniel, was located and 
which Rev c F Wuras had purchased from Cornelis Kok 
(Theale, 1889. pp 389-390). 
The three commissioners who were appointed to govern 
the Diamond Fields were unable to maintain order 
or to solve the problems of the diggers and in 
1873 Griqualand West was proclaimed a Crown 
Colony of Britain and was granted its own 
constitution. It was to be ruled by a Lieutenant-
Governor and a Legislative Council consisting of 
four elected members and four Government nominees 
with the Lieutenant-Governor holding the casting 
vote. The first Lieutenant-Governor, Richard 
Southey, the former Colonial Secretary, did very '.  ..'  
little to improve the living conditions on the 
Diamond Fields and it was only when he was 
succeeded by Major OWen Lanyon that real reforms 
took place (Roberts, 1978, p. 3) . 
In 1876 a meeting was called to discuss the 
institution of a municipality and on 27 June 1877 
an ordinance constituting "the town of Kimberley a 
Municipality" was published.4 
In 1880 Griqualand West was formally incorporated as 
a province of the Cape Colony, entitling it to a 
representation of four to the Cape Parliament. In 
the next year J B Robinson and C J Rhodes were 
elected to represent Kimberley and Barkly West 
respectively in Parliament. 
3. Some five years later the Orange Free State was 
paid £90 000 as compensation for the loss of the 
Diamond Fields. 
4. Ordinance no 7, 1877. 
17 
2.2 The birth of a city 
In 1870 diamond operations were concentrated on 
Klipdrift and Pniel. Other sites along the river 
also came into operation, such as Gong Gong, 
Delport's Hope, Forlorn Hope, Poorman's Kopje, 
Sixpenny Rush, Moonlight Rush and others. The 
focus of the search for diamonds was, however, to 
change almost overnight. In 1871 diamonds were 
discovered quite by chance on Gilfillan's Kop on De 
Beer's farm, about 24 miles from Klipdrift (Babe, 
1872, p.64). 
As soon as the news of the discovery l.eaked out, 
most of the diggers abandoned their claims at 
Pniel and Klipdrift and streamed to "Colesberg 
Kopje", as it came to be known. 5 After a rush to 
peg claims had taken place in July 1871, the site 
also became known as "New Rush". Johannes Nicholas 
de Beer, owner of the farm, was astounded at the 
frenzied activity and only too happy to sell his 
farm to Alfred Ebden for six thousand guineas in 
August 1871. Albert Ortlepp was appointed temporary 
General Manager at New Rush and G F Stegman was 
appointed to survey the camp and lay out a town 
(Roberts, 1976, p.50). By September 1871, there 
were "at least 5 000 people digging there .•. Shops, 
stores and tents . • . erected in all directions •.. " 
(The Friend, 7 September 1871). The mine in 
operation on De Beer's farm became known as Old De 
Beers', but it later merged with New Rush and became 
known as Gladstone. 
In 1873 Lord Kimberley, the Secretary of State for 
the Colonies, insisted that, before electoral 
division could take place, the places should 
5. Sarah Ortlepp and Fleetwood Rawstorne, who, in 
conflicting stories, both claimed to have 
discovered the first diamond on this hillock, came 
from Colesberg. 
I· - _IL_-----~-
18 
receive "decent and intelligible" names (Roberts, 
1976, p.115). J B Currey subsequently changed 
Klipdrift to Barkly to perpetuate the name of the 
Governor and New Rush to Kimberley after · Lord 
Kimberley. The farm, Bultfontein, was bought by 
the Hopetown Company, afterwards the South African -
Exploration Company, for £2 000 (Roberts, 1976, 
p.18) and Dorstfontein (Dutoitspan) for £2 600 
(Roberts, 1976, p.40). 
By 1872, these settlements had merged into the 
township of Dutoitspan, a busy and attractive place, 
with every prospect of developing into the business 
centre of the Diamond Fields. In 1883 the 
inhabitants petitioned to change its status to that 
of a municipality and it became known as 
Beaconsfield after the former British Prime 
Minister, Lord Beaconsfield (Benjamin Disraeli), who 
had died in 1881. 
2.3 Social and cultural background 
A social survey of the community living on the 
Diamond Fields in the early days must necessarily 
be limited to those aspects which are suggested by 
the hypotheses and assumptions as set out in the 
preceding chapter. In an attempt to identify the 
factors which led to the establishment of a library 
and influenced its character and progress, a closer 
look at the cultural background of the community, 
in all its diversity, is feasible. 
"A library," states_ Friis (1962, p.6), 
"does not act in a vacuum; it is part 
of the whole economic · and social 
structure and reflects contemporary 
trends." 
19 
By the end of 1870, about 4 000 men were operating 
on the Diamond Fields; two years· later, this figure, 
according to Beet (n.d. p. xvii), had increased to 
about 45 000. All writings of the time mention the 
heterogeneous nature of the community, which seems 
to have represented a cross-section of all levels 
of education and all walks of life. 
"Merchants, clerks, mechanics, laborers 
and chronic loafers even," commented Babe 
(1872, p.23), "could not resist the 
fascinations of diamond digging." 
This motley crowd of. adventurers founded a 
settlement· which "became ·a beacon in the mercantile 
world·, and a centre of diamond traffic." Hotels and 
saloons were numerous and many were adjoined by 
halls where theatrical performances and other 
forms of entertainment were held; there were 
clubs, where a game of whist or chess could be 
enjpyed and which even had their own libraries 
and reading. rooms (Hornsby, 1874 pp. 13, 16). 
Who were these diggers and whe~e did they come from? 
According to Hornsby (1874, p.46-47), they were of 
all nationalities "but chiefly English and Cape 
Colonials and ..• of two classes, men of good birth 
and education and men of no education"; Boyle 
(1873, p.368) maintained that most diggers were not 
immigrants, " they were colonial born and one-third 
at least were Boers." 
From the writings of all the authors of the time, 
it becomes clear that a large proportion of the 
diggers were indeed "Boers" and that there was a 
20 
great prejudice against them.6 Williams (1931, 
p. 81 l calls them ·~.illiterate, ignorant and in many 
cases narrow-minded, obstinate and bigoted," while 
Hornsby (1874, p.45) considered the Boer "the· very 
skunkiest man in existence." 
Already there was a growing rift between the 
colonial-born Afrikaner - the so-called "Boer" - and 
the British immigrant,. to whom Britain was " home". 
The latter endeavoured to emulate the cultural 
conditions he was used to, while, in contrast, the 
Afrikaner was on the whole completely devoid of 
cultural aspirations due to isolation and lack of 
education; his cultural tradition revolved round 
religion; the Bible and Hymn book were his main, 
if not only, reading material. 
Despite the fact that there were many Afrikaners 
on the diggings, their contribution to the library 
movement in the early Kimberley.  days was negligible . , 
Coetzee (1945, p.533) points out that a library was 
a matter of indifference to most of them and not a 
concept which had been included in their 
upbringing. Education at the time was mostly 
through the medium of English and, in accordance 
with the anglicising policy of the British, Dutch 
was suppressed. The Afrikaner race, maintains 
6. In Thoughts of South Africa, Olive Schreiner 
(1923, p.104) defines a Boer as a "South African 
European by descent whose vernacular is the Taal, 
and who uses familiarly no literary European 
language. It does not denote race of necessity, 
the Boer may be French, Dutch, German or of any 
other blood ..• neither does it necessarily denote 
occupation; the word 'Boer' means literally 
'Farmer', and practically the Boer is often a farmer 
and stockowner, but he may also be a hunter, trader, 
the president of a republic, or of any other 
occupation - he remains a Boer still while the Taal 
remains his only familiar speech." 
21 
Pienaar (1945, p.247) suffered culturally as a 
result of this policy. 
"Die kulturele peil van ens volk was nie 
hoog nie," comments Nienaber (1941, p.25), 
"en dit word deur die geografiese en 
maatskaplike struktuur begrYJ?lik." 
Van Jaarsveld (1964, p.37) mentions the passive 
attitude of the Afrikaner during these early years 
of British take-over. 
"It was, " he remarks, "in the role of 
spectators that they [the Afrikaners) 
witnessed the drama of British annexations 
unfolding beyond the Orange and Vaal 
Rivers between 1868 and 1879." 
It must be borne in mind that Afrikaans was still 
in its infancy and was a language only in colloquial. 
use. An early form of Afrikaans was used in print 
for the first time in De Zuid Afrikaan, a newspaper 
published in 1830. The f.irst book in. Afrikaans,· 
Zamenspraak tusschen Klaas Waarzegger en Jan 
Twijfelaar over het onderwerp van afscheiding 
tusschen de Oostelyke en Westelyke Provincie by L 
H Meurant was published in 1861. It was only 
towards the end of the century that Afrikaans came 
into its own as a language worthy of recognition. 
As a spoken language, however., it was in constant 
use. 
It is interesting to note that a young boy, who in 
later years was to become a champion for Afrikaans, 
arrived at the Diamond Fields during this time and 
grew up in Kimberley. This person was James Barry 
Munnik Hertzog. 
22 
2.4 Conclusion 
The discovery of diamonds heralded. a new phase in 
the history of South Africa. The focus of the 
economy of the Cape shifted from agriculture to 
mining and this brought a new kind of immigrant to 
south Africa, men of vision, strength and purpose, 
whose ideas and traditions were to have a great 
impact on the cultural life on the diggings; it 
also brought a "new influx of potential readers" 
(Varley, 1952, p.107). 
Although the population on the diggings was 
initially predominantly Dutch, the initiative for 
library facilities did not come from this sector. 
The Boers had no practical experience of a library, 
their reading being by and large restricted to the 
Bible and Psalm book due to their Calvinistic 
upbringing. The lack of educational facilities 
further hampered the intellectual development of the ... 
community. It was the newcomers to the Fields who 
brought with them their knowledge of reading rooms, 
cultural institutions and public libraries ·as 
experienced by them in their places of origin. 
Political friction was to impede the progress of 
Kimberley. The struggle for ownership of the 
Diamond Fields and the actions of the British 
Government were to cause a feeling of antagonism 
which would cause a rift between sections of the 
community, thereby damaging the library cause and 
delaying financial support from the Govertunent. 
23 
CHAPTER 3 
EARLY LIBRARY HISTORY 
It has been shown that a large percentage of the 
population of the diggings were immigrants who 
flocked to South Africa from countries such as 
Britain, USA, Germany and Australia in search of 
riches. It is logical to assume that many of these 
people had experienced libraries in some form or 
another and that they brought with them certain 
preconceived ideas about libraries. 
In order to assess to what degree overseas library 
patterns influenced those of the Diamond Fields, a 
brief survey of existing library conditions abroad 
is necessary. For the purpose of this study, this 
will be limited to Britain and USA. 
3.1 Library development in Britain. 
Libraries were slow in developing in Britain. The 
British Museum opened its library in 1763, but this 
was purely a reference library. A number of 
venturesome and dedicated men strove to 
provide library facilities in the late 18th and 
early 19th centuries but these ventures were 
doomed to failure as a result of a lack of funds and 
they foundered after the demise of their 
protagonists. 
Thomas Bray founded 61 libraries in Scotland for 
clergymen and Provost Samuel Brown initiated a 
system of travelling libraries in East Lothian for 
the purpose of placing books within the reach of 
every inhabitant of the country (Murison, 1955, p.20 
et seq. l. Two municipal rate-supported libraries 
came into operation in Warrington and Salford in 
1848 and 1849 respectively; nevertheless, the Select 
--------------------- - -
24 
Report on Public Libraries, compiled by the House of 
Commons in 1849, revealed the · unhappy state of 
libraries in general. ·This Report, which Dyer 
(1903, p.lll called "one of the most remarkable 
documents in the history of popular education" 
revealed that there was only one library in the 
whole of Great Britain which was "equally accessible 
to the poor as to the rich" whereas, in USA and 
Europe, admission was unrestricted. 
3.1.1 The Free Libraries' Act 
As a result of the Report, the Public Libraries' 
Act was passed by Parliament in 1850 according to 
which it was possible for libraries to be freely 
accessible to anyone, funds to be raised by means 
of taxes levied by municipalities at the rate of one 
penny in the pound on all rateable value. 
According to Murison (1955, p.29) and Aitken (1971, 
p. 7 4) , the demand for free libraries did not come 
from the people themselves; it was seen by 
philanthropists as a counter-agent to evils rather 
than as a positive force for educational and 
recreational benefit, and as a way to protect the 
working class against bad habits; Kelly (1973, 
p.27), on the other hand, maintains that there was 
a latent public demand for better and free 
libraries in Great Britain during the 19th century. 
The free library movement in Britain was initiated 
by librarians such as Edward Edwards (1812-86), who 
was an assistant in the Department of Printed Books 
in the British Museum and became the"first librarian 
of the Manchester Public Library, a library 
which, through his efforts, became free in 1852. 
The Free Libraries' Act was not readily 
accepted by all municipal authorities., Opposition 
stemmed from the fear that free libraries would be 
25 
detrimental to e~isting subscription and 
Mechanics' Institute libraries;. The movement was 
supported mainly by clergy and professional men who 
made generous donations towards it. ·Funding 
nevertheless remained inadequate, and in some cases 
subscription libraries were run alongside free 
lending libraries in order to raise !)\Oney (Kelly, 
1973, p.37). 
One by one the counties adopted the principle of 
free access to libraries; by 1871, Lancashire, 
Yorkshire and Midlands had implemented this policy 
and Edinburgh received a £50 000 donation from 
Andrew Carnegie "on condition that the city adopt 
the Free Libraries' Act .•• " (Greenwood, 1887, 
p. 89) • 
3 •. 1.2 Mechanics' Institutions 
The Industrial Revolution had heralded an age of 
prosperity in England; as working conditions 
improved and scientific discoveries increased, there 
was a greater demand for knowledge. In 1840 the 
Wes'tminster Library founded the Westminster 
Scientific and Mechanics' Institution, with the idea 
of improving the knowledge of the working classes. 
Mechanics' Institution libraries were run by 
subscriptiem, however·, and this necessarily put them 
and similar libraries beyond the reach of the 
average workman (Kelly, 1973, p.4 et passim). 
Nevertheless, by 1853, there were 700 Mechanics' 
Institutions in Britain with a membership of over 
120 000, support coming mainly from a better class 
of artisan. Initially they were useful in 
providing library facilities but, as they could not 
be properly maintained, they became outdated and 
were unable to satisfy the needs of the day 
(Greenwood, 1887, p.38). 
26 
3.1.3 Book clubs and Circulating libraries 
During the 18th century, book clubs and circulating 
libraries became popular with the working class who 
could not afford to buy books. As early as 1725, 
Allan Ramsay b'egan to loan books from his shop and 
this soon became an accepted side-line for business 
ventures; popular books, mainly novels, were 
available on payment of a small subscription fee. 
Altick (1957, p.66) stresses the popularity of 
circulating libraries with their stock of cheap 
reprints. "When the common man and woman wanted 
something to read," he states, "they gravitated 
towards the circulating library." 
The prosperity of the Victorian middle class 
resul.ted in more leisure time for reading and the 
practice of evening reading circles "deeply 
lnf1uenced the tastes of children who grew up in 
such homes " (Altick, 1957, p.87). 
3.2 Libraries in the United States of America. 
USA was ahead of Britain in the field of 
librarianship, the first free library dating back to 
1700. During the 18th century, the middle class 
emerged and this resulted in the establishment of 
the so- called "social libraries". These were 
usually subscription librari~.s or libraries owned by 
societies and their objective·s were to provide the 
means by which members could assimilate 
knowledge, keep abreast of ·new developments in 
science, art and politics, and for recreational 
purposes (Friis, 1962, p.7-8). 
At the same time there were also circulating 
libraries which were commercially run; their 
owners tried to attract readers by providing a wide 
selection of books to appeal to all tastes, but they 
very soon realised that their profits lay in 
27 
fiction and popular non-fiction, such as history 
and literature (Shera, 1965, p.149 et seq.). 
·while both circulating and social libraries competed 
for public support, there was little relationship 
of motive and no historical connection between 
them. The circulating library remained a thing 
apart while the social library was engulfed by the 
public _library. The same groups who advocated 
social libraries, later pressed for the creation 
of public libraries. By the late 19th century there 
were 1 200 tax-supported libraries in USA and 
reading had become universally popular. 
3.3 Library conditions at the Cape 
In 1871, before Kimberley came into being, there 
were a number of sizeable towns in existence in 
South Africa already. Almost every small town had 
a flourishing library by this time but the oldest 
and most important library was that of Cape Town. 
3.3.1 The South African Library 
The library history of the Cape Colony goes back a 
long way; Dyer (1903, p.7J remarked that, "with one 
exception in London, one in Manchester, and possibly 
two in America, there exists no modern English 
library that can claim an antiquity of more than 
a hundred years," and went on to point out that 
America's claim that a public library was first 
provided for by pliblic funds when New 
Hampshire made provision for the upkeep of its 
public libraries by means of taxation in 1849, was 
completely false, as it was ·as far back as 1818 
that funds for a public library were derived from 
taxation in the Cape Colony, and this "entitles the 
.,,..- Cape Colony to rank as ~he pioneer of state-. 
supported public libraries." 
28 
The Public Library in Cape Town was already well 
established in 1872. It stood ·at the entrance to 
the Gardens, "a vast structure of an elegant 
architectural design" (Babe, 1872, p. 74) a;nd had a 
bookstock of some 30 000 volumes. This unique and 
valuable collection of books and manuscripts had 
"unrestricted privilege of admission" (Babe, 1872, 
p. 7 4). 
The nucleus of this collection was collected and 
bequeathed to the consistory of the Groote Kerk by 
Joachim Nicholaas von Dessin at his death in 1761. 
The very fact that he was able to build up a 
collection of 3 800 volumes during a period of 30 
years, shows that there were many books in private 
ownership at the Cape in the 18th century. The 
Dessinian collection was open to the public but, 
according to Friis (1962, p.70), was seldom used as 
it was far too intellectual to suit the ~ommunity's 
tastes. 
In 1820 this collection was placed in the South 
African Public Library which was established in 1818 
by Lord Charles Somerset and funded by means of a 
tax levied on wine. Regulations were framed by 
which "all burghers above the age of 26, officers of 
the army and navY, civil servants and other fixed 
residents were free to make use of the library" 
(Union of South Africa. Report of the 
Interdepartemental Committee on the Libraries, 1937, 
p. 2). 
As a result of financial problems, the allocation of 
money to the library ceased in 1825 and in 1829 the 
South African Library became a subscription library 
run by a committee of subscribers elected 
annually. It was through the mediation of Sir 
George Grey, Governor of the Cape, that the 
prestigious Public Librari came to be built in the 
Public Gardens of Cape Town and that annual 
29 
government grants were allocated to the library. 
The vast and valuable collection of books and 
manuscripts which he donated to the Cape Colony was 
housed in a section of the Public Library and was 
officially opened in 1864. 
In 1871 it emerged that many patrons found it 
difficult to reconcile the reference and 
recreational fu~ctions of the Public Library and it 
was suggested that these should be separated; a 
strong reference collection, "which could be 
consulted by privileged members of the so-called 
intelligentsia" should be built up, while a 
circulating library should operate separately in a 
room, "where a clerk would be in attendance." 
(Cape Monthly Magazine, 1871, p.303). Already the 
dual function of the public library was recognised. 
3.3.2 other South African libraries 
A number of other circulating libraries and reading 
rooms were also established in Cape Town. There was 
the Commercial Exchange library which was a 
mixture of a businessmen's refe.rence library and a 
general lending library, the South African Literary 
society, which was restarted in 1829 and provided 
its members with a reading room containing a 
selection of magazines, the Young Men's Christian 
Association's Reading Room, the Cape Town Wesleyan 
Mental Improvement Society, the Mechanics' 
Institute, the south African Christian Book Union 
and the Temperance Lending Library (Cape Town 
Directory, 1866, pp. 73-84). There was also the 
Popular Library, which was in operation from 1834 
to 1867 and provided mostly fiction and 
magazines to the public at a lower rate. Funding 
was the responsibility of public-spirited citizens 
(Immelman, 1972, p.23). 
30 
In the early 1800 's circulation libraries appeared 
in cape Town and stocked English,. French, German and 
Dutch books which could be borrowed at a nominal 
fee. Immelman (p.18) contends that these early 
circulating libraries were not very successful and 
that none lasted for longer than a year or two. 
During the period 1818-1874, which may be regarded 
as the pioneer stage of South Africa's library 
movement according to Friis (1962, p.72), 39 
libraries were established in South Africa, 36 in 
the Cape Colony and three in Natal. These libraries 
were all run by funds obtained from subscriptions 
paid by registered members, and no financial 
assistance was received from the Government except 
in the case of Port Elizabeth, where a small grant 
of £100 was received annually 
3.4 Conclusion 
Many of the people who arrived on the Diamond Fields 
from Britain, America and other overseas countries, 
had had prior ~ontact with libraries and had already 
developed the reading habit. Benade (1977, p.33) 
agrees that 
"By the beginning of the nineteenth 
century the reading habit was firmly 
entrenched through th& interaction of 
elementary education, grammar schools, 
dissenting academies, scientific and 
other societies, periodicals, pamphlets, 
newspapers, books, coffee houses, social 
and intellectual gatherings and 
libraries." 
The concept of free public libraries was one with 
which many immigrants would already have been 
familiar. In the absence of any library facilities, 
they would readily have supported reading rooms and 
31 
circulating libraries, where popular novels could be 
had for a small fee. 
Mechanics' Institution libraries were well known 
overseas and were seen by the more philanthropic as 
the solution to the problem of idleness and a means 
of upliftment of the working class. 
Taking the prior library experience of newcomers to 
the Diamond Fields into consideration, it was to be 
expected that a need for reading facilities would 
soon emerge. Among the newco~ers, there would have 
been those who would consider the establishment of a 
well-stocked public library one of the necessities 
of life, particularly in a· place so far removed from 
cultural· amenities of any kind. 
·-.............. ·- \ . ........ ·--· ~-
Z8S 
2 s. 
.::! "<..
.. c .   l/'I '-'~es•1r~•  OUNDARY ·--·--· OAOS··-······ <c -\ ~~ 
BRITISH .. <> 7>. 
<!"" 
The Diamond Fields - 1873, ··showing Pniel,.- Klipdrift, 
Du ~oitspan, Bultfontein and New Rush (Hornsby; 1874) 
32 
CHAPTER ..4  
THE FIRST ATTEMP:r AT ESTABLISHING A PUBLIC LIBRARY 
IN KIMBERLEY 
4.1 Early Reading Rooms and Circulating Libraries 
In 1872 there were about 3 000 White diggers living 
at Pniel and 2 000 at Klipdrift (Babe, 1872, pp. 
45, 48. ) . They worked long hours, starting at 
daybreak and often continuing until 10 at night. 
On Sundays all mining ceased and a religious 
service was held in the committee tent. Everyone 
lived and worked in anticipation of finding 
diamonds and there was a constant air of excitement 
and suspense, interspersed with gloom and 
downheartedness. 
Housing consisted mostly of tents but there were 
also canvas, corrugated iron, and unburnt brick 
houses; the winding streets were lined with "~ 
of rickety wood and iron shacks [which] served as 
shops, canteens, billiard rooms, eating houses, 
diamond buying offices and lawyers' rooms" 
(Roberts, 1976, p. 23). 
When J L Babe arrived at the diggings in 1870, he 
found that there were very few English diggers and 
that the majority of the Whites were Dutch (Babe, 
1872, p.30), but later he recorded that the 
Colonial Government had been "very liberal to 
emigrants [sic]" and that the English language was 
"the prevailing one at the mines" (Ibid, p.49), 
indicating an influx of English-speaking miners 
during the year. When Hurley's Reading Room came 
into operation at Pniel in April 1871, it promised 
its subscribers a selection of the latest English 
as well as colonial papers and periodicals, 
33 
obviously with a predominantly English readership 
in mind. 
The Reading Room, which was "well roofed. and hung 
around with green baize", was attached to a General 
Dealer's situated next to the Post Office at Pniel 
and was owned by a Mr Hurley who offered his 
prospective clients "a cosy place of amusement ·for 
the approaching winter evenings ••• the best liquors 
and ••• the best attention and civility" (DN, 15 
April 1871 l. A subscription of two shillings and 
sixpence per month was payable in advance, but 
subscribers were admonished that "defacing or 
jiimping of any papers or periodicals will be liable 
to a penalty of 5/-" (DN, 15 May 1871). 
In Klipdrift a Circulating Library was opened by 
Richards, Glanville and Company (DN, 13 May 1871) 
and, at a charge of threepence per book, a large 
stock of books was available for the convenience of 
the public of Klipdrift and ~niel. 
In 1872 Klipdrift was, according to -Babe (1872, 
p. 48) , gradually assuming the shape of a laid-out 
town but it had, in actual fact, already reached 
its peak and was soon. to become practically 
deserted as diggers, finding it unpleasantly 
overcrowded, started departing and returning to the 
diamond-bearing farms. 
Widespread publicity accorded to the discovery of 
diamonds found embedded in the mud plaster of the 
homestead at · Dutoitspan, attracted more fortune-
hunters and, when news of exciting diamond finds on 
"Colesberg Kopje" on the farm Vooruitzigt became 
known, the ensuing "rush" to peg claims was the 
biggest in the history of the Diamond Diggings. 
34 
The camp 7 which arose overnight was described by 
Frederick Boyle (1873, p.285), who visited it soon 
after its establishment, as "a forest, a labyrinth 
of tent-poles and a billowy sea of canvas". The 
population, according to his estimate, was more 
than 20 000 and, what impressed him more than the 
size of the camp, was the energy of its population. 
Before the end of the year 1871, there were six 
stores, four hotels, butchers' and shoemakers' 
shops, a billiard room and a saloon on the lower 
street and three hotels, several diamond merchants' 
offices, provision stores, clubs and bill~ard rooms 
on the main street (Stones of fire, 1910, p.9). 
This new breed of digger felt the need for ".2; 
conunodious and substantial building suitable for 
hire as a school, for lectures and concerts, a 
reading room and for religious services" ( DN, 23 
December 1871). Consequently, the Mutual Hall 
Company was founded and 300 shares were put up for 
sale at five pounds each. I R Taylor, the 
secretary, explained , 
"In a society as ours, so hurriedly 
congregated together, hardly any time has 
been found to arrange for the want of 
schoolingz now so 12ressingly felt and here 
is at 12resent no building whatever ada12ted 
to 12ublic entertainment. Tent 
accommodation has been found to fail for 
various reasons" (DN, 23 December 1871). 
The reasons ref erred to included the unpleasant 
conditions experienced when church services were 
held in "the miserable structures of wood and 
canvas" where "the sandy soil underfoot was 
swarming with fleasl innwnerable flies buzzed about 
7. "New Rush", afterwards Kimberley. Vide pp. 17-
18 and 38. 
36 
life-span was short as a result of a lack of 
publishing and bookselling facilities. 
on the Diamond Fields, however, circulating 
libraries ran successfully for many years. 
Possibly they suited the lifestyle of the digging 
conununity, who were not ready for more serious 
literature. After a hard day's work, an 
entertaining novel, which could be borrowed at a 
reasonable fee, provided the kind of relaxation 
sought after by many of the people on the Diamond 
Fields. 
Subscription fees at Allen's Reading Room were 
initially advertised at one pound per month (DN 13 
January 1872), but were reduced to fifteen 
shillings (DN, 27 January 1872) and then to seven 
shillings in August (DN, 3 August 1872). Non-
subscribers paid an entrance fee of sixpence on 
weekdays and one shilling on Saturdays (DN, 3.. . 
February 1872). 
Mr Allen obviously realised that, to · attract 
potential readers to his shop, fees should be kept 
as low as possible and other attractions should be 
offered by way of bait; he consequently 
incorporated a music shop with the reading room and 
also held literary readings on Saturday evenings, 
an ambitious project, when one takes into 
consideration that his venue was a canvas structure 
of 15 feet by 20 feet (DN, 6 May 1873). 
In the following year he extended his service to 
Klipdrift by undertaking to deliver four books and a 
catalogue per individual through Hurley & Company's 
passenger carts on payment of twenty shillings, of 
which ten shillings would be refunded on the return 
of all the books loaned. Copies of Lloyds, 
Reynolds, the Weekly Times and other English 
newspapers could also be forwarded at a fee of two 
37 
shillings per month for four copies (DF, 13 March 
1873). 
Another "li~rarian", Mr Phillips of the Phillips' 
Reading Room, conceived the idea of starting a 
gymnasium on his premises for the benefit of his 
clients (DN, 31 October & 5 November 1872). 
Hurley's Reading Room had in the meantime moved to 
New Rush and was used for a number of purposes, 
including as a venue for readings.and songs (DN, 17 
February 1872), for meetings of the shareholders of 
the Mutual Hall Company (DN, 3 February 1872) and by 
the Masonic Brethren to discuss the proposed 
establishment of a Masonic Lodge at De Beers, New . 
Rush (DN, 10 February 1872). 
In 1872 there was great uncertainty about the future 
of the Diamond Fields and many people considered 
their stay on the Fields to be temporary. Earlier 
in the year, a bill had been introduced in 
Parliament annexing Griqualand West· to the Cape 
Colony, but it was withdrawn as a ·result of 
opposition from the diggers. 
When Sir Henry Barkly arrived at the Diamond Fields 
in September 1872, he put forward the suggestion 
that Griqualand West be made a Crown Colony of 
Britain, to be administered by a Lieutenant-Governor 
with the a.id of a small Legislative Assembly elected 
by the diggers. An autonomous government, 
dedicated to handling the peculiar problems of the 
diggers, seemed to offer the logical solution to the 
political needs of the community, but this was not 
the case, as future events were to show. 
Richard Southey took up his appointment as 
Lieutenant-Governor of Griqualand West in January 
1873, assisted by his secretary, John Blades Currey. 
In the. next month, Griqualand West was officially 
38 
proclaimed a Provinces and New Rush was renamed 
Kimberley. 
According to the new constitution, the diggers had 
limited representation on the Legislative Council 
and Southey had the casting vote. This led to open 
confrontation between the diggers and the 
Government. To add to the problems of the diggers, 
there was the continual threat of either a decline. 
in the price of diamonds or the petering out of the 
diamond supply altogether. 
Despite these problems, or perhaps as a result of 
them, a united community with a common goal - that 
of improving living conditions emerged on the 
Diamond Fields. A hospital was built, a park 
established, many restaurants were opened and 
theatrical performances were given at the St.James 
and Craven Clubs. The camps had never looked more 
prosperous; New Rush and Old De Beers merged to 
become Kimberley, and Bultfontein was incorporated 
with Dutoitspan to become the township of 
Beaconsfield. More and more wives joined their 
husbands on the diggings and ·there were signs of 
growing stability and permanence. 
During this time the first schools appeared on the 
Diamond Fields, a certain indication that families 
were settling down. Small one-man schools had 
opened during the previous year; Mrs R Campbell 
from Port .Elizabeth opened a morning school for the 
Dutoitspan families (DN, 9 March 1872), Mrs 
Longhurst from Richmond, Natal offered daily 
intuition "in all branches of a sound English 
education" at Colesberg Kopje camp (DN, 2 March 
1872); Mrs Davies opened a day school for children 
8. Proclamation no 20, 5 July, 1873 ... 
39 
of both sexes at New Rush and, according to Nathan 
(1925, p.207}, Olive Schreiner taught in a school at 
New Rush from 1872 to 1873. 
In 1872 a school opened in Dutoitspan under the 
auspices of the Dutch Reformed Church and was run in 
the tent where the church services were held; Boyle 
(1873, p.326) describes the "crowd of little 
maidens, armed with slate, book and pen 
••• chattering gayly in Dutch for the most part." 
It was a good thing, he added disparagingly that 
"the savage Boer children" would be taught to read 
and write, "accomplishments almost unknown ••• amongst 
the women of the district." 
4.2 The establishment of the first Public Library 
Intellectual activity increased and interest in 
culture and self-improvement was in evidence in a 
society in which "the British element, of course, 
predominated" (Beet, n.d., p. 71). Impetus was 
given to the movement when, in March 1873, gambling 
was declared illegal.9 
"This is just the time," wrote the editor of the 
Diamond News (13 March 1873), " ••. to start something 
more national and harmless to beguile man's leisure 
hours." The idea was supported by a correspondent 
who suggested the establishment of a society at New 
Rush "for the purpose of ••• miscellaneous 
entertainment at a cheap rate, of musical and 
literary nature, combining also a debating society" 
(DN, 31 May 1873). 
The scheme of starting a Literary Society and 
Library gathered momentum and in August 1873, at a 
9. Proclamation no 82, 17 March 1873. 
40 
preliminary ··meeting under chairmanship of R W 
Mur·ray, editor of the Diamond News, it was proposed, 
"That it is desirable that a Literary Society and 
J?ublic Library should be established at New Rush" 
and that the purpose of the library should be to 
obtain and circulate among the members "the best 
current literature of the day and standard works". 
(DN, 9 August 1873). 
At a charter meeting held on 13 August 1873, the 
project was officially launched and it was resolved 
that a steeri~g committee of seven members be 
appointed and · that Mr Richard Southey, the 
' 
Lieutenant-Gove:i;nor be invited to become !?resident 
of the Society'; Vice-J?residents, Mr J B Currey, 
I 
Secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor, and Mr s 
Shippard, Attorney-General for Griqualand West; and 
Honorary Secretary, .Mr N Solomon ( DN, 14. August, 
I 
1873 l. Richard :southey accepted the invitation and 
agreed to cha.i,r the next meeting of the Society 
which was to take took place in the Kimberley Hall 
during the fol~owing month (Southey, 1873). · 
I . 
A report, read by R W Murray,.stated that the idea 
of establishing a Literary Society and Library had 
received great support from the community. It was 
further stated that the Society would have no 
sectarian, ·party, or class bias and that the main 
object of the library would be to provide recreation 
for the whole community, which, it was claimed, had 
a reading population of about 10 000 of which a 
large portion had been "accustomed to the use of 
public libraries and up to the time of taking up 
residence [in Kimberley] have been in the full 
enjoyment of the current literature of the day ... " 
and should certainly be entitled to have the same 
facilities as other towns of the same size. 
J?eriodicals and newspapers could be delivered 
regularly as there were two mails per month. 
41 
The report stated that many inhabitants of Barkly as 
well as Kimberley would be pi:;epared to subscribe 
funds for the purpose of establishing a public 
library. It was recommended that suitable .premises 
for the library be found, that members be enro.lled 
and a secretary and librarian be appointed~ The 
library would be governed by a council of 20 members 
and the President and Vice-presidents would serve in 
an ex-officio capacity. There were to be two classes 
of subscribers with subscriptions as follows: 
1. For admission to Library and Reading Room -
£3 per annum. 
2. For admission as well as the privilege of 
taking out books and periodicals, £4 4 0 per 
annum. 
The rules of the library, it was decided, would be 
based on those of the Cape Town Public Library, and 
... the Literary Institute "shall be founded on models 
of similar institutions in Europe and the colonies 
[which are] most popular and especially adapted to 
the wants of the Fields. 11 10 
The Colonial Secretary, in his address, reiterated 
that nowhere were there so many educated men as on 
the Fields and then resolved "that an institution be 
established to be called the Kimberley Library and 
Institute." A committee of ten was appointed to 
~rrange preliminaries (DN, 4 September 1873). 
10. The concept of a Literary Institute as part of 
a library was based upon the Mutual Improveltlent. 
Clubs which sprang up in abundance in England in 
the middle 19th century. "Hardly a village," 
states Altick (1957, p.212), "was without a club. 
The emphasis was on reading, discussions, essays, 
verse etc." 
42 
There was an inunediate and gratifying response from 
the public and, at a meeting held at the Parker's 
Pavilion Hall at which Mr Southey presided, the 
Secretary stated that 200 subscribers had already 
been enrolled, giving a projected income of between 
£600 and £700 (DN, 9 September 1873). The editor 
of the Diamond News optimistically estimated the 
annual income at £2 000 and declared that he was 
certain that His Excellency, "who evinces a most 
praiseworthy interest in the undertaking," would 
follow the examples of the governments of the Cape 
Colony and Nata1ll and reconunend to the Legislature 
that a grant be given to the library.· 
He expressed the· hope that "the Council would make 
the Institute attractive for evening assemblages" so 
that the young men who worked hard and had -~"ittle 
leisure time, could enjoy some evening 
entertainment. The editor finally admonished that 
care should be taken in the appointment of a 
librarian; he should be "a gentleman accustomed to 
such work and should ·have some knowledge of 
letters." 
"It must not be supposed," he profoundly 
observed, "that all they do is to give out 
books, for a librarian's work is more than 
that. Much of the success of the 
institution will depend upon the fitness 
of the librarian for his office." (DN, 11 
September 1873). 
A week later a council made up of the following 26 
members was established: Messrs R W Murray, D 
Sherriff, Buyskes, St. Leger, W Ward, James Hall, W 
A Hall, D'Arcy, E R Moses, s Siddall, A 
11. In 1862 a government grant of £600 was given to 
the South African Library. In 1864 the Port 
Elizabeth Act was passed. In Natal no Government 
acts had been passed by 1873. 
43 
Dunkelshahler '· H Green, T Lynch, N Solomon, G 
Doidge, A. Von Bressendorff, J ··stamper, D Matthews, 
Dr Graham, the Reverends Lehain, J Richards, J 
Calvert and J Lauw, the Lieutenant-Governor, Mr J B 
Currey, Advocate Shippard and members of Council ex 
officio. 
The first problem facing the committee was that of 
.finding a suitable venue for the library. This time 
some words of wisdom came from the editor of the 
Diamond Fields who advised the Committee not to 
settle for second best. 
"With a mean and shabby start," he warned, 
"[the library] will•  never survive the 
first year. Let its supporters exhibit 
their faith in its stability by housing it 
in comparative luxury and it becomes an 
institution from the beginning with 
certainty of thriving ..• as long as there 
are diamonds in Colesberg Kopje" (DF, 3 
September 1873). 
Unfortunately the Committee were so eager to start 
the library service that this warning was not 
heeded; they promptly rented a house in Bowling 
Street Alley, belonging to a Mr Ferguson, to serve 
as a temporary reading room and advertised for a 
librarian at £20 per month ( DN" 18 September 1873 l . 
The Natal Mercury enviously remarked that "such a 
s1;.ipend bespeaks the existence of a library worth 
the name and of people capable of appreciating such 
a basis as well as capable of supporting it. 11 12 
Mr John Rorke was appointed Secretary\ Librarian and 
the library opened next to Sanger's Bowling Alley on 
1 October 1873 with a literary and musical 
12. Quoted in DN, 21 October, 1873. 
44 
entertainment which subscribers could attend free of 
charge (DN, 27 September 1873). 
The progranune of music and song included a rendition 
of "Let me like a soldier fall" by Dr D Matthews, 
accCllmpanied on the cornet and drum. It was an 
evening which "augurs well for the infant 
society .•• " ( DF, 22 October 1873). Soon 
afterwards, however, a rain storm saturated the roof 
of the building, but fortunately. there was little 
damage to the small stock of books, which consisted 
only of about "20 cheap paper coyered novels and a 
few volumes of Chambers" (DF, 8 October 1873). 
As there had been no time to procure enough books, 
the public were asked to donate suitable works to 
the Library, a plea to which Richard Southey 
responded with a donation of twenty-seven volumes 
(Rorke, 1873). By October 1873, the reading room 
was completely furnished, "well ventilated and 
lighted" (DN, 7 October 1873). A suggestion book 
was placed on a table together with newspapers "of 
every partv, religion, social, political and 
scientific" (DN, 18 October 1873). 
A library was now in operation, but the building was 
completely inadequate for activities such as 
debates, discussions, chess or whist and it was 
suggested that the proposed library building should 
make provision for these and also incorporate a 
smoking room and a lavatory, because "societies 
ought to offer some of the advantages of a Club 
though of course not aiming at any pretence of 
exclusiveness" (DF, 8 October 1873). 
A few other societies did, in fact, already exist. 
In August 1873 a Literary, Musical and Dramatic 
Society was founded. After the establishment of 
the Public Library and Institute, it combined with 
this institution, membership to the one 
! 
45 
automatically providing eligibility to the other 
(DN, 18 October 1873). 
At the same time a Working Man's Institute was 
opened in Main Street, Outoitspan. It had a 
Lecture and Reading Room, and "the best leading 
periodicals and newspapers" were available at a fee 
·of one shilling and sixpence per month to members 
and at three shillings per month to non-members, and 
was open from 6 to 9:30 pm in the evenings (DN, 14 
August 1873). 
The Phillip:;;' Library and Allen's Circulating 
Library were both holding their own in the face of 
this opposition. In August 1873 Allen's Circulating 
Library had 279 novels in stock and customers were 
promised regular additions every week (DN, 23 August 
1873) • Later that year, the reading room was 
enlarged and evenings of song and music were 
instituted. 
By advertising new additions to stock regularly, Mr 
Allen strove to convince the public that they should 
give him a trial "before rushing into expensive 
subscriptions to other New Libraries" (DN 14 October 
1873). His charges were, however, practically 
identical to those of the Public Library and 
Literary Institute: for a fee of seven shillings per 
month (four guineas a year), subscribers could 
borrow books and use the reading room; for a fee of 
five shillings per month (three pounds per year) 
they could either use only the reading room and 
listen to good music or take out books (DN, 11 
October 1873). 
By the end of the year, it was obvious that, 
contrary to the pr9phesies of doom, Kimberley had 
not only managed to keep going for another year, but 
had succeeded in generally improving the quality of 
J ife of the comrnuni ty. The editor of the Diamond 
46 
Fields pointed out that there was a lot to be learnt 
from shops: 
"See what there is to be sold," he wrote (1 November 
1873), "and ycu may pretty well guess what are. the 
habi.ts, man.nets and customs of the people." Plate 
glass windows had been introduced to the Diamond 
Fields and the goods displayed differed greatly from 
the bundles of ready-made goods stacked in the shops 
a year or two before. The stock on display 
revealed a high standard of living. "We are," he 
declared, "getting refined as well as reformed." 
But as the year 1873 drew to a close there were 
signs that conditions were deteriorating. The 
prices of diamonds were very low and the cost of 
mining was high. There was, at that time, no 
company or government to control the output of 
diamonds and, by flooding the market with diamonds, 
the miners had caused a drop in price. 
-.-
The year 1874 was not an easy one; the drought of 
the previous ~ear was followed by heavy rains which 
caused the mines to flood, bringing work virtually 
to a standstill and necessitating the pumping out of 
mines at great cost. In a bad rain storm in January 
18 7 4, gale force winds tore the roofs and -flies ' 
off many buildings, 13 including that of the Public 
Library; canvas buildings were torn into ribbons 
and wooden structures completely flattened (DN, 27 
January 1874). 
The future of Kimberley and its diamond mines 
appeared to be in jeopardy when, later that year, 
hard blue ground was struck in the mines and the 
prospect of a diminishing supply of diamonds had to 
13. The word 'flies' is not presently in use, but 
seems to denote a prop or stay abutting from under a 
roof to accommodate an extension of the building, 
probably an 'afdak' or 'lean-to'. 
47 
be faced. When Mr J B Robinson built a brick house 
in New Main Street in 1874 at a cost of between £300 
·and £400, "everyone thought him mad, as any day the 
Mine might be worked out" (Steyn, 1919, p.197). 
Despite the uncertainty about the future of 
Kimberley, the town started assuming permanent 
features: the "untidy conglomeration of tents and 
wagons" was replaced by buildings of galvanised iron 
and brick, such as the Government House, which 
became the focal point of the town (Roberts, 1976, 
p. 125). 
The inhabitants of the town relaxed in bars, 
billiard rooms and bowling saloons and read papers 
and periodicals in Phillips' Library (Hornsby, 1874, 
p.30), the Craven Club, with its comfortable reading 
room (Roberts, 1976, p.125), and the Public Library. 
"Of ·the library's popularitv there can be no doubt," 
maintains Roberts (1976, p.128) "but financially it 
was not an immediate success," and already there 
was growing dissatisfaction with the library which 
was "mean in appearance, of scant dimensions and 
enormously dear" (DF, 11 April 1874). The opinion 
was also expressed that it was all very well to make 
reading material available to the young but it was 
equally important that the library should be 
pleasant and comfortable and not a "wretched make-
shift" little room like the one the library was 
presently occupying (DN, 11 April 1974). 
Small wonder that the library, which had no 
additional attractions besides its books and which 
was dependent upon subscriber~ for its existence, 
had a continual battle for survival. Fund-raising 
projects in aid of ·library funds became necessary 
and these sometimes took the form of lectures . by 
erudite visitors, such as Mr G W Stow, who delivered 
48 
an address on "The study of geology" (DN 14 March 
1874). 
It was soon realised that the Griqualand West 
Library would never survive without the financial 
aid of the Government. It was a well known fact 
that the Cape Town library had been erected at a 
cost of £15 000 and that, not only had the 
Government provided most of the funds, but an annual 
grant of £600 was being paid towards its upkeep 
(Friis, 1962, p.108). 
At this time, the Colonial Secretary, Sir John 
Molteno, who had previously been a library assistant 
at the South African Public Library (the Cape Town 
library), issued a "Memorandum of Regulations 11 14 
which had. "the Encouragement and Proper Management 
of public libraries in smaller towns" in mind. 
According to these regulations, towns were entitled 
to library grants of amounts not exceeding the 
subscriptions received during the first year or the 
average of the first two years that the library was 
in operation, with the stipulation that it should be 
freely available to everyone and that regular annual 
reports should be presented to the Government. 
The Kimberley library, it was felt, could qualify 
for a grant from the Governme!'lt .15 In July 187 4 
John Rorke, the Secretary of the Griqualand West 
Library and Institute, as it came to be called, 
wrote to Richard Southey, the Lieutenant-Governor 
stating that the concern's assets were £75 as 
opposed to liabilities of £328 and enquired what 
14. G.N. 442 of 1874. 
15. Subscriptions for the previous year had 
amounted to £522. This denotes a membership of 125 
49 
financial assistance could be expecte~ from the 
Government (Rorke, 1874). 
At a meeting of the Legislative Council .held in 
August 1874, Dr P J H Graham, a well-known physician 
and member of 'the Council, asked the Secretary to 
the Governor, Mr J B Currey, whether it was the 
intention of the Government to give the Griqualand 
West Public Library a grant from the £1 000 which 
had been voted by the Council for Education, 
Libraries, etc.16, to which the latter replied that 
the Government would assist to the extent of £30o.17 
Mr Currey confirmed this in writing, stating that 
"the Lieutenant Governor will sanction a 
grant of £300 sterling for the present 
year for the purpose of discharging 
existing liabilities but that in His 
Excellency's opinion the Institution 
requires to be remodelled and that for the 
future, grants from the Public Treasury 
can only be made in aid of permanent 
Public libraries for the purpose of 
St' andard works. "18 
16. G W Legislative Council. Minute xcvi, 1874. 
17. Sir Henry Barkly, Governor of the Cape, tried 
to raise a loan of £25 000 for Griqualand West but 
this was refused by Lord carnarvon, the Colonial 
secretary. In the Expenditure listed for 1874, 
only an amount of £304 is debited to "Education" -
presumably the grant made by the Lieutenant-Governor 
to the Library. It is further noted on new 
budget, "No grants received". (Britain. 
Parliamentary papers, vol. 27. Africa. Cape of Good 
Hope, 1875 - 99, p.39). 
18. Grant of £300 made to J Rorke. Treasurer 
Authority Book 175, 25 August 1874. (GLW 64. Misc. 
Letters.) 
so 
When the news of the grant became known, there were 
two schools of thought. The Diamond Fields ( 26 
August 1884) voiced the opinion that a proper income 
·and expenditure statement and budget for maintenance 
costs should be drawn up to establish what was 
needed to run the library, and that two-thirds of 
the required amount should be raised by subscription 
and a third by government grant, adding that the 
library had done nothing to prove itself and that it 
would be a fiasco if it were to peter out despite 
financial aid from the Government • 
. The editor of the Diamond News vehemently repudiated 
the insinuations of ineffectiveness, maintaining 
that the library was indeed fulfilling its mission 
and that the Government, fully aware of the 
importance of the Institution, had promised 
assistance which, he assured his readers, was both 
"timely and proper" (DN, 27 August 1874). 
Unfortunately he was unduly optimistic, as future 
events were to show. 
The two newspapers were at this time irt bitter 
opposition to each other. R W Murray, editor of 
the Diamond News, championed the cause of the 
Government while the Diamond Fields, which was under 
the editorship of Alfred Aylward, had become the 
mouthpiece of the diggers since it was taken over by 
the Committee of Public Safety, a committee· which 
had been formed to look after the miners' rights 
subsequent to the abolition of the old Dig~ers' 
Committees.19 The diggers resented J B Currey's 
highhanded treatment of them and his influence over 
19. The Diggers' Committees were abolished by the 
Mining Ordinance of 1984 and were replaced by Mining 
Boards. 
- - ------ -------------------------~----
51 
the Lieutenant-Governor, Richard Southey, and were 
agitating for a change of governrnent.20 
The Diamond News subsequently published a notic·e 
issued by the librarian, J Rorke, informing the 
public that a grant had been approved and that the 
Government had consented to the erection of an 
appropriate library building (DN, 3 September 
1874).21 
on 12 October 1874 the first general meeting of 
library subscribers took place, with Mr R W Murray 
in the chair. Mr Southey was're-elected President 
of the Public Library and Literary Institute and the 
new committee was made up of Messrs W Ward, R W 
Murray, w Hall, Adv. Shippard, A von Bressensdorf 
and A G Biden; Mr G B Attwell was elected Honorary 
Secretary and Mr W Hall, Treasurer. Three more 
members wer~ to be nominated by the Lieutenant-
Governor as representatives of the Governrnent.22 
-.. 
The first annual report, written by Mr Rorke, was 
published in full in the Diamond News ( 17 October 
1874); it gives an indication of the odds with 
which the newly established public library had to 
contend. subscriptions for the year had amounted to 
£522, which, Mr Rorke stated, proved that there were 
20. The political unrest culminated in the Black 
Flag Rebellion which took place the following year. 
21. This may have been a verbal communication as 
the letter received from Mr Currey makes no mention 
of erecting a library building. 
22. In the margin of Rorke's letter to Southey, 
dated 13 October, 1874 (GLW 64), Southey noted, 
"Secretary to furnish strength of Council and 
inguire whether the three members the Govt. is asked 
to nominate must be subscribers and in that case 
must ask for list of subscribers." 
52 
many people who were prepared to pay for the 
privilege of reading. The stock of about 500 books 
was, however, insufficient to hold the interest of 
the public and a lack of funds precluded a regular 
flow of new books; the premises were inadequate and 
the rental of £200 too high; a full-time librarian 
was required but a salary of at least £20 per month 
should be offered. 
He suggested that, if expenses could be reduced to 
£20 per month in total, £30 could be spent on new 
books every month. He reiterated that the 
Government would be willing to erect a new library 
if a suitable site could be obtained and stated that 
a stand in New Main Street had generously been set 
aside for this purpose. 
The suggestions put forward in the report were 
implemented. The library was moved to cheaper 
premises so that more funds would be available for 
the purchase of books. The choice fell upon the 
stationery warehouse of Messrs Richards, Glanville 
and Company which was situated in Main Street, 
opposite the Standard Bank. It was much bigger 
than the previous library, measuring 24 feet by 18 
feet and was much more attractive. 
This was possibly considered a temporary measure 
until· a proper library could be built, but, sadly, 
this step led to the eventual decline of the 
library. The previous library, small and cramped 
as it was, was situated next to Dodds' Billiard 
saloon (previously Sangers') and visitors to the 
library used the card room of the saloon as a 
library smoking room (DN, ;LS September 1874). It 
appears that the congenial atmosphere of the old 
venue outweighed the prospect of a bigger assortment 
of novels in an uninviting stationery warehouse. 
53 
At this time too, the dedicated Secretary\ 
Librarian, John Rorke, resigned his position in 
favour of a post as Secretary of the Mining Board. 
, 
Mr c Shaw, who replaced him as librarian, lacked the 
drive to promote the library; he nevertheless 
commenced with the cataloguing of the existing stock 
of books in anticipation of a large consignment of 
new books to come (DN, 8 June 1875). 
The library functioned for about two years but, 
without funds for purchasing books, it led an 
ineffectual existence. Both So~they and Currey were 
recalled in 1875; the library had lost its President 
and Vice-president, as well as all hope of further 
support from the Government. 
In November 1875 the. booking for the opera, 
'Maritana' , was still done at the Public Library 
(DN, S.November 1875), but by 1876, it had ceased to 
exist. Richards and Glanville dissolved their 
partnership at the end of 1_876 and vacated the 
premises which had housed the library. 
The Daily Independent, mouthpiece of its proprietor, 
Mr J B Robinson, stated in a leading article ( 1 
May, 1877 l that, "so long as there was. no by-play 
connected with the Public Library, it was worthy of 
support, but from the time that it became merely a 
concern supplementary to the bookshop it dese.rvedly 
declined in public estimation and lost all claim to 
Government support." He went on to challenge the 
editor of the Diamond News, Mr W R Murray, who was 
one of the founders of the library and a member of 
the Council which was originally appointed to run 
the library, to publish a full report on the 
financial affairs of the library as well as a list 
of books in stock and "a statement of what has 
become of books which have disappeared." 
54 
Mr Murray did not take up the challenge and more 
than a year later he admitted tha:t the library had 
been "wrecked bv the surf of broken promises which 
rolled in upon it from the Government Office" (DN, 3 
December 1878). He went on to bewail the fact that 
"in this community, remarkable for its intellectual 
power and vigour, there should be neither a, public 
reading room, library or literary institute." 
The library was not mentioned in any of the 
newspapers again and one can only surmise that what 
was left of the library stock jNas absorbed into 
Goch's Circulating Library which came into operation 
in 1879. Despite the failure of the library, there 
still existed a great need for this facility on the 
Diamond Fields and the project was shelved 
temporarily only. 
4.3 Conclusion 
The people who congregated on the Diamond Fields 
were representative of many nationalities from all 
over the world. They felt completely ostracised 
and cut off from civilisation and one of the first 
needs which manifested itself was the need for 
reading rooms of some kind where newspapers and 
magazines could put them into touch with the outside 
world and give their dreary lives a semblance of 
culture. 
While the future prospects of Kimberley were 
uncertain the community life remained unstable. 
When things started settling down, attention was 
given to recreational and cultural matters but 
progress was closely linked to the socio-economic 
conditions on the Fields, and the vicissitudes of 
the precarious existence on the Diamond Fields 
vitally affected the fortunes of new enterprises. 
55 
Kimberley was in a very unsettled state; it was, as 
Brian· Roberts (1976, p.391) ·aptly named it, a 
"turbulent city" and as such, was unable for many 
years to provide the infra-structure for a 
successful public library. The town's whole 
existence depended upon diamond mining and the 
diggers had no guarantee of the duration of the 
diamond fissures. It was a long time before a sense 
of permanence developed. 
As library financing had to come from the pockets of 
the residents, the success of .the library depended 
largely upon the prosperity of·the conununity. It 
was only when the economy of the town improved and 
more business and professional men settled in 
Kimberley, that a serious interest in the 
establishment of a library evinced itself. The 
Library Conunittee of the first libra·ry was composed 
mostly of professional and educated men who were 
aware of the educational and recreational potential 
of the library. 
The provision of reading material was not considered 
the only purpose of a public library. Another 
important function was the encouragement of a wide 
variety of ·stimulating activities such as games, 
lectures, debates and music. To be able to offer 
these, suitable premises were of vital importance. 
The physical conditions experienced on the Diamond 
Fields precluded extensive reading and the library 
had little to offer by way of comforts. The lack 
of lighting was also a factor to be contended with. 
Kimberley was known for its heat, the fine dust from 
the mines and for many other discomforts. Despite 
concerted efforts,. the early attempts at 
establishing reading rooms and libraries were doomed 
to failure because of inadequate buildings and the 
lack of funds to improve matters. 
56 
The lack of assistance from the authorities made it 
virtually impossible to keep the library going. 
Income from subscriptions was insufficient to cover 
expenses such as salaries, rentals and the purchase 
of new books. There was no local governing body 
which could be approached for financial assistance 
and the' authorities in Cape Town and in Britain were 
unsympathetic towards Kimberley as a result of 
political upheavals. Southey's application for a 
loan from overseas was ignored by Lord Carnarvon, 
who saw Kimberley residents as nothing but trouble 
makers. 
The library was a luxury that many advocated but 
when the facilities were actually made available, 
the utilisation was disappointing; the whole way of 
life on the Diamond Fields was geered to the 
excitement of diamond prospecting and mining and 
anything else was mundane by contrast. Many of the 
newcomers had prior experience of Book Clubs and -.. 
Circulating Libraries and were eager to obtain light 
reading matter for a fee of a few pence. 
Nevertheless, dealers who ran Circulating Libraries 
were 'obliged to branch out into other lines of 
business to attract customers to their shops and the 
Public Library itself packed up. 
~l! MID rn fil JLICW.,, 
plan of 
TOWNSHIP AN!) MINES . 
1 I.:  ' I 
111 I 
111 I 
Scale .t Feet. 
JJ~ "" 
KIMBERLEY 
, , 
,'. 
MINE. , 
''  
1' OLD 
1 
' '-, 
'· 
u L T - F" 0 N T E • N 
F A R M. 
--------- ----·-- ---·-·---·-··---··--·-----------"----
Kimberl~y .. Township 1875, showing the site of the library 
·built.in 1881, on the corner of ~rey and Du Toit's Pan 
Roads ·{Britain. Parliamentary Papers, 1875 - 1899). 
57 
CHAPTER 5 
THE SECOND ATTEMl?T AT ESTABLISHING A PUBLIC LIBRARY 
IN KIMBERLEY 
5.1 Conditions on the Diamond Fields after 1876 
There were, at this time, other important matters 
which weighed on the minds of the people living on 
the Diamond Fields. Apart from political upheavals 
and the subsequent Black Flag .Rebellion engendered 
by the dissatisfaction of the diggers with the 
Mining Board, the first of many landslides at the 
mine occurred in November 1874 resulting in the 
unemployment of about 1 000 people. The situation 
was exacerbated by an influx of diggers who were 
lured to the Diamond Fields by the prospect of 
debris washing, a practice which started at that 
time and which permitted anybody to wash debris from 
old diggings b~ obtaining a licence at ten shillings 
(Angove, 1910, p.103). 
Many of the newcomers were willing to join the 
"Rebels", who were in opposition to the 
"Government's Party". Incitement against the 
Government led to open confrontation. Troops were 
sent from Cape Town to quell the revolt but it had 
already died down by the time they reached 
Kimberley. After the recall of Richard Southey and 
J B Currey, Major William OWen Lanyon took over as 
the new Administrator, assisted by Colonel Crossman. 
An enquiry into the problems of the diggers and 
subsequent recommendations were to affect the future 
of the Diamond Fields substantially. 
Lanyon stated that Kimberley should never have 
become a Province under the administration of the 
Cape Government and that it could have been 
administered as a municipality. He advocated the 
58 
abolition of the newly-proclaimed Ordinance 10 
(1876), which made it impossible ·for an individual 
or company to hold more than ten claims, thereby 
enabling the formation of holding companies and 
eliminating indiscriminate competition. 
The abolition of gambling and other illegal 
practices made living conditions in Kimberley more 
civilised. schooling was rapidly expanding; the 
Roman Catholic church started a night school for 
young men which offered "oPJ?ortunities for a sound 
English education" (Ind., 2 October 1876); a 
Catholic Public School for children of all 
denominations opened on 1 May 1876 (DN, 17 April 
1876); and Mr Alexander Noble, teacher at the West 
End Academy and Training College, suggested the 
formation of a teachers' body which could agitate 
for a government grant (DI, 18 November 1875). 
Although literacy does not necessarily affect the 
reading habit, as Tyrrell-Glynn points out ( 1972, 
p. 5), it does indicate development and upliftrnent 
of the cornrnuni·.:.y as a whole. 
An important event, which affected life on the 
Diamond Fields, was the opening, in February 1876, 
of a telegraph office in Kimberley, linking 
Kimberley to Cape Town via Fauresmith. Despite 
prohibitively high rates for telegrams, it was 
nevertheless "the means of changing the current of 
public life, giving it a stimulus to trade and 
commerce hitherto unknown in this part of the world" 
(Angove, 1910, p. 127). 
5.2 Goch's Circulating Library and other Reading Rooms 
The idea of erecting an effectual library with a 
good stock of educational material came to the fore 
again in 1876. The now defunct Public Library had 
not succeeded in providing stimulating reading 
59 
material for which there was so obvious a need, 
especially since many more professional and educated 
people had now settled in Kimberley. 
The Independent Order of Good Templars took matters 
in hand and decided ~o raise funds for library 
purposes. In 1876 the Diamond News ( 16 May) 
reported that they (the Good Templars) had 
"subscribed the required sum for a new hall and 
public circulating library to contain 30 000 books" 
and stated that Mr G H Goch was busy compiling a 
list of books to be ordered ~rom England and any 
recommendations from "clergy, · doctors, editors, 
lawyers, engineers, merchants, mechanics and the 
reading public generally" would.be welcomed. 
Mr George H Goch, probably a member of the above-
mentioned order, was a public-minded businessman of 
Kimberley who realised that . the provision of good 
books to the public would ·not only be of great 
cultural be1.efit to the community but would also be 
a profitable business venture. He ran a Jewellers' 
Shop in Dutoitspan Road, and was also the Vice-
president of the Kimberley Literary Institute 
(Turner's, 1877, p.44). 
He requested that "anyone interested in having a 
thoroughly efficient library in Kimberley" leave 
suggestions for titles to be purchased at his 
business in Dutoitspan Road. By March 1877, he had 
on hand a stock of well-bound "works of reference, 
poetical works, novels, historical works, travels 
etc.", and was ready to open his circulating library 
to the public (DN, 15 March 1877); he promised his 
readers regular additions of new books to make the 
collection as large and complete as possible. 
Subscriptions payable in advance amounted to two 
guineas per annum, one guinea for half a year and 
fifteen shillings a quarter. Catalogues were 
60 
available upon application and the library was to be 
open until 8 pm in the evening. 
Goch's Circulating Library proved to be very popular 
and ran successfully for a number of years. Its· 
closing time was extended to 9 pm for the 
convenience of its patrons; its wide range of 
material~~~"·p~r~o~v~i~d~e~d~~--'n=o~u~r~i_s_hm~e_n_t~~--'f~o~r~~~t~h~e 
intellectually weak and strong, for the student and 
the statesman, for those with leisure and the busy, 
for the low-spirited and the troubled mind, as well 
as for the soaring animated spirit, who rises 
superior to the depressing influe·nce ·of even these 
hard times" (DI, 11 September 1877). 
In 1879 the library reportedly received a 
consignment of 500 new books (DN, 8 March 1879) and 
a year later it was stated that "books to suit all 
(except vicious) tastes will be found on the 
shelves" (DI, 1 April 1880). Alfred Allen's 
Circulating Library was still in operation but was 
secondary to the music section of the shop. 
Haskell's Reading Room opened in Dutoitspan Road in 
1879 (DFA, 28 May 1879); in the following year it 
became Campbell's Reading Room, offering 
recreational pastimes, such as bagatelle, chess and 
draughts as well as the latest English and Colonial 
newspapers and magazines (DN, 8 April 1880). At 
the same time, books were being collected in the 
Town Council's Office for use in the Kimberley 
Hospita123 (DN, 1 April 1879). 
Despite all these efforts, there .was still the 
problem of all the young men who had nothing to do 
in the evenings and the "young women who were con-
demned to perpetual housekeeping." One must either 
23. This was probably the first hospital library 
service in South Africa. The hospital library is 
mentioned as early as 1876 in a fund-raising 
advertisement (DN, 21 October 1876). 
61 
crush out their [ mental and intellectual ] powers, 
suggested the local newspaper, ·or supply them with 
suitable material to work on. "Hence", concluded 
the· article, "another argument for a library of 
useful literature" (Ind, 19 June 1879). 
Soon afterwards, the Grand Templars started a 
Reading Room in the West End Hall for anyone who was 
able to pay the subscription rates of £1 10 0 (Ind, 
8 July 1879) and in the following year a society 
called the Kimberley Mutual Improvement Society was 
instituted by the Presbyteri.an church for the 
purpose of organising weekly meetings where young 
men could be profitably occupied with intellectual 
entertainment such as debates, readings, impromptu 
speeches and music (DI, 3 March 1880). 
Steps were also taken to start a Mechanics' 
Institute and Reading Room. Commenting on this, 
the newspaper again deplored the lack of educational 
and self-improvement facilities in Kimberley, 
remarking that it was certainly not to the credit of 
"this· wealthy, prosperous and fairly intelligent 
community that they have done literally nothing for 
the cause of education" (DI, 10 November 1879). 
5.3 The Kimberley Literary Institute 
A cultural organisation, which was established in 
1876 and came into operation in 1877, was the 
Kimberley Young Men's Mutual Improvement Society. 
It held weekly meetings in the vestry behind the 
Trinity Church in Dutoitspan with the object of 
promoting improvement amongst its members by means 
I 
of recitations, readings, essays, papers and 
discussions about the political and social problems 
of the day. 
In March 1878 the venue for meetings was changed to 
the Mining Board Office and the society was renamed 
62 
the Kimberley Literary Institute. Mr R M Robert 
was elected President, Mr G H Goch, Vice-president 
and Mr Fischer, Secretary, but replaced by Mr A 
Saalfeld at the next election of members. 
The Literary Institute was very active throughout 
1877 and 1878, and the wide range of topics 
discussed is indicative of the intellectual standard 
that was achieved. Subjects discussed included, 
"The future of Kimberley" (DN, 3 July 1877); "Would 
steam navigation between the Cape and Australia 
confer any benefits upon the two cqmmunities?" (DN, 
16 October 1877) "The Native question of the Cape 
Colony" (DN, 19 March 1878); "Has the establishment 
of the English Government in Griqualand West been 
conducive to the welfare of the communi1::Y and the 
honour of the British flag?" (Ind, 7 May 1878) 
"Will annexation to the Cape be advantageous to 
Griqualand West?" (Ind, 4 June 1878) "Are Mr. 
Trollope's remarks in his book on South Africa, as 
to the Diamond Fields, justifiable? 11 24 (Ind, 25 June 
1878) 
The programmes were certainly intellectually 
stimulating and the Diamond Fields commented that it 
was "very gratifying to see that the Literary 
Institute of Kimberley is beginning to strike out 
vigorously" (DF, 15 May 1878) and that in a quiet 
way it was doing very useful work (DFA, 13 July 
1878). 
But, as was the case with most cultural efforts in 
Kimberley, the interest started to wane and by the 
end of the year, it had flagged considerably. 
24. Mr Anthony Trollope visited Kimberley in 1877 
and the residents went to great lengths to make his 
stay a pleasant one, hoping that he would be im-
pressed with the town, only to be sadly 
disillusioned by his outspoken criticism of the 
place. 
, 
63 
"Effort is being made," wrote the paper (DFA, 4 
December 1878), "to resuscitate the Kimber le:£ 
Literari Institute which for some time has been in a 
state of coma." 
At a meeting called to discuss the decline of the 
Institute, it was concluded that the Mining Office 
was unsuitable and unattractive as a venue for 
meetings and that the members should be offered 
something else by way of entertainment besides 
weekly discussions, possibly a reading room and 
library (DFA, 6 December 1878). 
At a general meeting chaired by Mr Goch, it was 
resolved, "to wind up the affairs of the old 
Institute and to start a new Institute on a broader 
basis." Messrs Jackson, Goch and Webb, the 
Secretary, were directed to find a new venue for 
meetings (DFA, 6 December 1878) and all the records 
and documents pertaining to the Institute were 
handed to Mr Goch for safe-keeping until a new 
Institute could be established (DN, 8 December 
1878). 
5.4 The second Public Library in Kimberley 
The year 1877 was an important one in the history of 
Kimberley. In June the Municipality of Kimberley 
was formally constituted25 and in July, Griqualand 
West was annexed to the Cape.26 According ·to this 
act, three years would be allowed for the 
incorporation of the Crown Colony into the Cape 
Colony. 
During this year, a population census was taken 
which showed that Kimberley was the second largest 
25. Kimberley became a municipality by Ordinance 
no. 7 of 1877, Govt. notice no 197). 
26. The Griqualand West Annexation Act, Cape Act No 
39 of 1877. 
,. 
64 
town at the Cape with a total· population of 13 590 
(Turners', 1878, p.5.4). According to the Deputy-
Inspector of Schools, F H Ely, who was sent to the 
Diamond Fields to report on the state of education, 
there were 32 schools and a total of 8.61 scholars in 
Kimberley (Griqualand West Gazette, 1877, p. 208-
209). Ely found the standard of education to ]:)e 
generally low and, although a high school could be 
established with a government grant, he feared that 
"in a mixed and ever-shifting population like that 
of the Fields", it was hardly worthwhile.27 
Ely's report substantiates the lack of hope for ·the 
future of Kimberley which was characteristic of the 
whole decade. John Nixon, who paid a visit· to 
Kimberley in 1878, was, like Anthony Trollope, not 
, ·,at all enamoured with the place and was struck by 
the "speculative and temporary nature of business" 
(Nixon, 1880, p. 149). 
"The whole town," he remarked, "gives the impression 
of having been built with the idea of being prepared 
for removal at a moment's notice:. .. Nobody thinks of 
it as a place to live in .•. " 
Despite the obvious lack of faith in the future of 
Kimberley, the first municipal elections took place 
in December 1877 and on the Council were men like 
George Bottomley, Alexander McGregor and Arthur 
Stead, with John Birbeck as mayor. It was evident 
"that there were many men who had come to regard 
Kimberley as their future home and were willing to 
devote time and money to make it a creditable 
town. 11 28 
27. Government aid to the schools could only be put 
into practice after the official annexation of the 
Crown Colony to the Cape Colony . 
28. Quoted by B·.Roberts (1978, p.9) from the 
s Hawthorne Ms. 
65 
The newly-elected Council had taken on a difficult 
task because they found that there was no money for 
improvements and next to no co-operation from the 
rate-payers; within the first six months after the 
election a quarter of the 12 members had resigned 
(Roberts, 1978, p.12). 
Yet improvements gradually started taking place. 
The first tasks were the valuation of properties, 
naming and numbering the chaotic streets and the 
fixing of rates. The only income for the Council 
was from dog and cab taxes, h.awkers' licences and 
the toll in Dutoitspan Road and was not nearly 
enough to finance the many matters which required 
attention, including "the establishment of a library 
and kindred institutions" (DN, 20 April 1878). 
The two circulating libraries in operation at the 
time were commercial undertakings and there existed 
a great need for a municipal library with free 
access for everyone. "Now that we have settled 
into a municipality, we ought also to have a public 
"'l""i""b'"'r""a"'r""'y.__a"'n=d'--"r""e'"'a"'d"'i"'n""g.._"'r""o""o=m , " wrote the I ndePendent  ( 18 
June 1877) and pointed out that the South African 
Library had a stock of 38 000 volumes and the Port 
Elizabeth Library, 9 890 (DN, 16 July 1878). 
Bloemfontein, which was much smaller than Kimberley, 
had all kinds of cultural societies and there was 
"scarcely a town or village in South Africa that has 
not a public library and reading room, and yet we 
have none," complained the editor of the Diamond 
Fields Advertiser (15 November 1878) and added, "Is 
Kimberley too Bohemian in its character for the 
institutions to take root here?" 
The Diamond News (3 December 1878) remarked that it 
was strange that in a community such as that of 
Kimberley, which was "remarkable for its 
intellectual power and vigour," there was no library 
or literary institute. There were indeed many 
66 
well-educated men in Kimberley, as noticed by Nixon 
(1880, p.163) "It is not at all uncommon," he 
remarked, "for a man sitting next to you at the 
table ... to be an old University man." 
In a long article which appea·red in the following 
year, the Daily Independent29 (6 August 1979) 
pointed out that there were no societies of any kind 
in Kimberley, neither an Agricultural society nor a 
Chamber of Commerce, and this could mean, the editor 
scathingly commented, that the people of Kimberley 
had no aptitude for organisatior,i.; they were so 
absorbed in trying to make money that they had 
little time for anything else. There were quite a 
number of professional men in the community but they 
had "contributed nothing towards public life." 
Neither the clergy nor the lawyers had any library 
or reading room and the doctors were "too busy to 
bother with anything intellectual." Anthony 
Trollope (1878, p.203) had expressed his scepticism 
of diggers' ever reading "The diamond seeker," he 
maintained, "cannot get out of his task and calmly 
take himself to his literature at 4 pm, or 5 or 6." 
In the election of 1879 Barney Barnato was returned 
to Council and J B Robinson became Mayor. The 
community started taking a greater interest in civic 
matters and gave Sir Bartle Frere a rousing welcome 
when he visited Kimberley despite the fact that very 
little financial assistance had been forthcoming 
from the Government for educational or cultural 
purposes. Even the Port Elizabeth Telegraph 
commented that the Diamond Fields was "one part of 
the dark continent that had received very little 
29. In August 1879, the Independent became the 
first regular daily newspaper in Kimberley and 
changed its name to the Daily Independent. It 
continued under this title until April 1892. 
___ , 
67 
attention in the way of encouragement towards higher 
education.i•30 
The very next year, 1880, was to bring an upswing 
in the economy which was to put Kimberley on the 
road to stability and prosperity and place a public 
library within the reach of the community once 
again. 
When the ten-claim restriction was lifted in 1876, 
the way was paved for amalgamation of claims. In 
April 1880 the Rudd-Rhodes partnership combined with 
other mining companies and forni~d a syndicate which 
became the De Beers Mining Company. Cecil John 
Rhodes, realising the enormous potential of the 
diamond industry in South Africa, focussed all his 
attention on this Company. Any fears he might have 
had about the mines working out was a thing of the 
past. 
"There is every chance,,  " he wrote to J X 
Merriman, "of our prosperity lasting 
••• this. is now the richest community in 
the world for its size and it shows every 
sign of permanency. 11 31 
Overseas investors were only too eager to back the 
big mining companies which were formed in 1880; 
Kimberley experienced a boom and everyone was riding 
on the crest of the wave. The share mania ran high 
and every "spec" which was put on the market was 
immediately snapped up (Angove, 1910, p.81). 
30. Quoted by the Daily Independent, 22 .. September 
1879. 
31. An extract from a letter from c J Rhodes to J X 
Merriman, Kimberley, 16 May 1880, In Lewsen, Phyllis 
ed. Selections from the correspondence of J.X. 
Merriman, 1870 - 1890, quoted by B Roberts ( 1976, 
p.179). 
68 
The Town Council was in desperate need of a suitable 
hall in which to hold their meetings. What better 
way to raise the required sum of £5 000 with which 
to build a Town Hall than to offer shares for sale 
(DFA 21 May 1880)? In no time at all 1 000 shares 
were taken up and all that was needed was a suitable 
site. Shortly afterwards, the same scheme was to 
be introduced to raise funds for the building of a 
library. 
It was the Daily Independent ( 11 May · 1880) which 
again broached the subject of a Public Library and a 
Botanical Garden "for the social, mental and 
physical health" of the community. The paper 
accused the inhabitants of selfishness and greed, 
maintaining that there could have been twen~y 
reading rooms if only the wealthy diamond magnates 
would "lift their eyes out of the pit in which their 
whole soul seems centred." The article went on to 
say that the lack of interest in schools or 
libraries was due to the fact that most of the 
people had not settled in Kimberley permanently and 
intended returning to Europe as soon as they had 
made their fortunes. These unsubstantiated 
prophesies were soon to be refuted, however. 
At this time, James Rose-Innes, a Cape magistrate, 
was sent to Kimberley as Acting Administrator prior 
to the annexation of Griqualand West to the Cape 
Colony. In a speech made by him soon after his 
arrival, he mentioned the bad state of education and 
the lack of a public library on the Diamond Fields, 
hinting at "impending changes". What, speculated 
the Daily Independent (6 May, 1880) did he mean by 
·changes'? Was he referring to the new political 
dispensation? 
Later in the same month, Rose-Innes presided at a 
meeting where the issue of the a public library was 
again discussed. It was common knowledge that the 
• 
69 
old Public Lib.rary had become defunct as a result of 
inadequate housing and it was imperative that a new 
building be erected specially for library purposes, 
if it were . to be a success. Mr R W Murray, a 
staunch library supporter'· proposed, "that a 
building capital of £3 000 be raised in shares of £1 
each, the shares to bear interest at a rate of 10% 
per annum from the date of the opening of the 
Institute" (DFA, 24 May 1880). 
He suggested that the proposed library should 
provide for "higher intellectual development" as 
well as the usual recreational facilities such as a 
reading room and circulating library. Subscriptions 
would be the main source of income, but funds would 
also be raised so that there could be "no taint of 
charity about the matter." 
Mr Rose-Innes stated that the Government would 
provide a suitable site for a library building and 
that he himself had, in fact, already looked at two 
sites. The Committee which was appointed to report 
tO the meeting Of SUbSCriberS I COnSiSted Of 
Reverends C D Maude, M Mendelssohn, H Lenoir and J 
Calvert; also Messrs T D Brown, H Green, J L Truter, 
L Hoskyns, C T Campbell, M Cornwall and A Levy. 
The Daily Independent ( 22 May 1880) congratulated 
the public "on the privilege they will shortly 
- enjoy" ··and expressed the hope that the paper had in 
some small way contributed to the realisation of a 
dream. It was hoped that the poorer people would 
also make use of this opportunity to become 
shareholders of the Public Library. 
A month later the Committee held a meeting in the 
Town Office at which J Rose-Innes again presided. 
A library, it was agreed, would "provide the means 
of improving and educating the children's minds" 
(DI, 17 May 1880). Mr J c Haarhoff a local 
70 
attorney, then put forward a proposal, which was 
seconded by·Mr Foster, that 
"an Institution to be called "The 
Kimberley Library and Institute" be 
forthwith formed." 
Mr Cecil Rhodes proposed and Mr A von Bressendorff 
seconded that, 
"with a view to securing a suitable hall, 
efforts should be made to induce the Town 
Council to provide a room in part of their 
proposed Town Hall." 
Rev Mr Tobias proposed, 
"that a Committee be appointed for the 
purpose of forming a scheme for carrying 
out the formation of the Library and 
Institute by means of capital raised in 
shares. and debentures r" and that the 
Committee would report at a future 
meeting. 
Mr J C Haarhoff proposed that the following 
committee members be appointed the Mayor of 
Kimberley [J B Robinson], the Acting Attorney-
General Jes Calvert, D Brown, Father Lenoir, Rev M 
Mendelssohn, the Hon H Green, Advocate Forster, 
Messrs J· L · Truter, R W Murray, J P Ablett, .c J 
Rhodes, Colin T Campbell, A von Bressendorff, M 
Cornwall and G C Cator.32; that the Committee 
approach the Government for a yearly grant and for a 
site for erecting the Public Library and Institute 
32. The Diamond Field Advertiser's list of Committee 
members differs from that.of the Daily Independent, 
as it includes Rev Maude and Rev Tobias, but omits 
Jes Calvert, D Brown, Rev Lenoir, H Green, Adv 
Foster, M Cornwall and G c Ca tor. The Diamond 
News did not publish a list of names. 
71 
and that Mr B T Knights be appointed Secretary for 
the time being (DI, 17 May 1880. ). ~ 
The Diamond Fields Advertiser expressed its 
satisfaction with the proceedings and voiced the 
opinion that "the Government as well as the 
Municipality ought to assist in this laudable object 
which can hardly fail from being·appreciated by the 
large proportion of young men on the Fields ... who at 
present spend their time in the billiard saloons and 
such like places for want of better entertainment 
and more wholesome recreation" (17 May 1880). 
The Diamond News (15 May 1880) drew attention to the 
Burg Street Institute in Cape Town and the St 
Patrick's Society at Port Elizabeth as models to be 
copied. In a later issue of the Diamond News ( 20 
May 1880), the editor enthused about' ';he prospect 
of having "a well-lighted, warm and cosy reading 
room to beguile away the long winter's evenings" and 
a lecture room and debating classes which "will 
quicken the thought of those who attend them," 
adding that "the tiine has gone by for people to talk 
any longer about the collapsing of the Diamond 
Fields." 
The Secretary of the Library Committee, Mr Knights, 
placed an advertisement in the paper, notifying the 
public that there were 3 000 shares for sale at £1 
each, the capital thus raised to constitute the 
building fund; it was pointed out that if each 
member of the Institute bought five shares, the 
building could be erected in six months' time (DN, 
22 May 1880). 
A more progressive member of the public, writing 
under the pseudonym of "A Ratepayer", commented that 
it would have been better if the building project 
had been initiated by the Mayor and a voluntary rate 
levied on all rate-payers for the purpose of 
72 
"establishing a free Public Libi;a:ty and Institute to 
which every well-behaved working man would be ·made 
heartily welcome" as was the case in other libraries 
in South Africa and "at home" (DN, 24 May 1880).33 
The building sites offered by the Acting 
Administrator were found to be unsuitable for 
library purposes and it was g.ecided to purchase a 
stand in New Main Street from Mr Charles Roberts, a 
local blacksmith, as it was in a central position 
and large enough for further building expansion, 
should this be required (-DI, 21 Jun. e 1880). 
At a meeting of the shareholders held on 24 June 
1880 and chaired by Mr C T Campbell, it was proposed 
that a provisional Board of Directors, consisting of 
nine members should be appointed to purchase Mr 
Roberts' s stand, to supervise the erection of the 
building, to handle the financial matters and to 
prepare the Trust Deed (DI, 26 June 1880). 
Mr Stonestreet proposed that the Provisional Board 
of Directors should consist of the Hon Mr L.Hoskyns, 
Revs Maude and Mendelssohn and Messrs c T Campbell, 
R M Roberts, W Ward, Alex Levy, M Cornwall and G H 
Gach. . The following Trustees were appointed: the 
Acting Mayor (Mr G Bottomley), the Resident 
Magistrate (Mr D J Haarhoff, brother of J C 
Haarhoff) . and Mr Alphonse Levy. It was also 
decided that the Provisional Committee could start 
.ordering books and periodicals, not exceeding the 
value of £500. Shares, it was proposed, were 
payable as follows: ten shillings on 1 July, five 
shillings on 1 September 1880 and five shillings on 
1 October 1880 (DI, 26 June 1880). 
33. According to the Free Public Libraries' Act 
passed in Britain in 1850, the cost of all public 
libraries would be borne by the rate payers who had 
to contribute ld in the £ per annum on rateable 
value. 
73 
A competition was organised, inviting plans and 
specifications for the erection of the library 
building which was to consist of a hall, reading 
room, library and offices; the hall was to be at 
least 35 feet by 60 feet in size and the reading 
room at least 20 feet by 24 feet. A prize of 20 
guineas would be awarded to the winning entry on 
condition that the tenders ·for the erection of the 
building ·did not exceed the sum specified by the 
architect. The closing date of the competition was 
31 August 1880, giving competitors exactly a week to 
prepare plans (DI, 2~ August 1880)! 
No further mention was made of the competition or 
whose was the winning entry, but by September 1880 
the tender documents for erecting the library were 
available from A Grellet of Crowden's Chambers, no 6 
(DN, 14 Sep 1880)34 and in October the building 
tender was awarded to Messrs Nolan & Longmead. It 
was resolved to raise the capital of the company 
from £3 000 to £4 000 and to convert it into a 
Limited Liability Company; clauses of the Trust 
Deed were drafted, and the Provisional Committee 
were empowered to start building operations (DI, 2 
October 1880). 
Prospects for the year 1881 looked very promising. 
The share market was in full swing and fortunes were 
being made daily. It was a year of progress in 
every respect: the first sod of the 'Kimberley 
Waterworks at Newton was turned by the Mayor in May 
and the Kimberley Waterworks Company was established 
in October; the first locomotive imported by Messrs 
Teague & Co started operating on the mine, carting 
away debris; and towards the end of the year the 
Council authorised · the installation of electric 
street lights. 
34. It appears from later reports that A Grellet was 
in fact the architect whose plans were accepted. 
74 
There was a great deal of building activity and the 
-brick companies were kept busy; the Public Library, 
the standard Bank, Barna to' s Exchange, the Queen' s 
Hotel and the Dutch Reformed Church in Dutoitspan 
were in the process of erection, while tenders were 
called for the building of the Club, a tramway, the 
Commercial and Mutual Exchange Company's offices, 
the proposed offices of the London Exploration 
Company in Dutoitspan35 and other buildings, showing 
"that the camp days of Kimberley are events of the 
past" (DFA, 8 August 1881). 
5.5 The Athenaeum Club 
In February 1881 a number of professional men 
representing the church, the bar and side-bar, the 
, 
medical . profession and members of the general 
public, all of whom were said to be "tired of 
waitinq for a public library" (DFA, 7 February 
1881), met in Mr McKenna's courtroom to launch a 
society to be known as the Athenaeum Club. Judge D 
Buchanan who was elected chairman of the meeting, 
also invited members of the Public Library Committee 
to attend so that they could see for themselves that 
it was not intended as a rival to the Public 
Library. It was to be simply a convenient meeting 
place for peonle who enjoyed exchanging ideas on 
intellectual subjects, liked to browse through 
newspapers, magazines and works of reference, or to 
play games of skill. 
The Athenaeum Club encouraged the formation of 
cultural societies, and soon there was a Debating 
Society and a Literary Society. The committee of 
the latter was composed of Judge Buchanan, the 
Mayor [M Cornwall],· the Reverends Tobias and 
35. The building erected as offices for the London 
and South African Exploration Company afterwards 
became the Beaconsfield Library and Institute. 
75 
Mendelssohn, R M Roberts, R H Heath and Mr H Smith 
(DFA, 7 February 1881 & DI, 8 Feb 1881). 
The Athenaeum Club leased premises in a building on 
the Market Square. There was a spacious club room 
with two in~erleading rooms which could be used for 
writing, chess, or whist and another large room 
where lectures, recitations and musical 
entertainments could be presented. There were many 
young men in Kimberley who were delighted to have 
the use of comfortable rooms for "the ventilation of 
social and intellectual topics" (DFA, 16 February 
1881) and, as a result of interest, the membership 
quotient of the Club was raised to 75 at the second 
meeting and a committee of Management consisting of 
15 members was elected (DFA, 25 February 1881). 
It was stated that the Athenaeum was established by 
way of an experiment to see whether a sufficient 
number of young men could be attracted by 
entertainments without the incentive of a liquor 
bar.36 The formidable programme arranged to launch 
the society attests to the enthusiasm and eagerness 
of the organising committee: 
Monday : Formation of a chess circle; 
Tuesday: Formation of a whist circle; 
Wednesday:Establishment of a dramatic club; 
Thursday: Establishment of a music club; 
Friday: Formation of a literary society. 
It was to be open to all members during the day and 
at night (DFA, 9 March 1881). 
The Literary Institute, under Presidency of Judge 
Buchanan, met on Monday evenings. By May, it was 
reported that the attendance was disappointing and a 
committee of seven members was appointed "to make 
36. The outcome of this experiment is not known, 
but one presumes that, like many similar 
undertakings, it was not very successful. 
76 
the objects of the society better known to the 
public" (DFA, 11 May 1881).37 ·The first annual 
general meeting of the Athenaeum was held on 29 
June, 1881. Judge Buchanan was unanimously re:-
elected and Mr A Dawson was elected treasurer in the 
place of Mr Clarence. 
At this meeting a sub-committee was appointed to 
arrange a meeting with the Committee of the Public 
Library to ascertain whether provision could be made 
for the Athenaeum Club by an addition to the library 
building under construction, as . they had not yet 
·purchased the premises they were at present 
occupying (DFA, 1 July 1881). This was 
impracticable, however, and when the building le~sed 
by the Club was put up for sale, the Athenaeum seems 
to have dissolved and was only revived again in the 
next century. 
5·. 6 The opening of the Public Library 
The building of the Public Library was progressing 
well, "the walls ..• gradually beginning to rise from . 
their foundations" (DFA, 11 April 1881). The 
building contractors, Messrs c T Campbell & Co, 
suffered a setback when the ordinary burnt bricks 
crumbled in the continuous wet weather and use had 
to be made of bricks patented by Stonestreet and 
made by the Kimberley Brick Company, coating an 
additional £400. 
According to the Report for the year ending 30 April 
1881, 2 753 £1 shares had been sold but only £1 539 
collected, and the anticipated cost of the building 
had escalated to £3 200. While every effort was to 
be made to obtain a government grant, shareholdei;s 
were requested to sign the trust deed in the 
37. This committee included Sidney Mendelssohn, the 
well-known bibliophile and book collector. He was 
the son of Rev Mendelssohn. 
77 
meantime so that the Company could be registered 
under the Limited Liability Act: 
The Public Library shares which were up for .purchase 
were the subject of some good-humoured bantering at 
the stock market. Most of the subscribers realised 
that it was more of an act of charity on their part 
than a financial investment and they were perfectly 
willing to donate their shares to the Company and 
turn the Joint Stock Company into a Public Trust 
Fund (DFA, 20 May 1881). 
The financial situation on the Diamond Fields showed 
a decline towards the middle of the year 1881; banks 
started clamping down on loans and there was a 
general stampede to sell shares. The financial 
crisis also affected the Public Library 
significantly. At a meeting of the Library 
Committee, attended by Judge D D Buchanan, Rev M 
Mendelssohn, Messrs M Cornwall, G H Goch, W Ward, 
.... 
s M Landshute, G C Cator and W J Coleman, it was 
reported that there was only £213 in the bank, but 
that shares now amounted to £3 098. 
Despite the financial implications, the rear wall of 
the library was pulled down to make room for a 
larger stage, should this become necessary (DFA, 29 
June 1881) and the post of librarian was advertised 
at a salary of £400 per annum (DN, 2 July 1881). 
The choice for this position fell upon Mr H Smith, 
the Secretary of the Library Committee, (DFA, 22 
July 1881) but, for some reason, Mr H Stock was 
appointed librarian (DI, 3 September 1881). He was 
on duty at the library from 12 to 1 pm and from 4 to 
5 pm daily to register subscribers and furnish them 
with information ( DFA, 19 August 1881) . The sale 
of more shares brought the financial affairs of the 
library on a sound footing and indicated support 
from the public, encouraging the Committee to invite 
78 
shareholders to send in suggest~ons for books to be 
purchased. 
"The great thing," advised the press, "is to hit 
the general taste of the public, then the aim should 
be to raise the .public taste by degrees to higher 
standards" (~, 17 August 1881). 
Excitement mounted as the building progressed; the 
daily newspaper elaborating on the possible uses of 
the spacious library hall· as a place "suitable for 
lectures, concerts, tragedies, comedies, farces, 
burlesgues and all other inventions for providing 
intellectual advancement as well as offering 
recreation" (DI, 3 September 1881). 
In September the Committee of Management held a 
meeting where it was decided that the ·library would 
open its doors to the public on 1 October 1881. The 
terms of subscription were fixed as follows 
An ordinary subscription of £2 entitled the 
member to take out one work, consisting of 
between one and three volumes, and one 
back number of a periodical; 
A subscription of £3 or £4 entitled the member 
to take out more books at a time and 
periodicals of a more recent date; 
Deposits of 10/-, 20/- and 30/- were payable 
depending upon the subscription rates. 
The Reading Room would be open to the public 
free of charge from 10 am to 10 pm daily, 
except on Sundays, the names of visitors 
to be recorded by the Librarian (DFA, 21 
September 1881). 
The opening of the library, which was to have taken 
place on 1 October 1881, had to be postponed to 11 
October in the vain hope that lamps donated by Mr s 
79 
Marks would have arrived by then. The anticipated 
consignment of new books from ·London had also not 
arrived on time, with the result that the book 
st;ock, which included donations from Mr Frank 
Williams and Mr Hall, was relatively small. 
The library, at the time of its opening, consisted 
of a spacious concert hall, 60 feet by 35 feet 6 
inches, with provision for the .addition of a stage 
and dressing rooms at a later date. The reading 
room, "lofty and well-lighted", was 25 feet by 20 
feet in size. There was another room similar to 
the reading room and this was intended as "a sort of 
club room" where subscribers could play chess and 
draughts, and where "a soothing pipe will not be a 
prohibited luxury" (DFA, 3 October 1881). 
The formal opening of the library was performed by 
the· .Mayor, Mr M Cornwall, and Justice Buchanan 
delivered the inaugural address. He stated that the 
opening of the library would probably not be of 
similar importance in any other town in south 
Africa, but in a place like the Diamond Fields, 
where "men give themselves night and day to the 
acquisition of material wealth," the occasion was a 
momentous one; there was, he maintained, a great 
need for a quiet place to sit of an evening after a 
hard day's work. 
• 
He praised the Committee for their hard work in 
selling shares and mentioned Mr W Ward in 
particular, who had sold 3 000 of the 4 000 shares. 
He thanked the London Committee of old Diamond 
Fields resiaents for liberal contributions of books 
selected by Mr R W Murray, and made special mention 
of Messrs Roberts and Goch, fellow-committeemen who 
were in London at the time, giving all the help they 
could. 
80 
He reminded the audience that there was still a long 
way to go. "There. have 1 " he stated, "been 
libraries before, but they exist no more," and added 
that it would take "dauntless determination to make 
a success of this venture." Little did he know 
that the project was already doomed to failure! 
A programme of music followed, with the orchestra 
plaring the Overture to Offenbach's Tambour Maj or 
and Mr Neale singing "Will o' the wisp", followed 
by the choir's rendition of "Let the hills resound" 
(DFA, 14 October 1881). 
5.7 The collapse or the library scheme 
The first indication that all was not well with the 
library came from the editor of the DFA (4 November 
1881) when he despondently remarked that it would be 
a matter of lasting regret should this Institute 
fail to receive the support necessary to make it 
successful. He observed that there was a debt of 
£1 500 on the property and that the rate of interest 
on this was 12% per annum. Most · of the 
shareholders had offered to cede their shares to the 
Company which showed that there was no lack of 
public support. 
The main reason for the failure of the scheme, he 
maintained, was the divided interest of 
proprietorship; he was certain that when once the 
library was placed on a basis of a public 
institution, it would receive support and become 
successful. 
Another reason for its failure, the editor added, 
was the purchase of the stock of Mr Goch's 
Circulating Library by the Committee for £450 on the 
understanding that he would donate £100 worth of new 
books to the library. The books from Goch's 
Circulating Library had been read by just about 
-------------------- - ---
81 
everyone in the years when this was the only place 
where books could be borrowed. 
Financial aid, it was stated, could be expected from 
the Government on a £ for £ basis; it was important 
to procure aid from the Government 'as soon as 
possible, as £1 000 was required annually to run the 
library satisfactorily. 
Despite the precarious financial position of the 
Public Library, it was being put to full use. In 
November it was the venue for a bazaar advertised as 
"Ye olde English Fayre (DFA, 2'.3. Nov 1881); .a week 
later Mr Bertie Phillips put on a variety sh9w (DFA, 
30 November 1881) and in December there was a 
"Ballad concert" in the library (DFA , 14 December 
1881). This trend continued in 1882, with concerts 
and musicals the order of the day. 
The reading room was utilised extensively and it was 
a matter of pride that the Kimberley Library was 
open from 10 am to 10 pm, while other libraries in 
the Cape Colony, such as the South African Library 
in Cape Town, closed after business hours, giving 
the working man "no chance of enjoying the 
instruction and amusement derived therefrom" (DFA, 
23 January 1882). 
Another innovation of which the people were justly 
proud was the "large chandelier •.. which enables 
readers to read the smallest print in the remotest 
corners" and which was a big improvement upon "the 
small lamps which were distributed here and there 
previously." A large lamp over the entrance lit up 
the whole vicinity (DFA, 23 January 1882). 
The year 1882 saw the collapse of the share market 
and the large number of auction sales advertised 
during the year attests to the financial crisis 
experienced in Kimberley. There were other 
82 
disasters as well; Roberts ( 1976, p.198) remarks 
that "there was something uncanny about the 
onslaught of disasters that rocked Kimberley 
throughout 1882". 
Rockfalls in the mines caused severe damage which 
resulted in considerable financial losses to many of 
the smaller mining companies. Mining came to a 
standstill and, as a result, Moses Cornwall had to 
stop fund-raising for schools and the Public School 
project had to be temporarily shelved. A smallpox 
epidemic broke out at the Cape :that year and, to 
prevent it from spreading to the mines, a huge 
vaccination campaign was launched and the disease 
was staved off. 
Despite these setbacks, the Town Council forged 
ahead and Kimberley began to develop as a town. 
The scheme of piping water from the Vaal River to 
Kimberley was completed and electric lights were..  -
installed in the streets. In March a chamber 
concert held in the library was a memorable occasion 
as the library hall was to be lit by electric 
light38 (DN, 8 March 1882). It was reported 
afterwards that the hall ''presented quite a 
brilliant aspect" and that the light burned "very 
steadily almost the whole evening" ( DN, 16 March 
1882). 
The first annual meeting of shareholders of the 
Public Library took place in the library hall in 
March 1882. The library was in serious financial 
difficulties as no more shares could be sold; it 
was suggested that the library should be closed 
until other arrangements could be made. Most of 
the shareholders were willing to donate their shares 
38. This library was the first library in South 
Africa to make use of the electric light. Kimberley 
was the first town in the southern hemisphere to in-
stall street lighting in 1882. 
83 
to the library without expecting any returns on 
their investment. 
According to the library's Annual Report (DFA, 17 
March 1882), the average circulation of material was 
60 books per week and the average attendance per 
week was 56; membership totalled 160, instead of 
the anticipated 500 to 600. The cost of the 
building had amounted to £4 350, which included 
£1 000 for the stand. Other costs, which included 
the architect's fee, the temporary stage, books, 
shelving, furniture and salaries, amounted to 
£7 000. 
The report stated that, "while your Committee are 
able to report favourably on the state of the assets 
and liabilities, they are not in a position to 
present favourable chances of continuing the 
Institute on the present basis." Despite a rental 
fee of £10 per month, the library was running at a 
loss of £80 per month. 
The scheme that was proposed by the Committee was 
that the present concern should be dissolved and 
that shareholders should take debentures at 5% 
interest fo:c their shares. The Mayor should be 
approached to call a public meeting and appoint a 
committee to take over the library and to provide 
capital for the Institution by means of a loan 
raised with the library as collateral. 
Besides the present liabilities of the library, 
another £3 000 was required to build a stage, side-
rooms and two stores. Projected income from 
rentals and subscriptions amounted to £1 910 while 
expenditure was estimated at £1 900. A government 
grant of £300 would be available for books and, 
according to a letter received from the Colonial 
Secretary's Office dated 12 January 1882, the full 
allowance of £100 per annum, as prescribed by 
--------------------
84 
Government Notice no 442 of 1874, would be granted 
(DFA, 17 March 1882).39 
The Diamond Fields Advertiser ( 22 March 1882) was 
quick to express an opinion on the reason for the 
failure of the library project. It pointed out 
that originally the local clergy had put forward the 
idea of a library where young men could go in the 
evenings to keep themselves occupied with reading 
instead of wasting their time in billiard rooms. A 
good situation was found and a feasible plan for the 
library was accepted, but unfortunately some people 
were carried away by enthusiasm and launched into 
expenditure that was· beyond their means. The 
promoters forgot that they were responsible for the 
funds put into their hands by the subscribers and 
that they had not been given carte blanche·to run up 
a debt of thousands of pounds. The good intentions 
of the originators have·, the paper declared, been 
"completely knocked on the head." 
Just as the Diamond News was lamenting, "Oh, for a 
Peabody or a Baroness Burdt-Coutts1 11 40 ·to come 
forward with a donation to help the library (DN, 9 
May 1882), an unexpected turn of events solved 
everyone's problems for the time being. 
For some time the Town Council had considered 
various alternatives for obtaining suitable office 
39. Refers to the provisions of the Molteno Regula-
tions of 1874. 
40. George Peabody ( 1795 - 1869) was an American 
philanthropist who lived in London and gave away one 
and a half million pounds to charity; Angela 
Georgina Peabody (1814 1900) was an English 
philanthropist who used her fortune to mitigate 
suffering. 
85 
facilities.41 On 12 May 1882, councillor Mark 
Foggitt drew the attention of· the Council to the 
predicament of the Public Library, stating that the 
library building would be ideal for their needs and 
that they would require only £2 000 to furnish it as 
a Town Hall (DFA, 12 May 1882). 
Justice Buchanan having resigned as chairman of the 
Library Committee owing to the failure of the 
library project, the Committee appointed a sub-
committee to meet the Town Council to discuss 
Foggi tt' s proposal. Mes~rs Levy and Goch 
represented the library at a council meeting which 
took place in July 1882. 
It was resolved that the Town Council would pay 
£6 000 for the building plus furniture, exclusive of 
the lamps donated by Mr Marks; the Council would 
build two rooms on to the east side of the building, 
which the library could lease at an amount not 
exceeding £50 per annum for a period of 18 months, 
after which it was subject to six months' notice on 
either side. The Library Committee was to be paid 
£4 500 immediately and the balance of £1 500 would 
be paid in instalments in six and twelve months' 
time (DFA, 7 July 1882). 
At a meeting of the shareholders it was resolved 
that the library would continue to operate but that 
the property would be transferred to the Town 
Council immediately (DFA, 24 July 1882). The fact 
that the Town Council offered this assistance to the 
Library Committee is an indication, according to 
Roberts (1978, p. 43), of a growing civic pride. 
41. Various proposals for a Town Hall had been put 
forward, but each was unacceptable. The rental for 
the premises occupied by the Town Council was £300 
per year ana the place was completely unsuitable. 
86 
At this time Mr T G Heath was appointed full-time 
Secretary of the library at a salary of £400 per 
annum; he set about "arranging into classes" a 
consignment of 318 new books, which included the 
Encyclopaedia Britannica. 
The Diamond Fields Advertiser commented ( 7 August 
1882) that it was very sad t6 see the Institute· 
languishing for lack of funds, adding that a 
subscription of three shillings and sixpence was 
little enough to pay "even in these hard times." 
• 
The transfer of the library buiiding to the Town 
Council was finalised on 8 September 1882. At a 
public meeting attended by about 200 people, Mr Godh 
explain.ed to the assembly why the library had to be 
sold to the Town Council and stated that the books, 
valued at £1 716, were to be handed over to the 
public as a gift by·those who had bought shares in 
the concern, which meant that· they were willing to 
donate half their shares to the library; the 
following proviso applied: 
"that the Committee and Trustees 
appointed shall, in writing, undertake to 
carry on the library in an efficient 
manner for at least two years, failing 
which, the books, furniture etc. shall 
revert to the Company, subject to the Town 
Council being in a position and willing to 
take it over as a public institution. 11 42 
It was stated that two rooms would be provided for 
the library in the new Town Offices. Mr G G Wolf, 
on behalf of the meeting, accepted the offer of the 
42. This stipulation was in accordance with the 
Molteno Regulations of 187 4, which empowered all 
municipalities .to establish and maintain libraries. 
J 
87 
Library Committee and Mr D Matthews moved that the 
Mayor and Civil Commissioner be appointed Trustees 
for the library and that a committee, composed of Mr 
Justice Buchanan, Mr Justice Laurence, Mr· Justice 
Jones, the Reverends Hanbury, Lenoir, Barton, 
Phillip, Kestell and Mendelssohn, Dr H A Wolf and 
Messrs G Bottomley, L Hoskyns, G G Wolf, J E Dell, H 
Crawford and D Matthews represent the public (DFA, 8 
September 1882). 
The New Committee of Management held a special 
meeting under the chairmanship of Mr E A Judge to 
accept the conditions on which the library was to be 
handed over to the Town Council as drawn up by the 
Old Committee of Management. The conditions were 
set out as follows : 
1. That the public shall agree to the ap-
pointment of two Trustees in whose names 
the property shall be vested on behalf of 
the public; 
2. That a Managing Committee shall be elected 
annually to maintain the library 'in an 
efficient manner, on the basis of either 
entirely of partially free; 
3. That, should it be found desirable for the 
Town Council to take over control of the 
library at a later date, nothing in the 
conditions should prevent them from being 
able to do so; 
4. That the present subscribers retain their 
full rights until their subscriptions 
expire; 
5. That the Committee and Trustees undertake in 
writing to maintain the library in an 
efficient manner for at least two years, 
failing which, the assets will revert to 
the Company, subject to the Town Council 
J 
88 
being in a position and willing to take it 
over as a public institution .. 
A sub-committee of three, consisting of Messrs 
Matthews, Dell and Judge, was appointed to organise 
the legal transfer of the books in co-operation with 
the Old Committee of Management. The rules· and 
regulations as drawn up by the Old Committee would 
be adhered to and a list of subscribers would be 
handed to the New Committee. 
Once again the dream of a Public Library, with all 
the facilities required to render'.a recreational as 
well as a cultural function to the whole community, 
was shattered. After all the planning and 
negotiating, the people of Kimberley had to make do 
with two small rooms attached to a building which 
they had originally planned and for which they had 
such high hopes as a library. 
5.8 Conclusion 
The uncertainty about the future of the Diamond 
Fields deterred development and prevented people 
from settling down completely. The amalgamation of 
the mines and the subsequent formation of the De 
Beers Consolidated Mining Company brought about a 
stability to the economy of the Diamond Fields. It 
was only after schools, churches and a local 
government had come into existence that the 
necessary infra-structure was created for a Public 
Library. 
Men like G Goch, A Allen, and F Haskell succeeded by 
means of private enterprise in satisfying the 
reading needs of certain sections of the community; 
the reading rooms could not survive on their own, 
however, and were always run in conjunction with 
other commercial undertakings. 
89 
The role of the·press was important in influencing 
public opinion and action. People like R w Murray, 
the editor of Diamond News, were constantly 
stressing tr.e need for a Public Library and, if it 
had not been for the continual pressure from the 
press, the project might have been delayed even 
longer. 
The main reason for the failure of the library was 
the ladk of funds. The failure of the previous 
attempt at establishing a public library had been 
blamed on the unsatisfactory. venue and it was 
thought that a building planned specially for 
library purposes would ensure the success of the 
scheme. The scheme for raising funds involved the 
founding of a company and the sale of shares to the 
public. It soon became obvious that a building 
alone could not make a library and that provision 
had to be made for running costs; without the 
support of either the Government or the Municipality 
the undertaking was not able to achieve any great 
success. 
~:it.elt::•- ~~~:.:.c ·-·-·-..;;-t~fi;7·,. ..~  ~.:!' : ... ~r--c=::'"~-=-~~ 
. ~: .{.:._ .. :·~.;·· ... ··:~::. .. ~·- ::-----·-~~-, '~: 'j'9~' .,."izf ~ :.; .. -:: . . ~ .. 
--~-~:·t·· -~-.t·-;;,.'·7 ~·-- . ?'~--
Kimberley Public Library 
1882 - 1886 
Kimberley Public Library 
1887 -
QQQQ 
o . ; a 
a j. 0 m 
0 ·= Q.: 
: a :; o ; 
• D 0 · 
' s. o ,. a ·: 
. 0 ~ 0 .. 
0 -. 0 " 
, 0000 ~ 
o E · o : oOi= io: 0000 J . I' . 0000 ED 
0 
---···--
Kimberley Public Library 
Floor plan 1887 
90 
CHAPTER 6 
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KIMBERLEY PUBLIC LIBRARY 
6.1 The liquidation of the second library 
In October 1882 the Limited Liability Company ceased 
to exist and the Kimberley Library became a public 
institution; shareholders in the defunct company 
were to be paid a first dividend of five shillings 
in the pound on their shares. At a joint meeting 
. ' 
of the Old Library Committee; represented by Messrs 
G Goch, M Foggitt, W J Coleman and M Mendelssohn and 
the New Management Committee, consisting of .Messrs E 
A Judge, J E Dell and Dr J W Matthews, the books and 
deposit money of the library were legally 
transferred. Mr [J C?] Haarhoff was instructed to 
draw up a Deed of Gift by which the library and the 
deposit money, amounting to £113, was to be handed 
over to the New Committee (DFA, 2 October i882). 
The closure c'i f the library was indeed a bitter blow 
to its protagonists and supporters. The Diamond 
expressed regret and .remarked bitterly that 
"in this community, philanthropists are as rare as 
IDB' s are numerous" ( 25 November 1882). Even in 
London, where the people of the Diamond Fields were 
"greatly rejoiced to hear that the Public Library 
established at Kimberley is not to be lost," there 
was not much hope of financial backing (South 
African, 4 January 1883, p.3) 
In reply to a letter by Mr Justice Buchanan, asking 
whether old residents of Kimberley, now living 
overseas, would be willing to support the library, 
the editor of South African stated pessimistically 
that even when the institution was first started, 
the only response had come from Mr H B Webb of the 
91 
London and South African Exploration Company and Mr 
D P Blaine, of Messrs Macdonald, Blaine & Co, 
"whereas there ought to have been no stint in the 
pecuniary support given by those whose fortunes have 
grown out of the diamond industry" ( 4 January 1883, 
p. 3). 
The Town Council lost no time in occupying the 
library building. No sooner had the liquidation of 
the library been finalised than the Town Clerk, the 
Town Treasurer and the Town Collector moved .to the 
'New Town Hall' in Main Street and renovations were 
commenced to accommodate the Sanitary Inspector and 
Town Surveyor (DFA, 13 October 1882). The assets 
of the library came up for sale in the next month at 
an auction conducted by A Rothschild and was 
advertised as follows: 
"'Sic transit gloria mundi. '43 
Books, furniture etc. of the late lamented 
Public library will be sold without 
reserve tomorrow at 12 o'clock" (DFA, 26 
November 1882). 
In accordance with the instructions of the new 
Management Committee of the library (DFA, 4 October 
1882), Mr G G Wolf, who was nominated to represent 
the Committee at the sale, purchased the books and 
shelves for £75 (KPL. Minutes, 28 November 1882 and 
DN, 28 November 1882) and arranged with a carpenter 
to install the latter in the rooms allocated to the 
library. 
6.2 The library in New Main Street 
The library reopened in the new, rather cramped 
premises on 18 December 1882. Subscriptions were 
payable from 1 January 1883 on the following basis : 
43. "So passes away earthly glory." 
.I 
92 
Class l 
Deposit £3 0 0 
Annual subscription £4 0 0 
Half-yearly £2 10 0 
Quarterly £1 0 0 
Class 11 
Deposit £2 0 0 
Annually £3 0 0 
Half-yearly £2 0 0 
Quarterly £1 0 0 
Class 111 
Deposit 10 0 
Annually £2 0 0 
Half-year:!.y £1 5 0 
Quarterly 15 0 
A First Class subscription entitled a subscriber to 
take out three sets of books (a set not to exceed 
three volumes) and three periodicals; a Second 
Class subscription, two sets of books and two 
periodicals and a Third Class subscription,- one set 
of books and one periodical. 
When the New Library Committee met on 20 December 
1882, it was resolved that : 
1. The salary of the Librarian be fixed at £300 
per year; 
2. The offices of Secretary and Assistant be 
offered to the present holders of these 
offices; 
3. The salary of the Librarian's Assistant be 
£2 10 pe:- week; 
4. It would be advisable for one member of the 
Committee be in attendance at the library 
every evening, arrangements to be made 
accordingly; 
93 
5. The Librarian should be at liberty to absent 
himself from the library three hours a day 
at times to be fixed by the Sub-committee. 
The Committee revised the list of subscriptions to 
include the following wide selection of magazines 
Field; Funny folk; London news; Graphic; Judy; Pall 
Mall Budget; Pictorial world; Public Opinion; Punch; 
Sporting Time; Spectator; Truth, Vanity Fair; World; 
Atlantic Monthly; Belgravia; Blackwood; Cornl,lill; 
Nineteenth Century; Monthly Popular Science; 
Chambers' J0urnal; Macmillan; Temple Bar; Theatre; 
Edinburgh Revue; Fortnightly Revue; Quarterly Revue; 
Harpers' Monthly; Longman' s Magazine; Bailey's 
Magazine 
and the newspapers listed below: 
Daily Times; Cape Times; Cape Journal; Cape Mercury; 
Natal Mercury; Volkstem; Lloyd's Weekly; Cape Argus; 
E P Herald; Natal Witness; The Friend (KPL. 
Minutes, 20 December 1882). 
In March 1883 Mr G H Gach was invited to become a 
member of the Committee in the place of Rev Lenoir 
and Mr S T Solomon was appointed Librarian. It was 
resolved to open the library on Sundays and it was 
agreed that Messrs Justice Laurence, E A Judge and 
G H Gach would form a committee to arrange 
supervision during these times (KPL. Minutes,_ 10 
April 1883). The Committee added the following 
titles to the list of subscriptions : 
Harpers' Weekly; Scientific American; Canadian 
Illustrated; Australian Sketches; Sydney 
Illustrated News; The Colonies and India; Fliegende 
Blatter; Uber Land und Meer; Koenische Zeitung; Deux 
mond revue. 
94 
Men like Mr G H Goch and Mr Justice Laurence were 
imbued with enthusiasm for the library and they were 
determined to make it a success. It ·was Goch who 
undertook to negotiate with the Town Council about a 
possible reduction of re.ntal for the two rooms used 
by the library on the grounds that the accommodation 
was not up to the standard agreed upon originally. 
It was also Goch who arranged a dramatic performance 
and musical entertainment as a fund raising project 
for the library and handled the bookings at his 
shop. 
The library was in great need of money; only about 
100 people had joined the library, bringing an 
income of a paltry £186 from subscriptions. "The 
enthusiasm of the promoters," maintained the Diamond 
Fields Advertiser ( 8 August 1883 l, "did not meet 
with the ready response of the public" and the 
subscription rates were much too high. A flat rate 
of £1 for everybody, it was suggested, would be a 
much better solution. There were other causes for 
complaint as well: the accommodation was completely 
unsatisfactory and the stock of reference material 
inadequate. 
The precarious state of the library finances was 
stressed by the Chairman of the Library Committee at 
the first Annual General Meeting of the Library, 
held on 4 October 1983. Mr Laurence stated that, 
despite a full report· on the finances of the Library 
to Parliament, the grant of £200 had not been 
increased and that the financial estimates for the 
next year revealed a shortfall of £440. 
At this meeting the preliminary rules of the 
Library, formulated by Mr Laurence, were read and 
accepted. According to these, 
--- ------- -
95 
the library would be freely accessible to the 
public but the news room -would be open to 
subscribers ortly; 
- books could be taken out for a two-week period and 
per~odicals for six days; 
- fines for overdue material were calculated at the 
rate of threepence per day and after three months 
the full value of the book had to be refunded or the 
book replaced; 
- a fine of one pound could be levied if a member 
loaned the book to another person; 
- books could be reserved by entering the title in a 
"Bespoke book" 
' \ -and suggestions could be noted in a "Proposal 
book". 
One of the duties of the Librarian was to "cause the 
rooms, books, furniture etc. to be kept well aired 
and dusted and to maintain and preserve . good order 
I 
in the library" (KPL. Minutes, 4 October 1883). 
A new committee, composed of Messrs. Justice 
Laurence, Justice Jones, G G Wolf, Hamburg, G H 
Goch, B T Knights, H Crawford, W J Coleman, A E 
Caldecot and J E Radford, Rev Mendelssohn and 
Advocate Davison, was elected; the name of C J 
Rhodes was also put forward but was withdrawn. 
In November the Librarian carried out a stocktaking 
at the library and reported to the committee that 
the stock totalled 3 055 books and 435 magazines; 
35 books were found to be missing. Equipment 
listed games chessmen and boards, draftsmen, 
dominoes and cribbage boards, two baskets, one 
ladder and two spittoons ( KPL. Minutes, 5 November 
1883) . 
···----~ 
-------------------~-~---~·----- -
96 
New books recently acquired included Lieutenant 
Durnford's, A soldier's life in South Africa; 
Carter's History of the Boer War; F E Colenso' s, 
History of the Zulu Wa·r; Ralph Iron's A story· of an 
African farm and Anthony Trollope's Marion Fay. 
The first year of the existence of the Kimberley 
Public Library had not been easy. The problems with 
which the inhabitants of Kimberley had to cope were, 
however, far greater: the year 1883 saw the 
occurrence of the first major industrial strike on 
the Diamond Fields and also a small-pox epidemic 
which took its to11.44 The next year started off 
with yet another setback when a fire broke out in 
the Town Hall causing a great deal of damage to the 
surveyor's and the Sanitary Offices. Although the 
library was not affected, the Library Committee 
considered it expedient to insure the library 
against fire with the south British Insurance 
Company at a premium of twenty shillings per £100 
(KPL. Minutes, 7 February 1884). 
George Goch, who had already been involved with 
civic affairs since 1878, had the opportunity of 
pleading Kimberley's cause in Parliament when he, 
together with G G Wolf, M Cornwall and c D Rudd, was 
elected to the House of Assembly in 1884. At the 
same time he became chairman of the Kimberley Town 
Council's Estimates's Commission; he soon realised 
that the Town Council's finances were in a bad way 
and that, not only were all the votes overspent, but 
the Council had a debt of £55 000 which called for 
severe retrenchment and taxation (DI 29 February 
1884).45 Nevertheless, by September 1884, Mr Goch 
44. Mark Foggit, the Mayor of Kimberley, was one of 
the"""'first victims of the small-pox epidemic. 
45. Mr G Gach implemented a rate of a penny and a 
half in the pound to be levied on all rateable 
property. 
• 
97 
could report to the Library Committee that a sum of 
£25 had been received from the Municipality as a 
grant-in-aid.46 
Library funds were running very low despite the fact 
that ·many shareholders had donated their shares to 
the library. Public support of the library did not 
come up to expectations and subscribers were tardy 
about paying subscriptions,47 placing a heavy burden 
on the committee members. 
An appeal was made to members to pay outstanding 
subscriptions without delay48 and a fund-raising 
sub-committee was appointed to organise 
entertainment programmes to swell the funds of the 
library. "It would, however," remarked the Daily 
Independent scathingly ( 10 April 1884), "scarcely be 
accurate to talk of swelling the funds, which, 
according to all accounts, are practically nil." 
The sub-committee, consisting of Messrs Knights, 
Wolf, and, needless to say, Goch, arranged a 
programme of "literary and musical entertainment" in 
46. 't'he Kimberley Borough Amendment Act no 3 o 
(section ii) of 1884, empowered the Kimberley 
Council "to grant such sums of money in aid of 
public libraries within the Borough as may from time 
to time be voted by a majority of two-thirds of the 
Borough Council ..• to establish, maintain and 
regulate public libraries." In the light of this, a 
request for funding was made to the Municipality by 
the Library Committee .. 
47. Subscription rates were too high. The year 
before, a flat rate of one pound per member was 
suggested; now the idea was put forward that the 
yearly subscription should be divided into twelve 
equal parts of three shillings and sixpence a month. 
In this way they would get more than two pounds 
per annum "and catch the casual novel buyer" (DI, 
30 August 1884). 
48. According to the Library Minutes (22 September, 
1884) it was decided that the Librarian would 
receive a commission of 10% on all subscriptions 
over £400 collec~ed in one year. 
• 
98 
the Town Hall (DI, 27 August ·1884) and £20 was 
raised. Messrs Justice Buchanan,. H s Caldecott and 
F G Goodliffe offered to deliver addresses to raise 
funds and Mr G G Shaw gave a lecture on "Jews, past 
and present". Mr Justice Laurence started 
compiling a catalogue of books of which 300 copies 
were to be printed and sold at two shillings per 
copy. 
There certainly was no lack of interest in the 
library, contrary to a statement by the Daily 
Independent that "in many small colonial towns 
[there was] far more liberal support than on the 
Fields" ( 27 August, 1884) . Mr Hoskyns presented 
100 shares in the liquidated library to the new 
library, in return for which he was given First 
Class membership for a year (KPL. Minutes, 1 May 
1884). Mrs Gibson, wife of Francis Gibson, 
presented four volumes of her husband' s collected 
works on Medicine and Physiology, edited by W M Ord, 
to the library (DI, 24 June 1884) and Mr D Holt 
donated a bust of Sir Bartle Frere (KPL. Minutes, 2 
October 1884). 
Andrew Smith's Illustrations of Zoology of South 
Africa was on offer from Mr Ortlepp at £15 but the 
Committee, considering this an exorbitant price, 
stipulated that he first obtain three new First 
Class subscribers or other subscriptions to the 
equivalent (KPL. Minutes, 6 March 1884). 
At the second Annual Meeting of the Kimberley Public 
Library, held on 2 October 1884, it was reported 
that £200 had been received from the Government, £30 
from the London and south African Exploration 
Company and £25 from the Municipality. Membership 
of the library had increased from 350 to 472 and 
circulation from 1 883 to 2 388. Attention was 
drawn to the inadequacy of the present accommodation 
• 
' 
99 
and the necessity for better premises in the near 
future. 
The new committee for the forthcoming year consisted 
of Messrs Justice Jones, Justice Laurence, J B 
Currey, H. Crawford, G G Wolf, G H Goch, A E 
Caldecot, W J Coleman, B T Knights, J E Radford, F G 
Goodliffe and Rev M Mendelssohn. Mr Justice 
Laurence, the newly-elected chairman, had just 
returned from England, where he had purchased books 
for the library to the value of £180. 
At a meeting of the committee held on 5 February 
1885, it was resolved to apply again for a 
parliamentary grant and for a renewal of the lapsed 
Special Grant of £500 for building purposes. The 
Chairman approached the colonial Secretary appealing 
for a grant-in-aid of the building fund and an 
increased annual grant. 
"I understand," he wrote, "that the Civil 
Commissioner has placed an additional £100 
for the latter and the sum of £1 000·, C the 
grant of which might, if thought fit, be 
made conditional on a similar sum being 
raised locally) for which former purpose, 
on the estimates submitted by him for your 
approval, and it is earnestly hoped that 
you will approve of these estimates and 
feel justified in giving them your support 
in Parliament. 
The Library Committee has long been 
anxious to obtain some addition to the 
Parliamentary grant in aid, and we think 
we have very strong claims to such 
assistance. For the last two years we 
have received from the Government £200, a 
similar grant to that received by the 
Grahamstown and King Williamstown Public 
100· 
libraries; but it need scarcely be 
pointed out that o)lr expenses here for 
salaries etc. are inevitably so much 
heavier than in other parts of the Colony 
that a grant of £300 to Kimberley would 
really not be greater, or at all events 
.could not be made to go further than one 
of £200 to the places I have mentioned. 
Moreover Grahamstown ~ppears to receive 
£400 in aid of Public Gardens and £150 in 
aid of the Albany Museum, while the only 
corresponding grant to Kimberley is one of 
£150 in aid of the Gardens. 
These observations are not made in any 
spirit of local jealousy, but merely in 
• 
order ~o show that a small addition to our 
grant could not be said to involve any 
excessive or unfair liberality to 
Kimberley, as compared with other towns. 
I need scarcely remind you that the South 
African Public Library at Cape Town, which 
of course stands in some respects on 1an 
exceptional footing, receives a 
Parliamentary grant of no less than £600 a 
year. 
From another point of view we think our 
claims may be fairly pressed. No effort 
has been spared by the Committee to raise 
a sufficient revenue locally, and as will 
be seen from the Report of the Library for 
the year 1883-1884, we raised during that 
period a total revenue of about £850, or 
about double that of King Williamstown and 
Grahams town and considerably more than was 
raised by any public library in the 
Colony. The local supporters of the 
library thus think they may fairly address 
101 
Parliament in a phrase which has recently 
b ecome f amous , '.d o  .. ut d es 1· • 49 
The library here certainly does a work of 
which it is impossible to exaggerate the 
utility, and both the public room and the 
subscribers' room are constantly crowded 
and over-crowded. The Library is open 
from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and the facilities 
thus afforded for rational recreation and 
instruction are widely appreciated by all 
classes of the community. 
Our present rooms are however quite 
inadequate for the purpose and the 
.Committee have long felt convinced of the 
necessity of obtaining more suitable 
accommodation, which, at the present time, 
considering the depression in the value of 
landed property etc. could probably be 
acquired on exceptionally advantageous 
terms. The Committee believe that for 
from £2 000 to £2 500 a suitable site 
could be obtained and a commodious 
building erected, which would permanently 
satisfy the requirements of Kimberley in 
this respect. 
A sum of £500 was placed on the estimates 
two years aqo in aid of the library 
building fund1 but owing to the inadeg:uacy 
of the sum and other circumstances no 
steps in the matter could then be taken 
49. "I give in order that you may give."[Latin]. 
102 
and the grant was allowed to lapse •.. 11 50 
(Laurence, 1885) 
The Town Council placed on the library vote for 1885 
an amount of £100, which, the Daily Independent 
stated, would be useful to "an institution which is 
productive of much good to the place and which, in 
spite of appeals so far has not received the public 
support to which it is justified" (7 March 1885). 
In June 1885 another letter was sent to the Colonial 
Secretary, this time to enquire whether the 
Government would be willing to make a grant of land 
on the Vooruitzicht Estate available for sale as 
building plots and to donate the money so raised to 
the proposed library building fund (KPL. Minutes, 4 
June 1885). The reply which came from the Crown 
Lands Department regretted its inability to accede 
to this request (KPL. Minutes, 4 June 1885). 
Despite frustrations, the Committee continued with 
their fund-raising campaign. It was optimistically 
hoped that the library's finances. would. show a 
surplus, which could furnish a nucleus for the 
building fund (DFA, 17 August 1885). A series of 
lectures was organised, the proceeds of which would 
be used for the purchase of new books. Individual 
lectures cost two shillings and the whole course, 
ten shillings; the programme was as follows: 
19 August Rev Canon Gaul Historical riddles. 
26 August Dr J W Matthews The mad men of 
Shakespeare. 
2 September H S Caldecott The scramble 
for Africa. 
50. At the Annual General Meeting of 1 October 1885 
it was reported that the grant from the Government 
was to be raised from £200 to £300 for the following 
year, an increase which was greatly appreciated in 
the light of the "considerable depression" of the 
time. (KPL. Minutes. 1 October 1885). 
103 
9 September R L Cousens51 Electricity. 
16 September M Cornwall Irish wit and 
humour. 
30 September Dr H Sauer Alcohol and its 
effects. 
6.3 cultural societies in the nineteen-eighties 
There was clearly a need for mental stimulation of 
some kind in Kimberley; the library was seen as a 
place where the man in the. street could obtain 
"intelligent and elevating recreation" (DI, 2 
September 1885) especially if he happened to be "of 
a literary turn of mind" (DI, 17 October 1885) but 
its passive function had to be supplemented by 
societies or clubs where young men could actively 
participate in cultural programmes. 
6.3.1 The Presbyterian Literary Society 
This society. which was formed · in 1882 under 
presidency of John Bottomley, was an 
undenominational organisation with an annual 
subscription of ten shillings. 
The Society met every week for talks which covered a 
wide range of topics, including "The progress of 
science in the 19th century" by R C Coussins [R L 
Cousens?]; "George Eliot" by T Reunert; "Ancient 
mythology" by John Bottomley and "The rise of the 
drama" by W Norrie. 
In the five years of its existence, it was "a source 
of pleasure and intellectual improvement to many" 
(DFA, 22 May 1886) and did much "to redeem 
Kimberley from the charge, perhaps unjustly made 
51. R L Cousens, formerly attached to the South 
African Brush Electric Light and Power Company, was 
the borough electrical engineer in Kimberley from 
1884 to 1889. 
104 
against it, of being altogether too sordid and too 
occupied with the pursuit of gain" (DI, 9 July 
1886). 
6.3.2 The Young Men's Musical, Dramatic, Literary, 
and Bebating Society 
This was launched on 3 November 1885. Mr G H Goch, 
a charter member, told the audience that he, as a 
young man, had belonged to a similar society and he 
was well aware of the problems besetting an 
organisation of this kind (DI, 7 November 1885); Mr 
Sidney Mendelssohn, son of Rev. M Mendelssohn, and 
afterwards one of the Society's most enthusiastic 
supporters, who was also present (Roberts, 1976, 
p.247). 
It was decided that the first and third meetings of 
each month would be devoted to music, the second to 
debating and the fourth to lectures and essays; 
ladies would be allowed to attend the second musical 
evening every month (DI, 9 November 1885). 
The Diamond Fields Musical and Literary society was 
very active during the next year, Mr Goch; the Vice-
chairman, often standing in for the Chairman, 
Justice Buchanan. The programme of events included 
talks on "The suppression of Sunday trading" by Mr 
Taylor (DI, 7 January 1885); "Diamonds and the 
Diamond Fields" by Mr Justice Laurence (DI, 13 
January 1886); and "The scheme of the Unified 
Company 11 52 bys Mendelssohn (DFA, 23 January 1886). 
52. The unification of the mines under the De Beers 
Company was only achieved on 18 July 1889, but for 
many years Cecil Rhodes worked towards attaining 
this ideal and it had become a debatable subject 
among the people. 
-------------.., 
105 
6.3.3 The Newton Debating and Dramatic.society 
When launching this society in August 1886 in the 
Dutch Reformed Schoolroom, Dr J D Kestell, the 
Chairman, pointed out in his inaugural address that 
"wnere there is a great want of educational means, 
as there is in the Fields, a debating society goes a 
great length towards supplying in that want ..• To 
obtain facts it will be necessarv to read .•. each 
member will be obliged .•• to be led beyond the light 
and shallow reading which too of ten is the only 
literature of a great proportion of young men" (DI, 
21 August 1886). 
We see thus a great movement towards informal as 
well as formal education during the mid-eighteen 
eighties, hereby enhancing the need for a "larger 
and more convenient" lib;~·ry. 53 
6.4 Events leading up to the establishment of the 
Kimberley Public Library 
Two important occurrences in 1885 indirectly 
affected the prosperity of the Public ·Library of 
Kimberley: a year after the industrial strike in 
Kimberley - caused by stripping and searching miners 
leaving the mining premises the first 'closed 
compound' was instituted by the Central Mining 
Company. The annual profits from the stores in the 
compounds were in the vicinity of £10 000 and this 
money was used to benefit Kimberley through generous 
donations to the hospital, schools and the library54 
(Roberts, 1978, p. 231). 
53. At a public meeting held on 25 November 1886, 
the resolution to build a public High School was 
finally passed. 
54. In 1886 Mr G H Goch proposed a bill in the 
House of Assembly to the effect that the profits of 
the compound sales be paid by the mines to the 
Kimberley and Beaconsfield Municipalities and that 
10% be deducted for the Hospital and the Public 
Library (DFA, 17 June 1886). 
.• 
106 
Another important happening was the completion of 
the railway line between Cape Town. and Kimberley and 
the arrival of the "Iron horse" on 28 November 1885. 
The result was that building material became more 
easily available and the mail was more reliable. 
A more direct result was that the Library Building 
Fund benefited to the extent of £50 from the surplus 
left over from the Railway Festivities Fund, 
largely as a result of the sympathetic approach of 
the chairman, Mr J B Currey, to the appeal for funds 
made by Mr Justice Laurence on behalf of the Library 
Committee (DFA, 27 February 1886). 
The 1886 Library Committee, consisting of Messrs 
Justice Laurence, Justice Jones, H Crawford, G G 
Wolf, G H Goch, A E Caldecot, J B Currey, B T 
Knights, J E Radford, J D Forster and Rev M 
Mendelssohn, were given the authority to try'and buy 
a building site for the library in the new year 
(KPL. Minutes, 1 October 1885) and to appeal to the 
public for donations to the Library Building Fund 
(DI, 3 December 1885). Library patrons were 
thoroughly aware of the need for a new library and 
ready to offer their support. 
"The present limited accommodation," complained a 
reader in a letter to the Diamond Fields Advertiser 
( 16 March 1886 l, "is quite unworthy of so valuable a 
collection of books and tends to keep away 
readers ... " and then went on to mention the 
inconveniently high lamps, suggesting that "they 
should be placed eighteen inches to two feet 
lower." 
Progress was slowly being made by the Building 
Committee. A stand was purchased in Dutoitspan 
Road for £600 (KPL. Minutes, 19 February 1886) and a 
sketch of the proposed library, prepared by Mr R E 
107 
Wrig.ht of the Public Works Department, 55 was 
accepted in a revised form by the Committee in June 
1886; Mr Rhodes sounded out Parliament on the 
possibility of convict labour for the erection of 
the library (DFA, 18 May 1886) while the Committee 
approached the Commissioner of Crown Lands for a 
grant of bricks from the Public Works Department and 
authorised Mr J B Tucker to survey the library 
stands (KPL. Minutes, 3 June 1886). Plans and 
specifications were ready in July and tenders for 
building could be invited (DFA, 15 July; 1886). 
The joint tender of Messrs Westlake and Coles and 
Messrs Smith and Bull was subsequently accepted and 
construction work could begin. Parliament had 
authorised a grant of free bricks from the Public 
Works Department56 and Mr R E wright, the District 
Inspector, was appointed as architect and was also 
given the responsibility of designing and preparing 
specifications for the library furniture and 
fittings (KPL. 4th Annual Report, November 1886). 
Excited anticipation at the prospect of a new 
prestigious . library was mounting. The Diamond 
Fields Advertiser (24 July 1886) gave its readers an 
enthusiastic preview of what was to be expected: 
The library would be forty-four feet by twenty-six 
feet and twenty feet high; the subscribers' room, 
thirty-seven feet by twenty feet and the smoking 
room, thirty feet by eighteen feet. The committee 
room and the Librarian's office would each be 
eighteen feet by fifteen feet .. There would be ample 
room for lavatori'es and store rooms. Only the best 
quality "pressed bricks" would be used, the "main 
55. A sketch of the proposed library by Mr Wright 
and dated as early as 1883 is in the possession of 
the Kimberley Public library. 
56. Parliament agreed to give them 100 000 bricks 
but this had later to be increased to 150 000. 
108 
portion of the front in ordinary coloured bricks, 
but pilasters and other mouldings will be composed 
of bricks of deep red hue; below the windows, 
panels will have a diaper pattern in black brick." 
The entrance to the building would be on the side of 
the building, through a porch with an ornamental 
iron gate.57 Both the main library and the 
subscribers' room would have "lantern lights" in the 
roof; the roof itself would have alternate bands of 
green and purple slate with an iron railing 
encircling the top; the entrance porch and ·the 
lavatory were to have floors of encaustic tiles. 
"It will not only be pleasing from an architectural 
point of view," the Diamond Fields Advertiser 
assured its readers, "but the space has also been 
used to the best advantage." That this was indeed 
the case, is substantiated by the decision to 
utilise the upper portion of the walls for 
additional shelving by adding a gallery of patterned 
cast iron with a spiral staircase leading to it. 
The elevated windows would ensure quiet reading by 
eliminating noise "caused by passing traffic" (DFA, 
6 December 1886). This and other innovations, such 
as a durable floor covering and the possibility of 
electric lighting, would push up costs by between 
£400 and £500. Many donations were being received 
but these were insufficient to cover the estimated 
costs. 
A Sub-committee, consisting of Messrs Justice 
Laurence, Justice Jones, Advocate W S Lord, Dr L S 
Jameson and Mr J B Currey, was appointed to organise 
57. Messrs Henwood & Co provided much of the 
material, including the pendant lamps and brackets 
and the wrought iron gateway which was said to be 
"highly graceful and artistic" and was on display, 
prior to its installation, at Henwoods' on the 
corner of Market and Main Streets (DFA, 17 February 
1887). -
• 
109 
a bazaar for fund-raising. Justice Laurence wrote 
to the Borough Council requesting that the 
additional grant of £100, which had been placed on 
the estimates pending the start of building 
operations, now be paid· to the Committee. He 
explained that the cost of the building would amount 
to at least £4 000 of which £1 200 still had to be 
raised. 
"There is no test," he claimed, "by which 
the public spirit and character of the 
community is more freguently and fairly 
measured than by the support given to an 
institution such as the Public Library. 
In England the Free Libraries' Act permits 
the levvinq of rates for libraries. In 
South Africa, I believe the Kimberley Town 
Council stands alone as a municipal body 
in having assisted the local public 
library •.• "(DFA, 16 August 1886). 
A long discussion by the Council resulted in an 
increase of the grant to the library from £100 to 
£300. Subscriptions, the only steady income of the 
library, showed a decline during the year. It was 
not to the credit of Kimberley, Mr Laurence 
reprimanded the citizens of Kimberley (KPL. Report, 
1886), that subscribers only numbered 183, adding 
that there were 400 in Port Elizabeth, so why not in 
Kimberley (DI, 9 October 1886)? 
There was, however, another valid reason for the 
drop in circulation. The discovery of gold in the 
Transvaal in 1886 had lured away many men from the 
Diamond Fields. Mr Laurence mentioned this in his 
report and appealed to the many artisans in 
Kimberley to use the library, citing Birmingham as 
an example. of a place which was "largely populated 
by mechanics" and where a million books were 
circulated annually. He thanked the Treasurer, (Mr 
-----------------------.----------------------- .... 
110 
H Crawford) for his "caution and sobriety" and 
mentioned the Conunittee, saying that their task was 
a thankless one (DFA & DI, 9 October 1886). 
Interestingly, no mention was made of the Librarian, 
Mr S Solomon who had, during the past year, 
reclassified 4 500 books in a manner which was 
"really admirable and reflects credit to the 
obliging and genial librarian" (DFA, 17 October 
1885). The scheme he devised was one of broad 
classes under the letters of the alphabet: 
Class A: Fiction, according to the author; 
Class B: Voyages and Travels; 
Class C: Biography and personal literature; 
Class D: History, essays and speeches; etc. 
Class E: Poetry and Drama; 
Class F: Philosophy and Political Economy; 
Class G: Science; 
Class H: Theology; 
Class I: Classical; 
Class P: Periodicals; 
Class O: Miscellaneous; 
Class R: Reference. 
The library was said to possess "a collection of 
high class works really astonishing, art nor poesy 
as well as foreign masterpieces in the original 
tongue being absent from the shelves" (DI 19 
November 1886). 
Titles suggested for possible purchase when funds 
were available were The ring and the book, Spinoza, 
Westward Ho, Taines' s History of the English 
111 
Literature58 and "a little more Ruskin." Smith's 
. zooloqy of South Africa in. five volumes was 
purchased from W Fry for £13.59 
Recent new subscriptions were the Cape Law Journal, 
the Dublin University Review, Law Quarterly Review, 
Law Times and Reports, Builder, Engineering, Era, 
Portfolio, Sydney Morning Herald, Whitaker's Almanac 
and Statesman's Yearbook. 
By the end of 1886 a balance of £1 200 still had to 
be collected. Justice Laurence promised the people 
that when once the library was built "there would be 
-"=--='"""--"-''-="-=--"'-"-
no necessity for any further appeal to the 
generosity of the public and we shall have in 
Kimberley a working memorial of that year of Jubilee 
which has now begun and with the date of which so 
many great undertakings are likely to be associated" 
1£!..t. 15 December 1886). 
The Daily Independent ( 16 December 1886) urged the 
public to raise the required sum of £1 200 if 
Kimberley "who prides itself on being. the most 
intelligent and cultured community in South Africa" 
wanted to have a fine library such as already 
existed in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Grahamstown or 
Beaufort West. "Don't spoil the venture for a lack 
of penn:yworth of paint," pleaded the editor. 
58. Robert Browning. The ring and the book. Smith & 
Elder, 1872; Dichter & Kaufman. Spinoza. Cotre, 1871 
and Taines's History of the English Literature. 
Edmonston & Douglas, 1871 are still in the old stock 
of the Kimberley Library. Charles Kingsley. 
Westward Ho l (Publisher unknown) is not in stock 
anymore. 
59. Two years previously Smith's Illustrations of 
Zoology was offered . to the Committee at £15 by Mr 
Ortlepp. The conaition for the purchase was that he 
should introduce three new First Class subscribers. 
Vide p. 98. Evidently this was not done, hence the 
purchase of this set from Mr Fry for £13. This set 
is still in the possession of the Kimberley Public 
Library. 
112 
Donations poured in and by March 1887, the sum of 
£4 000 was reached; a list of donations was 
published after the opening of the library ( DI, 30 
September 1887 and DFA, 1 October 1887) and included 
the following : 
Borough of Kimberley £300 
- De Beers £200 
C J Rhodes £175 
A Beit £150 
London & s A Expl Co £105 
Mr Justice Laurence £105 
Dr Jameson £40 
C D Rudd £30 
Barnato Bros £25 
J B Currey £20 
G H Goch £20 
L Phillips £5 5 0 
B Klisser £2 2 0. 
At this time the Committee thought it advisable to 
purchase the stand adjacent to the library building 
and measuring forty-five foot six inches by a 
hundred and twelve foot six inches from the owner, 
Mr E K Green, at £575 (KPL. Minutes, 3 February 
1887 l; this had to be enclosed by iron fencing at 
an additional cost of £40 ( KPL. Minutes, 3 March 
1887). Costs escalated as a result of this and 
other additional unforeseen expenses, and more money 
was required. 
It was fortunate for the library that 1887 was the 
Jubilee year and that the British residents of 
Kimberley were enthusiasticq.lly raising funds with 
which to celebrate Queen Victoria's fifty years of 
reign, and equally fortunate was the fact that Mr 
Justice Laurence, the library's main protagonist, 
was on the committee which was formed to organise 
the Jubilee celebrations. 
113 
When it was decided, therefore, to use £650 for 
Jubilee festivities, £100 for. a bust of Queen 
Victoria and the rest for deserving causes, the 
L.ibrary Building Fund received £250 and another £250 
was donated towards the purchase of books (DI, 28 
March & 7 April 1887). The library was also 
notified that the Queen would present a copy of her 
book containing her autograph to the Kimberley 
Public Library on the occasion of the opening of the 
new building (DFA, 17 March 1887).60 
The supreme effort at fund-raising was undoubtedly 
the bazaar which was organised by a group of ladies 
under the direction of Mrs G Lord. 61 It was held 
in the Town Hall and lasted for a week and included 
evening entertainment, such as dancing and dramatic 
performances. 
Mr Justice.Laurence performed the opening, standing 
on a "rather unsubstantial table" in the "brilliant 
light of the electric lamps"; he expressed his 
gratitude towards the conveners and to Mr J B 
Currey, who had acted as Honorary Secret.ary of the 
Bazaar Committee until his time of departure (DI, 9 
May 1887). The Daily Independent, in its leader (10 
May 1887), remarked that "a library bazaar is 
certainly one in which the end can be said to 
justify the means" and went on to extol the benefits 
of a public library as "a great educating agency." 
The goods which were not sold at the bazaar were 
auctioned by Mr Rothschild and a grand total of 
£1 309 was realised. After expenses were 
subtracted, an amount of £913 could be handed to the 
60. Queen Victoria. 1884. More leaves from the 
Journal of a life in the Highlands. 5th ed., London, 
Smith Elder. 
61. Mrs Lord was later to become the Librarian of 
the Kimberley Public Library. Vide p.159. 
114 
Library Committee, bringing the total amount raised 
for the building to £5 350. The estimated costs 
had, however, by this time risen to £5 500 (DI, 9 
June 1887). 
The library building had now reached completion. 
Clocks were purchased from Mr Gach, a pair of 36 
inch globes were ordered at £36, and a safe at "not 
more than £20"; the chairman was authorised to 
procure chess boards, smoking requisites and various 
other articles for up to £50 (Kl?L. Minutes, 7 July 
1887). 
6.5 The opening of the Kimberley Public Library 
The opening of the library was scheduled for 
Saturday evening 25 July 1887. The public were 
warned before the time to buy tickets if they wanted 
to attend the opening as space was very limited (DI, 
21 July 1887). Mr Justice Laurence, as Chairman of 
the Building committee, chaired the inauguration of 
the building; on the platform with him were Mr J 
Grewer, Mayor, Mr E A Judge, Mr R E Wright of the 
Public Works Department, Advocate W s Lord, Dr L s 
Jameson, and Messrs H S Caldecott, H Crawford, 
Henrichsen and J B Currey. 
"Everything," said Mr Laurence, "comes to those who 
can wait." After a wait of almost seven years, 
Kimberley was at last to have its own Public 
Library, built with money raised almost entirely by 
voluntary contributions. Mr Justice Laurence handed 
over the library to the Civil Commissioner and the 
Mayor as trustees and declared it open "as a free 
library, dedicated forever to the public of 
Kimberley." 
He added that he hoped that the relationship between 
the library and the Town Council would remain 
cordial and pointed out how much could be done in 
regard to local institutions "in a spirit of mutual 
• 
115 
emulation, each town yying with the other and trying 
to make it more.pleasing arid. attractive .. ," (DI, 30 
July 1887). 
The library was indeed a building of which to be 
proud. On entering it, the Librarian's office was 
immediately to the rig~t; running down the room was 
a polished teak reading table with newspapers and 
periodicals spread out on it, each with its own 
label. Bookcases of polished teak ran along the 
lower part of the room and the gallery ran round the 
top. 
The Librarian's office was made of polished white 
pine and glass and fitted with a polished mahogany 
desk with a "slab" in front for books; under the 
bookcases were cupboards Pith sliding doors of 
polished white pine and the chairs were upholstered 
in leather. Each room had "handsome" fire grates 
and mantelpieces of black polished slate inlaid with 
encaustic tiles and enamelled panels. The building 
was lit with Hinks' Patent Duplex lamps in 
chandeliers, but electric lighting was to be 
considered in the near future (DI, 30 July 1887). 
Justice Laurence concluded his address with these 
words: 
"May this library, with its store of 
information and knowledge prosper- may it 
prosper even when he who is speaking and 
those who are listening have passed into 
the land where all things are forgotten." 
The Public library was to prosper for almost a 
hundred years in this building. 
6.6 Conclusion 
After a number of attempts at establishing a Public 
Library in Kimberley, success was achieved. The 
116 
reason for this was that sufficient funds for a 
suitable building were first.raised and an adequate 
selection of books procured. The library was the 
result of careful planning and budgeting and on-
going fund-raising. 
For the first time the local authority had become 
involved in the project, regarding it their duty to 
assist with the establishment of a library despite 
their own precarious financial position. The public 
themselves had also thrown in their weight and had 
made fund-raising a community project. 
But it was mainly through the exertion and 
perseverance of Mr Justice Laurence that the 
Kimberley Public Library had come into existence. 
500 
(,'R-~\t.nAJl o._..__,.M"•w±-'"~!P,t."1\Jv ·.. ...... \ 
or ·. . : THE 
,,,.1  
I . ' \ 
.I  ' ' 
I ' 
i 
i 
i 
j 
I 
i 
i 
I. 
':1 ..,., ..,,,,.~, ----
~,. ·,_ 
''  '· \ , ,''   ,,   ,'  ,, 
,,  
 
, 
,, 
,,  
 ' 
,,  
........ I .,' 
'•, _ ,,  
'•. ........... l , 
~~ Atlt! "~;.: .. ~,. ... ,. 
' -~-·'~ 
Roads---- Railway.___ ~<to "_.' ."..'. .,, 
Min•~ ~~<1'. .l. " 
°' 
The Diamond Fields, 1886. Showing the towns of 
Kimberley and Beaconsfield and the mines. 
(London & s A Exploration co. 1886). 
117 
CHAPTER 7 
THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A PUBLIC LIBRARY AND INSTITUTE 
AT BEACONSFIELD 
In 1869 the diamond-bearing farm, Bultfontein, was 
sold to L Lilienfeld and Partners - later to become 
first the Hope Town Company and then the London and 
South African Exploration Company - for £2 000; in 
March 1871, this Company acquired the farm 
Dutoitspan from the owner, Adriaan van Wyk, for 
£2 600. The London and South African Exploration 
Company, which was formed in London on 21 November 
1870, belonged to a syndicate which was headed by 
Henry Webb, Louis Hond, Edgar Hurley and the 
Lilienfeld brothers; their properties extended 
over 35 000 acres (Currey, 1900, p. 219 l , making 
them the biggest landowners on the Diamond Fields. 
The land was divided into stands which were leased 
to the mining community; the property was 
administered in a very high-handed manner and very 
little was done to improve the living conditions at 
Dutoitspan, the general attitude being that "though 
our tenants numbering something like two thousand 
might grumble, thev were not likely to go away" 
(Currey, 1900 p.220). 
In 1881 John Blades Currey was appointed manager of 
this Company and returned to Kimberley, which he 
had left under a cloud in 1875. 62 He found the 
62. As Richard Southey's secretary, J B Currey had 
an unfortunate experience in Kimberley in 1875, 
when the diggers' rebellion was laid at his door. 
The post of Lieutenant-Governor was abolished, 
Richard Southey recalled and J B Currey paid off. 
., 
118 
place greatly changed; there were many buildings, 
including churches and schools and, he noted, "a 
public library" (Currey, 19dd p.219). He was to 
become very involved with this library for many 
years. 
At the time of Currey's arrival at Dutoitspan, the 
construction of offices for the London and South 
African Exploration Company was in progress and the 
architect, s Stonestreet, had already advertised 
for stone masons (DI, 4 January 1881). It is not 
clear whether the Company ever occupied any part of 
this building even for a short time because, by the 
end of the 1881, they had moved to a venue in 
Lennox Street (DFA, 18 Jan 1882); the building in 
Dutoitspan became something of a white elephant and 
Currey had the task of finding tenants for it. 
In January 1884 J B Currey wrote to th'e London 
Office notifying them that he had let part of the 
"rfew offices" at Beaconsfield to the Government and 
asking them what he should charge if they wished to 
purchase the whole building (Currey, 26· January 
1884). In April 1884 he sent a plan of the 
offices to London and explained that he had let 
Rooms 3,4 and 5 to the Inspector of Dutoitspan and 
Bultfontein Mines at a rental of £120 per annum and 
Rooms 8,9,10 and 11 to the Custom House authorities 
at £300 (Currey, 4 April 1884). However, by July, 
only two rooms were ready for leasing, the rest 
still being unfinished, resulting in a considerable 
loss of income from these premises. Meanwhile a 
verandah was added and the stonework was pointed 
(DI, 4 July 1884); two years later a wall was 
built round the property (DFA, 22 April 1886). 
Currey had no sooner taken up his post in 
Dutoitspan, than a number of civic-minded citizens 
held a meeting to consider combining the two wards, 
Dutoitspan and Bultfontein, and establish a 
-----------------~--------- - ,. 
119 
township to be named Beaconsfield63 (DFA, 9 May 
1881). A petition to change the status of 
Dutoitspan to that of a mnnicipality was sent to 
the Cape Governor and on 16 August 1883 the 
petition was granted. Dutoitspan, which was 
generally regarded as Kimberley's "poor relation" 
(Roberts, 1978, p.SOJ, took on a new lease of life; 
plans for sanitation, water systems and the laying 
out of streets received attention from the 
Beaconsfield Town Council under the mayorship of 
S C Austin. 
The Daily Independent ( 19 March 1884 l referred to 
"our ambitious neighbour's" plans, exclaiming, 
"Goodness gracious, what will be their next move? 
It will want a daily paper, and a Town Hall, and a 
library •.. !" And this was exactly what· hL)pened. 
The newly established municipality very soon 
started looking for a Town Hall. It was suggested 
that after the expiry of the Inspector of Mines' 
lease of the Beaconsfield Offices on 30 June 1886, 
the Town Council should rent the building and use 
it as a Town Hall. 
The Town Council, however, decided to proceed with 
the erection of their own Town Hall, especially in 
the light of a suggestion from the Volunteer 
Memorial Committee that they transfer the Memorial 
funds to the Council 64 as well as the two stands 
which they had already leased at a nominal rate 
from the London and South African Exploration 
Company for building purposes (Record and 
-Be-a-co-ns-fi-el-d --A-dv-e-rti-se-r, 16 July 1887) , on 
condition that the Memorial Hall form part of the 
63. Vide p. 18. 
64. The Volunteer Memorial Committee had to decide 
how best to use funds amounting to £800 which were 
collected to put up a memorial to the Colonial War 
of 1878 and to the Diamond Fields Horse. 
120 
proposed Town Hall on Market Square (Record and 
Beaconsfield Advertiser, 30 July 1887). 
The hall, it was agreed, would be named the 
Volunteer Memorial Hall and all revenue from it 
would accrue to the Town Council. 
Soon after this .decision was taken, the Town 
Council of Beaconsfield received a petition drafted 
by.Mr GR K Bradshaw and signed by Messrs Bradshaw, 
c A Blackbeard, and G c Dreyer, Rev C F Tobias and 
Dr E H Croghan asking whether, when the plan of the 
Memorial Hall was drawn, provision could be made 
for a "lean to" on the side of the hall, which 
could be added on when funds were available and 
which could serve as a library and reading room. 
Mr Brauer, the architect, accordingly made 
provision for a library of twenty-five feet by 
fifteen feet at an estimated cost of between £200 
and £300. 
The Provisional Library Committee, composed of the 
signatories of the petition, decided, after two or 
three interviews with the Council, that the "lean-
to" could not be made large enough for the purpose 
they had in mind. It was suggested that they hold 
the matter over to the next year as another site 
would then be available. (DI, 24 August and 15 
September 1887). 
Mr Currey had in the meantime conceived the idea of 
opening a Branch Office of his Company in the 
Beaconsfield building ''now that telegraphic 
communication can be provided at moderate cost" 
(Currey, 1887). He explained to his Head office 
in London that Beaconsfield had grown very rapidly 
of late and that a Town Hall had been built and a 
Standard Bank branch opened, making it a viable 
proposition to accede to the wishes of their 
tenants to establish in Beaconsfield a Branch 
------- -·----- -"---
121 
Office where they could pay their rent. He 
intended allowing Mr Illig, the Beaconsfield 
Collector, to live on the premises; he would 
establish a telephone between the offices and would 
have a small stable built on the grounds (Currey, 
1887). 
At this time, the Provisional Library Committee 
decided to put a proposal to Mr Currey that he 
lease a section of his Company's building to them 
as a temporary library venue. Mr Currey, who had 
been on the Kimberley Library committee since June 
1884 and had done much towards the founding of the 
Kimberley Public Library65, was very sympathetic to 
their cause, stating that they deserved to have a 
library as he realised that the Provisional 
Committee "had sprung into existence out of a long 
felt want of the public," but that it depended upon 
the sanction of his Company and also on how much 
support could be obtained from the public (DI, 
15 September 1887) 
A meeting was immediately convened in the 
Beaconsfield Court House to notify the public about 
the outcome of the meeting with Mr Currey. Rev 
Tobias, who chaired the meeting, said that, before 
all else, it was necessary to obtain the names of 
prospective members of the proposed library. 
He then moved 
"that the co-operation of the Beaconsfield Town 
Council and mining companies be solicited; 
that the Government of the cape be contacted to 
ascertain what support could be obtained; 
65. The Kimberley Public Library was established on 
23 July 1887, a month prior to the request from the 
Beaconsfield Committee for lease of the property. 
122 
that the co-operation of Mr Justice Laurence 
and the Kimberley Public . Library be 
obtained." 
The subscription rates to the proposed library were 
also decided upon, if somewhat prematurely. The 
terms for the Library and Subscribers Reading Room 
were: 
£1 yearly, 10/6 half-yearly, 5/6 quarterly. 
Subscription to the whole Institute : 
£2.2.0 yearly, £1.1.0 half-yearly, 11/-
quarterly .. and 4/- monthly. 
Furthermore, it was resolved that only yearly 
subscribers would have the right to vote at 
"Jubilee meetings" and they would have control of 
the library generally. Mr Brauer offered to draw 
a plan of the Company's offices, showing the 
proposed alterations; he would also calculate the 
estimated cost of the project and submit this to 
the Committee in a week's time. The· library could 
come into consideration for a government grant on 
the £ for £ principle, but fund-raising, it was 
agreed, should commence without delay. A 
subscribers' list was started and Mr Bradshaw, the 
chief instigator of the scheme, put his name at the 
head of the list (DI, 14 September 1887). 
At the next meeting it was resolved to try and 
raise the sum of £1 000. Beaconsfield was divided 
into three sections, the Bultfontein and Dutoitspan 
Mines, the Beaconsfield and Dutoitspan townships 
and the commercial community, with fund-raising 
committees for each (DI, 22 September 1887). 
Rev Tobias ( 1887) , in an impassioned appeal for 
support, wrote to Mr Currey, stating 
-------------------------------------~-------
123 
"You know this place well and what are 
the temptations of our m.unerous young men, 
taken away from school at an early age, 
working at unintellectual occupations for 
the most part, earning enough to have 
soare cash to waste and yet not enough to 
induce them to attempt the accumulation of 
capital •.. They have scarcely an amusement 
open to them except the canteens, the club 
and, to speak openly, the brothels ... ". 
The Honorary Secretary of the Provisional Library 
Cammi t tee , Mr J H Liley, wrote to the London and 
South African Exploration Company through Mr 
Currey, setting out proposed leasing conditions. 
The lease of the Company's rooms, he said, would be 
of a temporary nature, possibly not for longer than 
two or three years; the Committee would, however, 
not be able to pay the full rental of the building, 
and were not in· ·.- a position to offer more than £100 
per annum (Liley, 1887). 
In his letter he referred to the "acknowledged want 
and readiness with which a large number of 
inhabitants have already sent in their names." 
Mr Currey forwarded the letter to his Company, 
stating that he supported those who were 
"endeavouring to create a nucleus of intellectual 
life by establishing a Reading Room and Library" in 
view of "the present lamentable moral condition of 
Beaconsfield." He added that the library wanted 
the use of rooms 1, 2, 9, 10 and 1166; although he 
considered the sum of £100 per annum to be "wholly 
inadequate" he pointed out that the rooms were 
still unfinished and that the cost of plaster.ing, 
66. Rooms 3, 4, 5, and 6 were evidently occupied by 
the Branch Office and numbers 7 and 8 would be let. 
124 
flooring and ceiling would amount to not less than 
£500 (Currey, 1887). 
Rev Tobias (1888) listed the members of the 
Provisional Library Committee as Mr M B Robinson, 
Messrs c A Blackbeard, I E Tucker, G c Dreyer, Dr 
E H Croghan and himself, with Mr F Fraser, Manager 
of the standard Bank, the Treasurer - and Mr J H 
Liley, the secretary. He affirmed that, although 
many of the prospective members had left for the 
gold fields, they were confident of collecting at 
least half of the amount aimed at through 
donations. Membership already stood at 200 and 
the Committee were preparing to launch the 
undertaking officially. 
"We hear at the Pan", remarked the Daily 
Independent ( 12 May 1888) , "that the Library 
Committee are sanguine of collecting the whole 
amount of £1000 during the week ... " 
At the opening of the Volunteer Memorial Ha1167 at 
which Mr J B Currey officiated, he mentioned that 
his Company was "assisting in preparing a larqe 
building for the public to use as a library and 
reading room" and that it only remained to sign the 
lease (DI, 12 June, 1888). 
In the meantime, some of the go-ahead citizens were 
forming their own plans for a Reading Room, where 
British and Colonial newspapers and periodicals 
were to be available; a society named the "Athletic 
and Literary Association" was established in 1888 
with the idea of providing recreational facilities 
for the young men on the mines to "effectually 
serve as an antidote to the temptation of the bar 
and the billiard room" (DI, 26 February 1888). 
67. The Volunteer Memorial Hall measured 90' x 50' 
and was built at a cost of £2 098. 
125 
Dr E H Croghan was elected the President, Major 
Wollaston, Vice-President, and· Mr W L Scarles· the 
Secretary of the Association which was to have five 
sections: Gymnastics, Swimming, Cricket, Football 
and the Reading Room and Library. 
It started off well with 60 members 
enthusiastically planning to raise funds by means 
of a concert; . their programme took off with a 
paper delivered by Mr Scarles and the reading room, 
which was already in operation, was thrown open to 
the general public from 9 am to 10 pm daily, 
including Sundays (DI, 16 April 1888). An 
ambitious scheme to erect their own reading and 
billiard rooms on a share principle was put forward 
(DI 28 April 1888) but the establishment of the 
Beaconsfield Library during the next year put a 
spoke in the wheel and apparently the society 
became purely a sports club. 
The go-ahead for the Beaconsfield Library was 
obtained on 17 January 1889 and a five-year lease 
was negotiated with the London and south African 
Exploration Company at £100 per annum. Early in 
1889 a public meeting in connection with the 
proposed library was held and all the inhabitants 
of Beaconsfield were invited to attend. 
"Come forward and take an. interest," the Daily 
~ndependent urged (31 January 1889), "in bringing 
about the consummation of one of the best schemes 
that has ever been put forward for the benefit of 
the inhabitants of the township." 
The building was now ready and occupation could be 
taken of the required section. Rooms measuring 
twelve feet by eighteen feet and twenty-one feet by 
thirty feet were allocated to the library and the 
·public reading room respectively; one of fifteen 
fee~ by eighteen feet to the subscribers' room; 
126 
another of ten feet by eighteen feet to a smoking 
room. The last, measuring eighteen feet by thirty-
four feet was later to be fitted out as a billiard 
room (DI, 8 February 1889). 
It was hoped that an arrangement could be made with 
the Kimberley Public Library whereby books could be 
loaned and duplicates passed on to them. "The 
Kimberley Library," the Daily Independent ( 31 
January 1889) remarked, "would surelv meet the 
reguest for assistance from the sister township in 
its endeavour to establish so important and useful 
an institution." 
In reply to the request for books, the Committee of 
the Kimberley Public Library resolved to allow the 
Beaconsfield Library a special subscription of £50 
for 12 months or £30 for six months, with a deposit 
of £20 payable in advance, in return for which they 
would be entitled to not more than 200 volumes at a 
time, of which not more than 10% could be selected 
from the latest consignment of books received (KPL~ 
Minutes, 21 February 1889). 
The main problem· was the matter of finances. In 
July 1888 a concert was held in the Volunteer 
Memorial Hall to raise funds for the library and in 
February 1889 a ball was given. Mr M Cornwall had 
kindly secured a government grant of £100 for the 
library (DN 8 February 1889) and Mr Liley undertook 
to approach the Borough Council for a financial 
aid, but was informed that they did not have the 
power to grant funds for this purpose, but would 
support the library individually (DI, 13 February 
1889). 
In March 1889 Mr Currey notified his Head Office 
that the lease of the Beaconsfield building to the 
Library Trustees had been finalised and that £20 
had been paid as rental for the first quarter 
127 
(Currey, 1889). Realising the desperate need for 
funds, Mr Currey then gave the library a generous 
donation of £25 from the London and South ·African 
Exploration Company (DI, 17 March 1889). 
On the evening of 21 May 1889, the stone· building 
was "brilliantly illuminated with Chinese lanterns" 
for the inauguration of the Beaconsfield Library· 
and Institute. The central room, which was to be 
the recreation room, was decorated with greenery 
and the tables were spread with cakes, biscuits 
"and all manner of sweetmeats and jellies" prepared 
by a team of ten ladies. The guests, numbering 
inore than 100, included Mr :E A Judge, Archdeacon 
Gaul, Major Browne, Rev Tobias, Major Wollaston, Dr 
Croghan, Dr Stanley, Councillor E Lonsdale and the 
Town Clerk, Mr o Moloney. Everybody gathered in 
the room which was destined to become the billiard 
room. 
Mr M B Robinson, the Acting Magistrate of 
Beaconsfield, who chaired the meeting, mentioned 
some of the problems with which they had.to contend 
before a library could be established, "the greater 
of which has been to overcome the apathy of the 
public," and pointed out that the success of the 
institution depended entirely upon the support it 
received from the public. 
He paid special tribute to Judge President·. Laurence 
for assistance given to the Committee and to Mr 
John Blades Currey, in his absence, for his 
intercession on their behalf in obtaining the 
sanction of his Company for the lease of the 
Beaconsfield building. Mr Robinson closed his 
address by expressing his "earnest desire ..• that 
the Institute may prove a lasting an~ increasing 
benefit to the inhabitants of the township." (DI, 
22 May 1889 and DFA 25 May 1889). 
128 
The Secretary, Mr Liley, informed the audience that 
a meeting would be held for paid-u' p subscribers to 
approve the rules of the library and to elect a 
permanent Library Committee; he explained the loan 
arrangement between themselves and the Kimberley 
Public Library, whereby it would be possible to 
obtain anything on loan within the space of a few 
hours (DI, 22 May 1889). 
Rev Gaul amused the audience by recounting a few 
anecdotes about his first arrival at the Diamond 
Fields and went on to extol the benefits of a 
library and to try and persuade those present to 
read a better type of, book; there was a need for 
recreational reading matter of an "elevating" kind, 
he maintained, but it was better to obtain some 
general knowledge from books. 
"Some literature," he added, "is not only 
frivolous, but absolutely empty and not so much 
wicked as abominately [sic l vulgar! if 
At the end of the speeches, the guests went to the 
adjoining room where they were entertained with a 
musical programme, which included the singing of 
"Il Baccio" and "Coming through the rye" by Madame 
D' Arch, a clarinet solo and a recitation, after 
which the guests danced till midnight "highly 
delighted with the happy manner in which the 
evening had been spent." 
The library started its service to the public on 
the next day and was open from 9 am to 11 pm daily. 
Soon afterwards, a billiard table was installed in 
the billiard room and the first match was played by 
Messrs Nicholas and Watson68 (DI, 22 June 1889). 
68. No gambling was allowed in the library. 
129' 
A £20 deposit on books and a subscription of £35 
was paid to the Kimberley Public Library, but 
subsequently a reduction on subscription fees to 
suit their limited budget was negotiated. Despite 
being heavily dependent on the Kimberley Public 
Library for books, they (the Beaconsfield 
community) were II a very high-spirited and 
independent people" and resented being cal'led "a 
branch of the Kimberley Library" ( KPL. Minutes, 
7 November 1889).69 
When Cecil Rhodes amalgamated the mines under De 
Beers Consolidated Mines in 1888, he expressed his 
intention of making a fair offer to the poorer 
mines', Bultfontein and Dutoitspan. They held out 
against him but disastrous reef falls in 1888 gave 
Rhodes the opportunity he required to step in and 
acquire the Beaconsfield mines. After protracted 
negotiations, the mines gave in and joined the De 
Beers group as this was the only alternative to a 
complete collapse of the diamond industry (Roberts, 
1976, p.261). 
Amalgamation was beneficial to the industry as a 
whole, as the output, and consequently the price of 
diamonds, could be controlled effectively. 
However, the effect on Beaconsfield was disastrous 
as the mines at Dutoitspan and Bultfontein had to 
be closed down to reduce production, and hundreds 
of miners were put out of work. Other small mining 
companies, which had not been included in the 
amalgamation, also went under, exacerbating the 
situation. 
69. The Beaconsfield Library was to struggle on by 
itself, rendering an excellent service to the 
community for 70 years, before it did indeed become 
a branch of the Kimberley Public Library. 
130 
As a direct consequence of the serious 
unemployment, the use of the public rooms in the 
library increased substantially, but the depressed 
state of the economy precluded new members from 
joining and compelled many old members to resign, 
causing the number of subscribers .to drop to 77, 
which was half the original number. The government 
grant, which was on a £ for £ basis, was reduced 
accordingly. 
The library's hopes for financial support from the 
various mining companies in Beaconsfield were 
dashed and, as a result of the precarious position 
of the library's finances, the library staff had to 
be reduced, effecting "a considerable saving 11 70. 
The Beaconsfield Town Council was approached for a 
grant - and the sum of '£50 was voted "with the 
assurance from some of the councillors that, had 
funds Permitted, a larger sum would have been 
given" (Beaconsfield Library and Institute. Report, 
1890 - 1892). Funds raised by a ·cinderella dance' 
totalled £24 and the Government grant .received 
amounted to £100. The library had come to depend 
to a great extent on book donations from various 
sources and gratefully accepted a reference 
collection from the Charles Warren Lodge. 
Mr H P Dennison, the Honorary Secretary,_ was at his 
wit's end and turned to De Beers Consolidated Mines 
for financial assistance (Dennison, 1891); the 
resultant donation of £100 from De Beers "saved the 
precarious life of the Institution" (Beaconsfield 
Library and Institute. Report, 1890 - 1892). 
70. No indication is given as to the staffing of 
the early Beaconsfield library and it -is not clear 
what a "reduction in staff" would have meant. The 
annual report was written by the Chairman, and the 
Librarian did not feature at all. 
.j 
131 
Dennison also sent out a circular to the residents 
of Beaconsfield explaining the need for subscribers 
and begging them to promote the library to their 
friends. He stated that there were now 956 books 
on the shelves and that 200 more were on order; he 
listed 38 titles of magazines and a large 
assortment of South African dailies which were 
available. 
The billiard table, he pointed out, was "large and 
lofty" and the best on the Fields, a new cloth and 
new cues having been purchased recently and the 
rates charged for games were half those of other 
places on the Fields (Beaconsfield Library. 
Circular, 1891) • This circular did not have the 
desired effect, however. and the number of 
subscribers dropped to 55. 
In an effort to attract more subscribers to the 
library, and perhaps with the Athletic and Literary 
Association in mind, a number of men decided to 
form a Lawn Tennis Club at the library and to lay 
out two courts on the Recreation Ground of the 
library. seventeen members joined the club and 
the following office-bearers were elected: 
President and Chairman: L Powys-Jones, Resident 
Magistrate and successor to MB Robinson; 
Secretary/Treasurer: H P Dennison; other committee 
members: C A Blackbeard, J H Liley, Dr E H Croghan 
and J H Thorp (DFA, 13 March 1890). 
Unfortunately there is no indication of how long 
the Lawn Tennis Club survived and how successful it 
was, but an item appearing in the Diamond Fields 
Advertiser more than a year later (17 October 1891) 
put forward a plea that the Library and Lawn Tennis 
Club dances be continued. 
Mr Currey, now President of the Beaconsfield 
Library, assisted the library by negotiating a 
132 
remission of the rent of £133 owing to the London 
and South African Exploration ·Company (Dawson, 
1890). The chairman of the Library Committee at 
the time was Mr H ·O Badnall; members were Messrs E 
G Green, J W Dale, w Sagar, J S Cowie, A 
Macfarlane, P Grassie, W Reed, J H Thorp and H P 
Dennison, Honorary Secretary. The Trustees were 
Messrs c A Blackbeard and H o Badnall, in the place 
of Rev C F Tobias and Mr M B Robinson. 
Mr J B Currey was closely involved with both the 
Kimberley and Beaconsfield Libraries and he tried 
to bring about a closer co-operation between them. 
In 1.891 the Kimberley Library Committee approved a 
resolution to sell some of their books to the 
Beacons£ield Library but, according to the 
financial statements of the Kimberley Public 
Library, no payment was ever received. ··  
By the ehd of· April 1892, membership had dropped to 
43 but Mr Denni.son stated that the Committee had 
not lost faith and that the recent increase in 
circulation was "full of promise for the future ... " 
He added that there were "signs of vigorous health 
in our library, which augurs well for future 
stability and usefulness" (Beaconsfield Library and 
Institute. ReEort, 1892) . The Librarian, Mr 
Edwards, assisted by his daughter, Miss Edwards, 
drew up an alphabetical catalogue for the 818 
volumes in stock. 
The finances of the Beaconsfield Library did not 
improve to any extent. Mr J B Currey (1894) wrote 
to the Library committee, telling them not to 
"burden themselves with the resEonsibility of a new 
lease in the Eresent condition of Beaconsfield" and 
then enquired of them what rental they were 
prepared to pay for the building. The reply from 
the Committee indicated that they could not afford 
more than £1 per month and that they were trying to 
133 
increase the number of subscribers; they had also 
made arrangements to reopen ·the billiard room, 
which had in the past proved to be a good source of 
revenue. Mr Currey (1895) accepted this proposal, 
saying that his Directors had a great interest in 
the Institution. 
In 1899 C J Rhodes negotiated the purchase of the 
London and South African Exploration Company and 
J B Currey received the news "in the fewest 
I?Ossible words" that the Company, which he had 
managed for sixteen years, had ceased to exist 71 
(Currey, 1900, p. 254). De Beers took over all 
the properties of the London and South African 
Exploration Company but allowed the Beaconsfield 
Library to continue as an autonomous subscription 
library, while at the same time retaining a say in 
library matters by means of representation on the 
Library Committee and financial support. 
..• . 
In 1901 Walter H Pacy, an assistant in the St 
Martin's-in-the-Field Library, London, was appointed 
Librarian at the Beaconsfield Library at £150 per 
annum (Kennedy, 1970, p. 12). 
Kimberley became a Cathedral City in 1912; soon 
afterwards Beaconsfield and Kimberley united to · 
become the City of Kimberley and the Beaconsfield 
Library became to a certain extent the 
.responsibility of the Kimberley Municipality. It 
ran successfully as a subscription library for many 
71. After the amalgamation of the mines, De Beers 
became the largest tenant in the Dutoitspan and 
Bul tfontein Mines, the property of the London and 
South African Exploration Company. The mining 
activities of De Beers were hampered by unnecessary 
restrictions imposed upon them by the London and 
South African Exploration Company, and Rhodes 
offered to purchase the company for £17 0 0 a share, 
bringing the total purchasing price to £1 625 000. 
134 
years, with financial assistance from De Beers and 
annual grants from the Kimberley City council. 
When it was incorporated with the Cape Provincial 
Services as a branch of the Kimberley Public 
Library in 1960, an agreement was reached between 
De Beers and the City Council of Kimberley whereby 
the Beaconsfield Library was leased to the 
Municipality for a period of 21 years with the 
option of renewal for a further period of 21 
years.72 
In 1964 the De Beers Board of Directors "agreed to 
donate to the Kimberley City Council, free of 
consideration except for a nominal charge · of R2 
(Two rand) the Gardner Williams Hall and Library 
building, situated on the Lot 2298, Central Road, 
Kimberley, in freehold title, costs of survey and 
transfer to be borne by the Council" (De Beers, 
1964). The Deed of Transfer in favour of the 
Municipality of Kimberley was registered on 12 July 
1966 (De Beers, 1966). 
The· library is still housed in the same building 
today. 
Conclusion 
In contrast to the Kimberley Public Library, the 
Beaconsfield Library was not founded as a result of 
the efforts · of professional men who were 
endeavouring to emulate the conditions they were 
used to by building up a library of reading matter 
which would satisfy their own intellectual needs. 
72. A Memorandum of Agreement of Lease was drawn up 
between De Beers Consolidated Mines and the 
Municipality of Kimberley, represented by L Jawno, 
Mayor, and Albert Edward Bebington, Town Clerk, on 
29 August 1960, according to which a rental of 1/-
per annum was payable by the City Council to De 
Beers on or before 1 December every year. 
135 
The Beaconsfield Library originated as a result of 
philanthropic motives of people like Rev Tobias, 
who saw a library as a means of occupying the time 
and attention of the young miners who had nothing 
to do in the evenings but frequent saloons and 
brothels. J B Currey gave the project his full 
support as he fully agreed with the motives 
expressed by the instigators of the scheme. He 
mentioned the "lamentable moral condition" of 
Beaconsfield and the "long-felt want for more 
uplifting diversions." 
The library's purpose was mainly recreational, yet 
little active extension programmes were offered. 
The main attraction was the billiard room, which 
was an integral part of the Library and Institute; 
not only was tne game of billiards ·seen as an 
attractive pastime but also as a lucrative source 
of revenue. 
The need for a library was not so much expressed by 
the residents of Beaconsfield themselves as by 
ministers and others who were concerned about the 
welfare of the community. 
The lack of sufficient response from the public 
handicapped progress and the library struggled to 
maintain an existence. The free reading room was 
utilised to a certain extent, but revenue from 
subscriptions was inadequate to. keep the library 
going and, were it not for the generosity of the. 
London and South African Exploration Company and 
the De Beers Mining Company and for the periodic 
grants from the municipalities of Kimberley and 
Beaconsfield, it would not have survived. 
Offices of the London and South African Exploration 
Company, afterwards the Beaconsfield Library and 
Institute (1889). (Photo: McGregor Museum) • 
'~·  
. ~ 
•~  
•~  
&~,: -~1 .. 1~ us... [t  .,  ;,u-;11 •. ••  
I. -· l~t  
; 
• .,;., 
•l,.  
,,,.,,,, .. ,.. I 
.... ~ 
1r 
J ~. 
' •• .,,.,.,.., . Ir I 
\..  '..  ~ 
·" I I 
Beaconsfield Library floor plan. 
(Date not specified) 
136 
CHA'PTER 8 
LIBRARY GROWTH INTO THE 20TH CENTURY 
8.1 An outline of general progress, 1887-1902 
In the first month after the opening of the new 
Kimberley Public Library SO new members registered. 
The Daily Independent (4 August, 1887) called it ~ 
great acguisition to the town." The exterior of 
the building was not partic'lJ.larly attractive, "not 
exactly what one would term a very elegant 
attraction or a very imposing example of ·modern, 
medieval or classic architecture" (DI, 7 October 
1887), but a feature of the library which was 
greatly appreciated by the public was the cool and 
comfortable interior, which contrasted very sharply 
with that of the previous library. 
When surplus money was available, the committee 
grasped the opportunity of purchasing the ·adjoining 
piece of land'  with the idea of converting it into a 
garden to enhance the appearance of the library. 
The Kimberley Waterworks, when approached for a free 
water supply, not only agreed to this but also paid 
a five guinea subscription fee for a year's 
membership to the library (KPL. Minutes, 1 September 
1887). A garden was laid out and maintained under 
supervision of Mr F Graham and in his absence, by Mr 
J B Currey (DI, 12 October 1888 l. An arrangement 
was approved whereby the Kimberley Public Library 
agreed to purchase a lawn-mower jointly with the 
Kimberley Club with the stipulation that the cost 
was not to exceed £5 (KPL. Minutes, 2 February 
1889) . 
At this stage it was discovered that the cornice of 
the front portion of the library building was 
137 
encroaching upon the property of Mr w Roper of the 
DFA; he agreed to sell this portion of his property 
as well as the right of way through his grounds to 
the library for the sum of £100, the sum to be 
registered as a servitude on the title deeds at the 
expense of the library; he later intimated that he 
would present this amount as a donation to the 
library (KPL. Minutes, 4 July 1889). 
By 1890, the circulation had increased by almost 50% 
and it had becqme necessary to order titles in 
duplicate and even triplicate to satisfy the demand. 
At the beginning of 1892, the economy started on a 
downward trend which soon affected the Public 
Library. The "superior attractions" of the gold 
fields of the Transvaal, the drop in the share 
market and the general commercial depression 
resulted in some "of the most liberal and 
intelliqent and public-spirited" residents of 
Kimberley moving away, and the lowest circulation of 
books ever was recorded (KPL. Report, 30 September 
1892) 
The situation worsened in the next two years, 
everyone feeling the effects of an acute world-wide 
depression. The publishers stopped publishing new 
books and the library was largely dependent upon 
gifts from the public. Despite the waning number 
of subscribers, the circulation showed a slight 
increase. 
In 1896 subscribers were allowed to borrow extra 
sets of books and this boosted the circulation 
statistics ( KPL. Report, 31 December 1896 l . In 
this year the South African School of Mines was 
opened in Kimberley and the library consequently 
gave special attention to the purchase of books 
138 
dealing with mining, engineering, mineralogy and 
precious stones.73 
The library now had a stock of 20 000 volumes and 
the limit of space on the shelves had been reached 
(KPL. Report, 31 December 1896). Plans for an 
extension to the existing building were drawn by the 
architect, Mr D w Greatbach; provision was made for 
about 20 000 additional books and also for an upper 
storey, should this become necessary in the future 
(KPL. Minutes, 10 June 1897). Negotiations for the 
purchase of the stand behind the library were 
entered into with the owner, Mrs H M Simpson74 (KPL. 
Minutes, 8 July 1897). 
The tender for the extension, which specified 
shelving on a "racket system", was awarded to the 
firm, Messrs Grant and Downie (KPL. Minutes, 30 
September and 3 December 1898). 
By the end of 1898 the new section was almost ready. 
-"We have constructed r II Mr Laurence ( 1898) 
explained, "a room which is really a sort 
of warehouse or depository, or stackroom 
for books. When the extension is 
73. The School of Mines was the first of its kind 
in South Africa and was an outcome of the 
amalgamation of the mines. James Lawrence 
introduced a motion in the Cape Assembly which led 
to the establishment of the School. The premises 
were donated by De Beers and the Cape Government in 
conjunction with De Beers gave it financial support. 
In 1903 it was transferred to Johannesburg and later 
it became the University of the Witwatersrand. 
7 4. In a letter dated 26 July 1897, the Honorary 
Treasurer of the Kimberley Public Library wrote to 
Mrs Simpson offering to buy Lot 23 G outright for 
£400, or to pay her £250 and allow her to receive 
the rental of the cottage on the stand for three 
years, or, alternatively, to buy only the strip 
required for the library extension for the sum of 
£75. She was to reply by cable. It appears that 
she accepted the first alternative. 
--- ____ ~I 
139 
completed; we will have room for between 
50 000 and. 60 000 . v.olume·s, provision for 
say, the next quarter of a century. It 
will be admitted that we are providing in 
a fairly liberal way for those who will 
come after us ... If our successors find it 
necessary, ~they canJ elongate the 
stackroom and so provide for the 
requirements of Kimberley of, say, the 
middle of the 20th century. " 
He added that the question of electric installation 
would receive attention in the near future.75 
The Librarian's suggestion that a "lamp room" be 
erected under the architect's supervision was 
approved by the Committee on condition that it 
should be, "as far as possible, isolated, to prevent 
fire risk. 11 76 
The new rooms opened in 1899, but the excitement was 
overshadowed by anxiety caused by the pending war 
and the realisation that Kimberley, an extremely 
vulnerable spot, was completely unprepared and 
defenceless. In September 1899 Lieutenant-Colonel 
Robert George Kekewich arrived in Kimberley to 
organise its defence; a great deal of activity 
ensued, but when war was declared on 10 October 1899 
and the siege of Kimberley by the Boers commenced on 
14 October 1899, the town was caught unawares. 
75. Subscribers complained about the heat given off 
by paraffin lamps but the installation of electric 
lights would have meant an additional expense of 
£150 per annum (KPL. Report, 31 December 1896). A 
system of electric · lighting was installed through 
the whole library in 1900 and a pole with an 
electric light was put up in front of the library. 
76. This was probably a room where paraffin lamps 
were cleaned and filled. 
140 
For the next four months Kimberley was virtually cut 
off from the outside. Food·, water and other 
commodities were very scarce; the town was 
subjected to continual bombardment and women and 
children had to be taken down mine shafts for their 
safety. The library, however, carried on its work 
without interruption but closed in the evenings and 
on Sundays.77 It became a boon to the residents of 
Kimberley, the books being avidly read in place of 
magazines and newspapers which were unobtainable. 
All the privileges of First Cla.ss subscribers were 
extended to Colonel Kekewich and the officers under 
his command without fee or deposit (KPL. Minutes, 19 
October 1899) with the result that, despite greater 
utilisation, the increase in subscribers was 
negligible and the income from· subscriptions showed 
a considerable decrease. The recovery of books 
loaned to tbe troops proved a problem and the 
Librarian was forced to send a list of overdue 
material to Colonel Chamier, requesting his 
assistance in this matter (KPL. Minutes, 14 June 
1900). 
Captain Penfold, the De Beers representative on the 
Library Committee, was commissioned to erect a 
flagstaff outside the library, the cost of which was 
not to exceed £5 (KPL, Minutes, 14 October 1897) and 
to purchase a sundial for the library during his· 
sojourn in England in . 1900; he had the latter 
shipped to Kimberley via Port Elizabeth where it was 
kept until after the Siege, arriving in Kimberley in 
April 1900. It was erected in the garden of the 
Kimberley Public Library under the supervision of Mr 
Sutton (KPL. Report, December 1900). Mr Laurence 
said he hoped that the shadow of the library 
slanting on the dial would remind them "to 
77. A curfew between 9 pm and 6 am was instituted. 
14J 
endeavour so to number not merely the passing days 
but the creeping hours ,that perish and are imputed," 
that they may learn to live wisely (DFA, 19 April 
1900) • 
A marked improvement in the library statistics 
occurred in 1901, due perhaps to the continued 
military presence in Kimberley as well as a greater 
optimism about the future. The Library Committee 
resolved to purchase the stand and cottage adjacent 
to the land already acquired behind the library. 78 
There were now "equal frontages on both sides for 
future expansion of building, should this become 
necessary" (KPL. Minutes, 24 October 1901). 
The death of two of the library's supporters, 
namely Cecil John Rhodes and Captain Penfold in 1902 
was a severe blow to the Library Committee, who had 
depended on them for assistance from De Beers. 
The Anglo-Boer War came to an end on 4 June 1902 and 
the monthly meeting of the Library Committee had to 
be postponed as a result of a civic reception in 
honour of General French. A month later the 
library participated in the coronation festivities 
of King Edward VII by closing on Coronation Day and 
empowering the House Committee to spend £15 on the 
illumination of the building; the Librarian was 
instructed "to see that no risk of fire is incurred" 
(KPL. Minutes, 16 June 1902). 
After the Anglo-Boer War, there was nothing to 
impede the steady progress of the Kimberley Public 
Library except the continual struggle to maintain a 
balance between lowering of subscription rates to 
encourage library utilisation and generating enough 
income to achieve a high standard of service. 
, 78. Woodley street no 24 was purchased for £875. 
142 
"Few libraries," wrote a correspondent 
(DFA, 18 June 1902), "save those which the 
wealth of a Carnegie, a Tate or a Rylands 
has endowed, can 'show such a record as 
that of which this town may be justly 
proud". 
8.2 The finances of the Killlberley Public Library, 1887-
1902 
The amended Borough Act passed in 1884 empowered the 
Kimberley Borough Council to levy a rate for the 
purpose of education.79 The Council failed to make 
' 
use' of the authorisation granted in this Act and 
their financial contribution to .the library 
fluctuated from yeai;- to year. . An amount of £100 
was. budgeted for the years 1885 and 1886 and this 
was increased to £200 in 1887 as a donation to the 
Building Fund. 
When the grant came up for discussion in 1888, 
Councillors T W Goodwin and J Grewer were in favour 
of maintaining the increased grant but Councillor D 
stJachan considered the hospital and public garden 
more deserving causes. He admitted that he had 
only been in the library once but he believed "that 
there were a number of books in the foreign 
languages that were scarcely ever disturbed" (DI, 24 
February 1888). A proposal to reduce the grant to 
£100 was accepted. 
In his speech at the Annual General Meeting of 30 
September 1888, the Chairman of the Library 
Committee pointed out that it was impossible for the 
library to rely solely on subscriptions and that 
79. The Kimberley Borough Amendment Act of 1884 
authorised the Borough "to grant Sl..l.Ch sums of money 
in aid of Public Libraries within the Borough as may 
from time to time be voted by two-thirds of the 
Borough. · 
143 
more help should be forthcoming from governing 
bodies and companies. 
"The reputation of a community," he stated, "is 
gauged by .its public spirit and its enlightenment 
and its liberality" (DFA, 13 October 1888). 
The committee subsequently resolved that the 
Chairman should approach the Mayor for additional 
support from the Borough Council, at the same time 
suggesting increased representation of the Council 
on the Library Committee (KPL. Minutes, 3 January 
1889). In an open letter to the Mayor published in 
the Daily Independent ("2 February 1889), Mr Justice 
Laurence pointed out that the Municipality of Port 
Elizabeth had recently made a grant to the library 
on a £ for £ basis, a system which held obvious 
advantages for the library. 
He also suggested that for every £100 given by the 
Borough, one representative of the Council could act .•. 
on the Library Committee. "Such representation," 
he added, "would ensure weight being given to the 
views of the Council, both as to the expenditure of 
the amount voted by them, as to the general 
administration of the library." 
Laurence's plea was to no avail, however. When the 
year's estimates came up for discussion again, the 
amount of £100 was not increased. As Mr Laurence 
was very anxious to raise money with which more 
books could be purchased to justify the printing of 
a new edition of his catalogue, the Committee 
authorised him to approach the Prime Minister for a 
grant additional to the £300 received annually from 
the Government (KPL. Minutes, 21February1889). 
The Prime Minister, in reply to a written request 
from Mr Laurence, stated that an additional amount 
144 
had been budgeted for this purpose (KPL. Minutes, 6 
June 1889). Mr EH Jones, the.Mayor at the time, 
and Mr ·M Cornwall undertook to ask Messrs B I 
Barnato and T Lynch, Members of the House of 
Assembly, to use their influence in support of this 
vote. 
The Library Committee subsequently resolved that, in 
view of the proposed increased grant from the 
Government, they should persuade the Borough Council 
to follow suit and appointed a deputation, 
consisting of the Chairman, Mr Justice Laurence, the 
Acting Treasurer, Mr J H Lange and Dr Watkins, to , 
meet the Council to plead the cause of the library 
(KPL. Minutes, 1 August 1889). However, despite a 
promise from the Mayor to increase the grant of the 
library to £300 when the new budget came up for 
discussion (KPL. Minutes, 7 November 1889), only 
£200 was received in 1890 and 1891; in 1892, the 
grant dwindled to £100 and thereafter to £50 
annually for the next ten years. 
"The city . fathers," explained the editor of the 
Diamond Fields Advertiser (26 February 1892), "have 
to face a rapidly failing population and reduction 
of revenue from rates; there has been much cutting 
and carving." 
The Colonial Treasury, on the other hand, carried 
out their commitment and increased their grant to 
£600 for 1890. De Beers also came to the rescue by 
donating an amount of £250 to the library and 
promising to provide electric lighting for the whole 
library at a cost not exceeding that of the cost of 
lighting by paraffin lamps, the library to pay for 
the initial cost of installation (KPL. Report, 30 
September 1890). Life membership fees of £25 each 
were received from six people, including Mr C J 
Rhodes and Dr L s Jameson, while the London and 
145 
South African Exploration Company donated £50 
towards the library. 
A .considerable saving was effected by obtaining 
permission from the Cape Government Railways for 
books to be sent at third class rates, instead of 
second class as was the practice. This concession 
was accorded to all the public libraries of the 
Cape as a result of the Committee's initiative (KPL. 
Report, 30 September 1890).80 
Kimberley, remarked the editor of the Diamond Fields 
Advertiser (10 October 1890), did not have much room 
for complaint. 
During the next years, however, the financial 
situation deteriorated steadily, mainly as a result 
of the prolonged state of depression that was 
experienced country wide. In 1891, income dropped 
from £1 145 to £968 and the library tried to canvas 
more subscribers. surely more than 300 people 
could be found in Kimberley "willing to avail 
themselves of the advantages offered!" exclaimed an 
exasperated Mr Laurence (KPL. Report, 30 September 
1891). 
A letter which appeared in the local paper explained 
that the reason people were unwilling to subscribe 
to the library was that non-subscribers. were allowed 
free and unrestricted use of all books, magazines 
and newspapers which were purchased with 
subscription revenue and government funds and that 
paying members had too few additional·privileges to 
attract subscribers (DFA, 16 October 1891). 
80. The Librarian wrote to the Railway Department, 
suggesting a reduction of freight on consignments of 
books to the library. A reply dated 24 April 1890 
was received from the Railway Department, agreeing 
to carry books at 3rd class rates. (KPL. Minutes, 3 
April and 1 May 1890). 
146 
An unexpected windfall came in the form of an amount 
of £254 which represented the unclaimed balance of 
dividends paid by the liquidators of the Cape Bank 
to the Griqualand West Loan Company, the liquidators 
of the former Library Company and which the library 
paid into their Endowment Fund (KPL. Minutes, 4 
February 1892). 
In 1892 Mr J H Lange, Member of the Legislative 
Assembly and previous member of the Library 
Committee, introduced a bill in Parliament by which 
certain libraries, including the Kimberley Library, 
which were situated in towns not incorporated under 
the General Municipal Act of 1882, could obtain 
exemption from the payment of municipal rates81 
(KPL. Report, 30 September 1892). 
The chairman reiterated that the library should have 
more municipal support; he added that at least 
£1 500 was required annually to run a library 
effectively and that 20% of this amount should come 
from the Borough council. 
In the next year the Colonial Secretary was 
persuaded by Mr R Solomon, a member of the Library 
Committee, to place a supplementary grant of £50 on 
the estimates for purchasing reference works. The 
finances of the library also received an unexpected 
boost through a legacy of £500 left to the library 
by Mr John MacFarlane82 and a donation of £50 from 
Mr B Barnato. 
81. The Public Libraries' and Museums' Relief Act, 
no 19 of 1892 exempted public libraries and museums 
from the payment of municipal rates and taxes. 
82. John MacFarlane, who farmed on the farm "Eerste 
aanleg" in the Kimberley district, was Scottish by 
birth. · He died on 11 March 1892 and left bequests 
to the library and various other institutions. 
147 
In 1898, when· the lack of space became a crucial 
probiem, an "extension fund" was opened to finance 
the proposed addition to the library. 
The Chairman of the ·Library Committee, Mr Justice 
Laurence, approached Mr ·c J Rhodes, who had always 
been very sympathetic towards the library in the 
past, and suggested that a grant could be made 
towards the library extension out of the "compound 
profits". In a letter dated 26 May 1897, Mr Rhodes 
acceded to this request (KPL. Minutes, 10 June 1897) 
and authorised De Beers to contribute £2 000 towards 
the Extension Fund. In addition, Parliament agreed 
to place £1 000 on their estimates to be granted on . 
a £ for £ basis. 
... Other contributions came from Kimberley supporters 
in London whom Mr H Robinow, a member of the Library 
Committee, had canvassed when he was abroad; the 
Borough Council and the London and South African 
Exploration Company donated £50 and. £150 
respectively. These amounts, together with many 
personal contribi!i.tions, brought the total raised to 
£4 323 (KPL. Re12ort, 31 December 1898). 83 
On completion of building operations, the Extension 
Fund was closed and the balance of £1 068 which 
remained was deposited into the General Revenue and 
Endowment Accounts. 
The Chairman suggested that these funds be allocated 
as follows (KPL. Minutes, 12 April 1900): 
83. A full list of donations was printed as a 
supplement to the Annual Report for the Year ending 
31 December 1898. 
148 
£500 for the purchase of books, 
£250 towards the estimated cost of electric 
installation and 
£300 towards the estimated cost of a new 
edition of the General Catalogue 
When he visited England later in the year, he was 
authorised by the committee to spend a sum not 
exceeding £350 on books. 
Funds for administrative costs were derived from 
fluctuating subscriptions, cash donations and fairly 
regular grants of £250 from De Beers. By dint of 
careful budgeting and wise investments, the assets 
of the Public Library were slowly accumulating. By 
1902, these amounted to £16 236, which was made up 
as follows: 
Library site £1 277 
Library building £5 128 
Furniture and Fittings £2 081 
Books £7 750 
In addition, investments amounted to £8 217 (KPL. 
Minutes, 18 February 1902). 
8.3 Extension of the Library services 
Soon a~ter the opening of the library, a Chess Club 
was formed and the Committee sanctioned the use of 
the Committee Room for their meetings at a fee of 
£20 per year. An application signed by ten 
prospective Club members stated that the library 
building was considered "the fittest and most 
suitable" for the purpose (KPL. Minutes. 30 August 
1887) • 
Although the library did not have a hall which could 
be utilised for literary and recreational pastimes, 
149 
the Committee encouraged the public to make use of 
the library for their cultural activities, albeit 
apparently not free of charge. The Committee of 
the Kimberley Public Library saw itself as the 
parent library reaching out to all sections of the 
community and rendering a service to individual as 
well as corporate subscribers. 
The first institute which approached the library for 
a block loan of books, was the De Beers' West End 
Compound Reading Room; the Library Committee 
resolved to allow them the loan of 12 sets of works, 
but not exceeding 36 volumes, at an annual 
subscription fee of £10 and a deposit of £4. 
Subsequently, the Police Club was allowed to borrow 
100 volumes at a subscription of £25 per annum and 
on payment of a deposit of £10 (KPL. Minutes, 5 July 
1888). 
Prior to its official opening in May 1889, the 
Beaconsfield Library and Institute applied to the 
Kimberley Public Library for books to circulate 
amongst its members and soon afterwards took out the 
first instalment of books, having paid £35 for a 
seven months' subscription together with a £20 
deposit, (KPL. Minutes, 6 June 1889). 
"The Beaconsfield Library," remarked Mr Laurence, 
"is practically a branch of the Kimberley Public 
Library and subscribers at Beaconsfield possess the 
same advantages as are enjoyed by our own 
subscribers'' (DFA, 12 October 1889). 
Kenilworth, a model village, which was established 
in 1891 for the employees of De Beers Company, had 
an "excellent billiard room and a library, drawing a 
periodical supply of books from the Kimberley Public 
Library" (South Africa, August 1892, p. 362). 
Kenilworth borrowed their first consignment of 413 
150 
volumes from the Public· Library in 1890, having paid 
a deposit of £60 (KPL. Minutes, 6·February 1890). 
In the same year, the Fire Brigade Recreation Club 
was allowed the use of 20 sets of books, not to 
exceed 40 volumes, on payment of a subscription of 
£1 per month and a deposit of £5 payable in advance 
(KPL. Minutes, 7 August 1890). 
During the following years, library privileges were 
e~tended to other establishments: a First Class 
subscription was granted to the nurses of St. 
Michael's Horne and members of the YMCA were allowed 
to take out books on payment of five shillings (KPL. 
Minutes, 8 July 1897); the students of the School 
of Mines were allowed Third Class subscriptions to 
the library; Colonel Kekewich and his officers were 
granted First Class membership (KPL. Minutes, 19 
October 1899) ; a box of books was sent to the 
Scottish Rifles Officers' mess (KPL. Minutes, 11 
October 19001 and free privileges were extended to 
the Hospital and the Church Refuge (KPL. Minutes, 10 
July 1902 l. 
The Kimberley Public Library also advised and 
assisted neighbouring towns, starting "what must 
surely be one of the earliest rural library services 
in the country" (Kritzinger, 1948, p.97). The 
chairman of the Library Committee, Mr Justice 
Laurence, helped Barkly West to establish a library 
with an amount of £50 for which 250 volumes were 
purchased (KPL. Minutes, 7 November 1889). 
In 1891 the Hope Town Reading society and the 
Vryburg Library Society applied for books; the 
stipulated rates were either £30 a year with a 
deposit of £10 for 100 books or an annual payment of 
£20 and a deposit of £5 for the loan of 60 books 
(KPL. Minutes, 5 November 1891). Mr Joseph Wright 
of Warrenton applied for books on these terms and 
-----------~ -- --- --------~ ··-------- -------- --- - -- -- - --- -~--' 
--------------------------- -
151 
the Kamf ersdam Mining Company was allowed a special 
subscription of 60 volumes at £20 per annum with a 
deposit of £10 (KPL. Minutes, 9 November 1893 and 8 
July 1897) . 
The service rendered by the Kimberley Public Library 
extended beyond the walls of the library. A system 
of branches and depots was started which was 
probably unique in South Africa at that time. 
8.4 Bookstock 
In September 1887 the bookstock of the library 
totalled 5 022 volumes; by the end of 1902, this 
had increased to 26 551. 
Statistical table 
-------------------------------------------------
Year Expend- Bookstock Circula- Membership 
iture tio n 
-------------------------------------------------
1888 £407 7 425 '5 660 110 
1889 £542 8 272 12 781 387 
1890 £1 066 11 453 12 348 369 
1891 £1 087 14 365 20 306 301 
1892 £402 15 539 18 724 265 
1893 £232 16 678 16 296 232 
1894 £303 17 394 18 288 240 
1895 £598 18 886 20 193 272 
1896 £371 19 876 27 006 283 
1897 £387 20 688 31 730 307 
1898 £301 21 922 33 202 327 
1899 £254 22 729 33 100 331 
1900 £424 23 843 26 264 325 
1901 £468 24 858 32 688 350 
1902 £599 26 551 40 129 528 
--------------------------------------- ----------
The statistics of book purchases reveal that over 
the 15-year period 19 126 books were added to the 
stock; of these 1 850 were donated and 17 276 
purchased; the proportion of non-fiction to fiction 
152 
was 'more or less 65% to 35%. According to the 
library's annual financial reports, an amount of 
£7 441 was expended o"n books during this period, 
denoting an average price of eight shillings per 
book. The proportio·n of stock in relation to users 
is excessively high. 
Library membership showed very little fluctuation 
and a very gradual increase until the year 1902, 
when the reduced subscription rates resulted in a 
dramatic response from the public. The average 
annual circulation per subscriber apparently rose 
from 18 to 76, but this figure is misleading as the 
increased circulation of 1891 and subsequent years 
is clearly the result of the opening of the library 
depot at Kenilworth, while the recorded annual 
m~~bership was solely that of the Kimberley Public 
Library. 
Book donations totalled less than 2'  000. 
included H Credner's Geologie and c G Calwer's 
Kaferbuch presented by Dr E Holub, a file of old 
local newspapers from Mr A A Rothschild, 'a plan of 
the Diamond Fields, received from the London and 
South African Exploration Company, R Trimen's South 
African butterflies, E P Mathers' The Goldfields of 
south Africa, J W Matthews' Incwadi Yami, P Kolbe's 
The present state of South Africa, Army and Navy 
lists, a Souvenir of Grahamstown, the Racing 
Calendar presented by the Turf Club and back copies 
of London Times. A valuable gift, which was always 
considered "a unigue feature of the library" was a 
large collection of French books received from The 
Compagnie Francaise (Dyer, 1903, p.50). 
In 1890 the library started collecting material 
relating to South Africa. Mr c A Fairbridge of 
Cape Town purchased some books dating back to the 
last century and he was s11bsequently authorised to 
purchase any books which he "may consider valuable 
153 
or interesting" at future sales (KPL. Minutes, 6 
November 1890). A start ·was made with the 
classification of the pamphlets in the library and 
Mr Laurence explained to the subscribers that 
pamphlets on the history of Griqualand West "might 
appear trivial to some but were always worth 
preservation in the library as a sort of archives of 
local history" (DFA, 20 February 1897). 
A collection of photographs of Paardeberg, presented 
to the library by Mrs Judge in 1901, ~as the start 
of a valuable collection of Northern Cape material. 
Mr Dyer, the Librarian, encouraged the public to add 
to this collection by donating photographs and 
printed ephemera to the library for preservation 
(KPL. Report, 31 December 1901). Soon afterwards 
the original log-book, kept in the conning tower 
during the greater part of the Kimberley Siege, was 
given to the library. 
During a thorough stocktaking soon after his 
appointment, the Librarian, Mr Bertram Dyer, weeded 
584 worn books which, together with redundant 
magazines and newspapers, he distributed among the 
soldiers in the military camp·s, hospitals and 
blockhouses. He also had 400 books rebound and 40 
valnable leather-bound books restored. 
It was resolved to start adding musical works to the 
library collection by way of experiment in 1902; at 
this time, Mr H T Strugnell designed a bookplate for 
the library and presented the original drawing and 
line block to the library for reproduction.84 For 
many years to come, all library material was 
furnished with the library's bookplate. 
84. Vide bookplate at the end of chapter. 
154 
8.4 Conclusion 
The library's progress and obvious success during 
the years after its inauguration was largely due to 
the unabated efforts on the part of the Library 
Committee, in particular, the chairman, Mr Justice 
Laurence in securing funding from the governing 
bodies. Income from subscriptions was insufficient 
to achieve the goals set for the library and to 
maintain a high standard of service. 
The fortunes of the town and the library were 
interwoven, the former affecting the latter; the 
depressed state of the economy was directly 
responsible for the library's declining financial 
resources, but, with astute and careful management 
of the library's affairs by the Committee, the 
library not only survived but rose to great heights 
and, at the end of the period under review, had 
earned the respect of the larger libraries in South 
Africa. 
-------------------. ---------------.- 
''·7·   
•·.·  
155 
CHAPTER 9 
POLICIES AND PEOPLE IN THE KIMBERLEY PUBLIC LIBRARY 
9.1 Library policies and librarians 
As early as 1873, the editor of the Diamond News 
stated that a librarian's work entailed much more 
than the issuing of books and that he should have 
some knowledge of book contents· 85 It was a long 
time before this would materialise and before the 
word "Librarian" implied anyone but a male library 
curator. 
When libraries first came into existence in 
Kimberley, a Librarian/Secretary was appointed to 
care for the books and to ·act as secretary to the 
governing body, such as the Library Cammi ttee or 
Board of Directors; the incumbents were: Mr John 
Rorke (1873 1874), Mr c Shaw (1874-ca.1876), 
H Stock (1881) and T G Heath (1882-1883). Mr Rorke 
was paid £240 per annum but subsequently the 
remuneration w~s increased to £400 a year. 
The first Librarian, Mr S T Solomon, who was 
appointed when Mr Heath was Secretary, was allocated 
a salary of £300, indicating that this post was 
rated far below that of Secretary. The Library 
Committee, of which Mr Justice Laurence was a 
member, conveyed their lack of trust in the 
Librarian by the stringent set of rules drawn up by 
the Committee in 1883.86 
The Librarian's main duties were to have the rooms, 
books and furniture dusted and to maintain order in 
85. Vide p.42. 
86. Vide p.95. 
156 
the library. Soon after the opening of the 
Kimberley Public Library in 1887, a stocktaking 
revealed a loss of 200 books during the preceding 
two years and this resulted in a tightening of 
security measures to obviate future losses. 
The Librarian was instructed : 
to keep an accurate list of books issued and to 
check on their return;-
to keep all bookcases locked, allowing no one 
except members of the Committee access to 
the shelves "on any pretence whatever" 
without his or his assistant's 
supervision; 
that either he or his assistant should be on 
duty in the ' Public Room at all times ,, 
except when their "temPorary absence was 
unavoidable"; 
to keep a list of subscribers who regularly 
failed to return books; 
to enforce fines on overdue material and to 
place a list of members so fined before 
the Committee at their meetings. 
to report to the Committee any subscribers who 
refused to pay fines; 
to ensure that subscribers did not take out any 
books or periodicals if any fines were 
outstanding (KPL. Minutes, 1 September 
1887) . 
The Librarian attended Library Committee meetings in 
an ex officio capacity but his role was 
insignificant. He had no autonomous decision-
making powers and apparently no say in the ordering 
of books; it was the Chairman who prepared lists of 
suggested titles which he left with the Librarian 
for comment by Committee members. 
157 
The "Special Collection" could not to be taken out 
without special permission from the committee (KPL. 
Minutes, 3 May 1887). The Librarian was expected, 
however, to urge non-subscribers of the library to 
become subscribers, and, by way of incentive, the 
committee undertook to pay him a bonus of 10% on all 
subscriptions totalling more than £550 a year87 
(KPL. Minutes, 1 September 1887). 
In 1888, soon after the annual stocktaking, Mr 
Solomon took ill. "The popular Librarian," noted 
the Daily Independent ( 27 September 1888 l , "will be 
compelled to undergo another painful operation." 
The chairman, Mr Justice Laurence, remarked in his 
speech at the Annual General Meeting in October 
1888, that Mr Solomon had been ill and therefore 
"he has not been able to get about to canvas 
subscribers and collect subscriptions with his 
customary activity" (DFA, 15 October 1888). He 
added disparagingly, "I am not going to eulogise our 
Librarian as a perfect librarian; no one knows 
better than I nor has anyone a better opportunity of 
knowing his deficiencies in various respects, but 
undoubtedly he has done his best and deserves much 
credit for the energetic manner in which he has 
worked at stocktaking during a period when he should 
h ave b een i•n  repose ... II 
In the next year the Librarian of ten had to be 
directed by the committee to "strictly embrace" 
previous rules and directives concerning the return 
of library material and was even admonished that he 
would "subject himself to the censure of the 
Committee" if he failed to carry out orders (KPL. 
Minutes, 6 June 1889). 
87. In the following year income from subscriptions 
was £1 012, which meant that the Librarian received 
a bonus of £46. 
,. 
158 
A lisr of the Librarian's duties was drawn up and he 
was instructed "to make an extract for his, guidance 
of the various minutes which the Committee have 
passed from time to time concerning his duties and 
..:t:.::o:........::c:..:l::.;o::.;s::ce=ly._-=a:.::d::.h::e:.:r:..;e=--t-=o=--=s:.::am=e" ( KPL. Minutes, Annexure A, 
5 September 1989). The duties were listed as 
follows: 
1. The Librarian is to give his whole 
attention to his duties. 
a. He is allowed three hours a day, from 1 - 2, 
and 6 - 8 or any other hours which are 
more convenient to him; 
b. He is allowed an evening off from time to 
time and then does not have to come back 
after 6 pm, but not more than three times 
in a fortnight. ' 
2. When not engaged in the Committee room or in 
collecting subscriptions, the Librarian is 
expected to be at his desk and ready to 
attend to the requirements of the public; 
3. All books returned must be carefu).ly 
replaced by the Librarian or under his 
supervision; 
4. Books are to be examined before replacing 
them to see if they are damaged in any 
way; 
5. One day of the week should be set aside for 
repairing of books; 
6. In dusty weather the doors and windows 
should be kept closed. 
At the same time the Chairman of the Committee 
suggested that the Librarian continue with the 
Numerical Catalogue, which was being compiled for 
printing, stating that it was "merely mechanical 
work" which should be regarded as part of the 
---------------------~------~------
159 
Librarian's duties.88 Mr Solomon carried out 
stocktaking for the last time· in October 1889 and 
then tendered his resignation (KPL. Minutes, 7 
November 1889). 
Mrs Grace Lord89 applied for the post of Librarian 
and was appointed as from 1 December 1889 at a 
salary of £16 per month. 90 Mrs Lord started the 
practice of submitting a monthly report on all 
library activities at Committee meetings and she 
put forward several suggestions for streamlining 
and improving the library service; it was at her 
instigation that the Railways were approached for 
reduced tariffs on books and that a Suggestion Book 
was placed in the library. 
In a letter to the Diamond Fields Advertiser 
( 12 March 1890) she invited recommendations as to 
books to be purchased for the library. "It is, ff 
she stated, "only b::£ the most careful su12ervision 
and the exercise of a rigid economy in all 
de12artments that it is 12ossible to maintain a 
financial eguilibrium." 
88. No credit was given to Mr Solomon for 
classifying nearly 4 500 books according to a scheme 
devised for the library. The Assistant Librarian, 
Mr H M Hole, B A, received an honorarium of £15 for 
completing the Numerical Catalogue (KPL. Minutes, 7 
November 1889). 
89. Grace Lord's husband, Mr W s Lord, Q c, M L A, 
had, during the year 1889, been appointed on the 
Library Committee but had soon afterwards passed 
away. Mrs Lord had always taken an active interest 
in the library. It was under her convenership that 
the great fund-raising bazaar had taken place in 
1887. 
90. The disparity between Mrs Lord's salary of £192 
and Mr Solomon's salary of £300 testifies to the 
discrimination between men and women which applied 
at the time. In November 1890 her salary was raised 
to £250. 
____ ___:__-' 
-----------------------------------------
160 
She soon won the confidence and respect of the 
Committee; in the absence of Mr Justice Laurence at 
the end of 1890, she drafted the Library Report for 
the year; she was also allowed to use her own 
discretion in replacing books requiring repair, but 
only those costing less than three shillings and 
sixpence. 
The Diamond Fields Advertiser (10 October 1890) 
remarked that Mrs Lord was "most zealous in the 
performance of her routine of duty" and added, "Her 
labour is indeed a labour of love. " A special vote 
of thanks to her was proposed at a number of Annual 
General Meetings. 
In 1896 Mrs Lord took six months' leave and Miss AM 
Wilkes was appointed Acting Librarian at £12 per 
month. When Mrs Lord tendered her resignation in 
September 1897, Miss Wilkes was appointed in the 
... position of Librarian at a.salary of £15 per month, 
the Assistant Librarian to receive £10 per month. 
It was decided to continue with the present system 
of a commission on ordinary subscriptions, but that 
the Librarian would receive two-thirds and the 
Assistant Librarian one-third (KPL. Special Report, 
8 November 1897). 
Sadly, Miss Wilkes' bad health was further impaired 
by conditions suffered during the Siege of Kimberley 
and she had to be relieved of some of her duties. 
She was given six months' sick leave on full pay in 
1899 and the Chairman undertook to procure the 
services of a qualified librarian while he was 
overseas. 
Miss Mary Burton was appointed Acting Librarian on 
1 January 1900 but resigned after six months; she 
and her assistant, Miss Roach, were commended for 
the "plucky way" in which they continued with their 
duties in the library throughout the Siege and the 
161 
shelling of Kimberley (KPL. Report, 31 December 
1900). 
Miss Wilkes resigned in August 1900 and, 
opportunely, the Committee received notification 
from Mr Justice Laurence that he had succeeded in 
locating a suitable librarian, his term of office to 
start on'l August 1900. 
Kimberley was the first south African town to import 
a true "library mechanic" (Kennedy, 1970, pll). 
According to his obituary (Dyer, 1909, p. 24) , 
Bertram L Dyer was born at Dumbleton in 1868, 
educated at Whitechapel Foundation School and King's 
College and proceeded to the War Off ice as a junior 
clerk. Later he became a student at Toynbee Hall, 
Whitechapel where he became an assistant in the 
'• 
library. In 1888 he entered the Kensington Public 
Library and in the following year was appointed Sub-
librarian in.charge of Browyston Branch until 1900. 
He attended the Library Association's course in 
Subject Cata.loguing and obtained highest marks; he 
was a foundation member of the Library Assistants' 
Association and founded and edited its journal, ~ 
Library Assistant; he was the Honorary secretary of 
the Association from 1898 to 1900 (Kennedy, R F 
p .11) . 
Dyer was appointed Librarian at a salary of £250 per 
year, but this was increased to £300 in 1901 (KPL. 
Minutes, 1 November 1901). Mr S G Mattocks, of the 
Hampstead Public Library, was appointed Assistant 
Librarian at £10 per month and a concession was made 
that, should he remain in employ for two years and 
give satisfactory service, his travelling expenses 
of £30 would be refunded (KPL. Minutes, 14 November 
1901). Unfortunately his term of office was cut 
short by his sudden death in the next year and the 
library defrayed the expenses of his illness and 
162 
funeral (KPL. Minutes, 13 March 1902). Mr J W 
Brown of Cardiff Libraries was· appointed in his 
place. 
Mr Dyer was presumably the first librarian in South 
Africa to advocate professionalism in librarianship; 
he saw librarianship as a permanent calling and not 
only as "a haven to all the failures of the 
professions" (Dyer, 1899, p.140). The hand of a 
professional librarian is clearly evident in his 
authoritative action of weeding redundant stock, 
restoring old and valuable leather-bound books, 
implementing a card-charging system for the library 
and classifying the library stock according to the 
Dewey Classification system. 
Bertram Dyer, a prolific writer on many aspects of 
librarianship, was an open-minded and an astute 
person. He organised the first Library Conference 
in South Africa in 1904 in conjunction with a 
congress of the South African Association for the 
Advance of Science. Despite his call for library 
professionalism, Dyer was not prepared to support Mr 
Justice Laurence's proposal at the conference for 
the establishment of a library journal and a South 
African Library Association, stating that the time 
was not ripe. 
He . gave all library matters his profound 
consideration and his opinions were respected by his 
colleagues. When the Durban Public Library wrote 
to him enquiring whether the library was open to all 
races, Mr Dyer replied that the question had not yet 
arisen, but that a Mohammedan priest had formerly 
been a subscriber; he then pointed out that, 
"the acceptance of Parliamentary and 
Municipal grants makes it impossible to 
refuse the advantages of the Public Room 
163 
to any section of the r.ommunity" (KPL. 
Minutes, l.4 November 1901) ·. 
He urged the abolition of the subscription system, 
maintaining that libraries should not have to be in 
a position of subservience to subscribers as regards 
choice of books for fear of losing revenue from 
grants calculated on the £ for £ system and thus 
depriving the "studious minority" of the reference 
material which they required (Dyer, 19C4a, pp.20 -
21) . 
In his articles, he voiced the opinion that 
libraries should become "true intellectual 
workshops." He advocated the establishment of 
reading circles, stating that their formation was 
the only way in which "a number of people with 
similar tastes •.. should pursue the "same course of 
reading and meet to discuss the results of reading" 
(Dyer 1903, p.35 and Dyer 1904c, p.595). 
"He had a form of genius", wrote Mr F Rogers 
(Kimberley Star, 23 January, 1909), "which enables a 
man to get swiftly at the essential of a book." 
He started a local Africana collection in earnest 
and made arrangements for "the careful preservation 
of all official and other publications relating to 
South Africa •.• "(Dyer, 1904b, p.342). Reputedly, 
he was the first person to use the word "Africana" 
in printed form (Dyer, 1902). 
On the subject of Afrikaans material in the library 
he stated that Afrikaans· was here to stay and that 
"the librarian should rather seek to preserve its 
every printed specimen, than to import ..• high Dutch 
which few can read" (Dyer, 1903, p.33). 
The system of "travelling libraries," which is 
presently in operation under the Provincial 
Libraries' network, was propounded by Dyer long 
---------------------- - --------------------------""--~~----------- > --------- ----
164 
before it came into operation in South Africa. He 
suggested "that the libraries of this country should 
be placed on a wider basis and that towns should 
help the less populated places " (Dyer, 1907, 
p.526). 
Mr Dyer's untimely death in 1908 put paid to a very 
promising career and was a great loss to the library 
profession.91 
9.2 Library policy as applied to subscribers 
The conunittee was very closely involved with the 
running of the library and maintained order and 
discipline by laying down strict rules to .which the 
public had to adhere and which the Librarian had to 
enforce. The first code of rules drafted in 1884 
stated that the library would be free to the public, 
but that the news room would only be open to 
subscribers. There were three classes of 
subscribers, the subscriptions varying from £4 per 
annum to £2 and the deposits from £3 to 10;-92; 
the number of books that cou;I.d be borrowed were 
determined by the class of the subscription. 
Subscribers were accountable to the Library 
Conunittee for misdemeanour and could be "struck off" 
the list of subscribers as a punitive action. 
On the positive side, the library was open from 
10 am to 10 pm daily· and on Sundays from 2 to 5pm. 
As time passed, more rules were made. In 1887 a by-
law was passed stating that owners of dogs found on 
library premises were liable to a fine of five 
shillings (KPL. Minutes, 1 December 1887); a notice 
91. Mr Dyer conunitted suicide in 1908, at the age 
of 40, when an audit of the library's bookkeeping 
system revealed embezzlement of library funds to the 
extent of £2 757. 
92. Vide p.92. 
165 
requesting silence was put in the subscribers' room 
(KPL. Minutes, 2 April 1891); unpaid fines could be 
deducted from deposits (KPL. Minutes, 7 November 
1889) and persons whose subscriptions were three 
months in arrears forfeited the privileges of 
library membership. 
The strict enforcement of these measures could 
hardly have been conducive to the use of the 
library, and in 1894, when the nlimber of 
subscribers reached the all-time low of 240, a 
Special Committee was appointed "to consider 
increasing the usefulness of the library to the 
general public." The idea put forward was intended 
to force the Borough Council to pay an annual grant 
of £250 and, in so doing, subsidise subscriptions of 
rate-payers. Section II, Rule 7 of the library 
rules was to read as follows 
"In any vear in which the Kimberley 
-·Borough Council shall contribute a sum of 
not less than £250 to the funds of the 
library, all rate-payers shall be entitled 
to borrow books from the library without 
payment of any subscription fee, subject 
to such regulations as may from time to 
time be framed by the committee." 
It was further stated that borrowers making use of 
this measure, had to produce a certificate from the 
Town Clerk, vouching for the validity of their 
claim; in return borrowers' cards would be issued 
to the applicant, who would be entitled to take out 
one set of books which had been in the library for 
at least six months, on payment of ten shillings 
deposit. In the case of valuable items, it was 
left to the discretion of the Librarian to determine 
166 • 
a deposit commensurate with the value of the book.93 
(KPL. Minutes, 13 September 1894). 
This move on the part of the Library Committee bore 
no fruit as the Borough Council could not, in the 
light of their financial problems, be induced to set 
aside more than £50 for library purposes. 
New measures were continually being devised to 
encourage greater utilisation. A system was 
introduced by which subscribers were notified 
immediately when books reserved by them were 
available; longer library hours, including later 
closing on Sunday afternoons, were promised to 
patrons, subject to electric lights being installed 
and privileges were instituted allowing subscribers 
to take out more books at a time. 
, ' 
New rates were specified as follows 
First class subscribers paid £4 per annum and 
were entitled to borrow 4 sets of books at 
a time, instead of 3 sets;. 
Second class subscribers paid £3 per annum and 
could take out 3 sets of books at a time, 
instead of 2 sets; 
Third class subscribers paid £2 per annum and 
could take out 2 sets of books at a time,. 
instead of 1 set (KPL. Minutes, 25 June 
1896). 
A concession, which achieved considerable success 
was one which permitted subscriptions to be paid 
pro-rata (KPL. Minutes, 25 June 1896). 
93. By this time, Grace Lord had been the Librarian 
for some time and the Committee had full confidence 
in the decisions she took. 
167 
In 1902 the library rules were revised to cater for 
a wider range of user and a ·credo· was formulated 
which stated that, 
"the library shall be open to the public 
and any person conducting himself properly 
shall have the right of reading the 
newspapers and periodicals placed in the 
Public Hall, and of there reading any book 
not actually in use by subscribers." 
Adjustments were made to boost ciculation and the 
following rules applied: 
1. Those paying £3 per annum, could take out 
five items and hold five admission tickets 
in the subscribers' Rooms; 
Those paying £2 per annum, could borrow three 
items at a time and hold three admission 
tickets to the Subscribers'Rooms. 
Those paying £1 per annum, could borrow one 
item and hold one admission ticket to the 
Subscribers' Rooms 
2. Admission tickets to the Subscribers' Rooms 
were not transferable and could only be 
used by the Subscriber's household. Any 
person using the Subscribers' Rooms could 
be called upon to produce his admission 
ticket, should the Librarian ask him to do 
so. 
3. All subscriptions were payable annually, 
half-yearly or quarterly in advance. 
Life membership with full privileges could 
be obtained on payment of £25. 
4. New subscribers had to make the following 
deposits:First class, £1; Second and Third 
class, 10/-. Deposits would be refunded 
upon application within 12 months from 
expiry date. 
168 
5. Visitors to Kimberley would be granted an 
admission ticket to the Subscribers' Rooms 
for fourteen days upon being introduced by 
a subscriber who had to enter the name and 
·address of the visitor in a book. 
For a monthly subscription of two shillings and 
sixpence and a deposit of 10/-, visitors 
were entitled to take out one book at a 
time and hold one admission ticket to the 
Subscribers' Rooms. 
owing to this reduction in subscription rates, 
membership increased by 50% and there was a large 
increase in revenue (KPL. Report, 31 December 
1902). 
9.3 conclusion 
The librarian of the 19th century was little more 
than a glorified caretaker with minimal authority 
and he operated under the strict control of the 
governing body, in this case, the Library Committee. 
A gradual change of attitude was brought about by 
people such as Grace Lord, who proved· to the 
Committee that librarians had decision-making 
capabilities, and that the position of librarian was 
not necessarily restricted to male candidates. 
Mr Dyer, the first trained librarian to be appointed 
in Kimberley, soon earned the respect of his 
colleagues in South· Africa. His .approach to 
librarianship was new and even revolutionary; he 
advocated professionalism in librarianship and did 
much for the status of the librarian. He devoted 
his attention to many library matters which are of 
topical interest even at the present time. He 
denounced the subscription system which, he 
maintained, was thwarting the goal of the library 
as information centre. 
~-------------
169 
Before the arrival of Mr Dyer, the library was run 
by the Library Committee. They were of the opinion 
that strict discipline in the library would create 
an atmosphere of study and literary exclusiveness 
that would attract the genuine library user. 
Instead, the enforcement of rules and constant 
changes in subscription rates had the opposite 
effect on library utilisation. The ordinary worker 
felt ill at ease in the austere surroundings and 
came to regard the library as an institution for the 
intellectually elite and the financially privileged. 
When the membership remained low, concessions were 
made with regard to subscription fees to place the 
library within the reach of the man-in-the-street 
and multiple copies of popular books were purchased 
in preferance to works of a more serious nature. 
It soon became obvi~us that the subscription system 
was impeding library growth and utilisation and 
negatively affe.cting the standard of the collection. 
Mr Dyer realised this and advocated a free l?ublic 
Library system, financed by the Government. 
The lowering of subscriptions to entice more 
subscribers, for the purpose of increasing revenue 
from subscriptions, and thus increasing the 
government grant, became a vicious circle. 
--- _j 

170 
CHAPTER 10 
NOTES ON PROMINENT KIMBERLEY MEN AND AN ASSESSMENT 
OF THEIR INVOLVEMENT WITH THE LIBRARY 
10.1 Members of the Library Committee 
Management of the Public Library was vested in the 
Library Committee. Twelve members were elected at 
every Annual General Meeting of the Kimberley Public 
Library. From these, a Chairman and Treasurer were 
appointed and Sub-committees, consisting of the 
Book, the Garden, the Finance and the House 
Committees were nominated. 
There is no doubt that it was regarded as an honour 
to serve on the Library Committee, which was held in 
high esteem by the community. The men who placed 
their services at th~· disposal of the Library 
Committee were prominent public-minded citizens, 
representing a cross-section of the professional 
community. 
The legal profession was represented by men like 
Messrs Justice Jones, Justice P M Laurence and B T 
Knights; the medical profession, by Drs H A Wolf, G 
Watkins, F I Gardiner and L S Jameson and the clergy 
by Rev M Mendelssohn- "Only one clergyman ... out of 
more than a dozen on the Diamond Fields," lamented 
the Diamond Fields Advertiser (10 October, 1891) on 
the occasion of a meeting of the Public Library. 
The man with the most authority was the Chairman of 
the Library Committee and, for almost 10 years after 
the founding of the Kimberley Public Library, this 
position was held by Mr Justice P M Laurence. 
-------------------·---- ---
171 
l0.2 Justice Percival Maitland Laurence 
Percival M Laurence w~s Horn in Lincolnshire in 
1854; he was a brilliant student of law and 
literature; he came to South Africa for health 
reasons, practised as a barrister for one year and 
was appointed Judge of the High Court of Griqualand 
West in 1882 at the age of 28 and in the' same year 
started serving on the Library Committee. In 
October 1883 he became Chairman of the Committee, a 
position which he held until 1900; he was appointed 
Judge President of the High court of Griqualand West 
in 1888. 
Mr Lawrence was an excellent public speaker and used 
the annual library meetings to air his views on 
literature, politics and any .other subject to a 
usually appreciative and responsive audience. He 
was a well-read man with an excellent knowledge of 
books. He was, according to Kennedy ( 1977, p. 
500) , perhaps the gr·eatest pioneer of libraries in 
South Africa and far in advance of his time in many 
respects. It was Justice Laurence (1904) who first 
p11t forward the suggestion of the establishment of 
an association of librarians and of a library 
journal "to bring librarians into closer contact 
with one another." He formulated the two-fold 
objective of the library as follows : 
"l. To provide for circulation of readable and 
popular literature; 
2. To make the library a storehouse and repository 
of information on all subjects which a library 
should be able to give." (DI, 12 October 1888). 
With these objectives in mind, he set about building 
up a comprehensive and balanced bookstock for the 
library. He travelled to London regularly, where 
he was given carte blanche to purchase books at his 
172 
own discretion. At the same time he endeavoured to 
document the material in such a way that it would be 
accessible to the layman-. 
He prepared a Catalogue of Juvenile Books and a 
'J:nue'X 'of Periodical Literature, but, most 
importantly, he meticulously supervised the complete 
revision of the printed Reference Catalogue ·of all 
the works in the library (KPL. Report, September 
1890). Earlier, in 1884, during.his temporary 
absence, a catalogue was compiled of the nearly 300 
books in the library but, according to Laurence 
(1891, p\xi),·this was ·"a farrago of blunders" and 
i 
needed ta be completely revised. 
'
i' 
 
 
H. e based'.  his revised catalogue on those of the 
London and Malta Librar;i.es; in the first section, 
all the works were arranged alphabetically under ..t he 
author ori the title, in'the case of anonymous works, 
and he fdllowed the cataloguing rules of Sir Anthony 
Panizzi;~4 this was followed by a Classified 
Catalogue which listed the 14 424 books according to 
subject funder the broad classes denoted by letters 
of the .1 alphabet from A (English fiction) to R 
(Reference).95 
Laurence applied ·his prodigious knowledge of books 
to his own "information service" which he ran at the 
library from 3: 3 O to 4: 3 0 pm on Saturdays, when he 
placed himself at the disposal of subscribers to 
answer questions and to make "the contents of the 
library more instructive and more accessible" (DFA, 
15 October 1880). 
94. Anthony Panizzi ( 1797 -1879) , an Italian by 
birth was the Assistant Librarian at the British 
Museum for some years. During this time he planned 
and began work on a catalogue of the library works. 
95. Vide p. 110. 
~---------------------------- -
173 
He maintained that books were tools and should be 
taken care of in the same way as a workman looks 
after his tools; he also propounded the theory that 
light reading should not necessarily be discouraged 
as it could lead to a "taste of substantial 
literature." The· examples cited by him to 
substantiate this statement are indicative of the 
readlng habits of the time. Peop1e who read 
Charles Read'.s The cloister and the hearth and 
Bulwer Lytton's Last days of Pompeii, he maintained, 
"will go on to read works of history relating to the 
same period." (DI, 12 October 1888). 
Laurence ( 1893 l was very much in favour of free 
libraries and he bewailed the fact that libraries in 
the Cape Colony were "not as at home, under direct 
municipal control and supported by special rates." 
He did not regard the subscription system as an 
ideal. one and expressed the belief that "the true 
solution lay in the direction of the 
municipalisation of libraries" (Laurence, 1904 l. 
on more than one occasion he expressed the hope that 
Kimberley would be the first municipality, if not in 
South Africa, then in the Cape Colony, to develop a 
really free library.96 
Mr Justice Laurence was instrumental in the 
launching the Kimberley Public Library building 
project. Most of the books bought for the library 
were either selected or personally vetted by him and 
the members of the Committee were prepared to rely 
on his expertise. For this reason, he was rarely 
96. The Legislative Council of the Cape of Good 
Hope passed a recommendation, no. 5 of 1892 , 
stating that whenever a library was open, the public 
should be admitted free and allowed access to all 
works of reference and to all the books in the 
library. Access to newspapers and periodicals 
could be determined by the library. The libraries 
were, however, still dependent upon subscriptions 
for funding of books and magazines. 
174 
opposed and when, in 1892, there arose a 
disagreement with the Committee about the purchase 
of Von· Moltke' s compendium of the Staff history of 
the Franco-German War, Laurence threatened to resign 
as chairman at the next general meeting because his 
opinion had been disregarded; he was re-elected 
unanimously, however. ·"T-his' "  wrote the editor of 
south Africa (21 May 1892) "is a little exhibition 
of petulance on the part of the judge, but .•. the 
subscribers to the Public Library are like sheep 
without a shepherd." 
In December 1901 Laurence tendered his resignation 
because "he had been precluded from bringing forward 
suggestions which ••• he had contemplated making" 
. (KPL. Minutes, 12 December 1901). He explained that 
he, in his capacity as chairman, had been slighted; 
he was nevertheless prepared to continue serving on 
the committee as an ordinary member until August 
1905 when he was transferred to Cape Town to preside 
over the War Losses Commission. 
·ais departure was a severe loss to the library and 
the committee expressed their gratitude towards him 
by presenting him with a framed address and putting 
up a framed photograph of him in the library (KPL. 
Report, August 1905). He left South Africa in 1913 
and died in England in 1930. 
10.3 ·George H Goch 
George Goch was born in swellendam in 1850 and came 
to Kimberley in 1872 as a jeweller. He was 
interested in books and education and started a very 
successful Circulating Library in his Jeweller's 
shop in Dutoitspan Road in 1876 - "the first of its 
kind ever attempted in Kimberley" (Laurence, 1889) ;. 
this collection formed the nucleus of the bookstock 
of the Kimberley Public.Library • 
• 
~· '. 
Goch was Vice-president of the Kimberley Literary 
Institute until it packed up in· 1878 and a member of 
the Library Committee from 1.882 to 1888. He became 
involved in public life in 1878, when he was elected 
a Borough councillor, a position which he held until 
1885. In this capacity, he championed the cause of 
the library, endeavouring to secure greater 
financial aid for it. 
In 1884 he became the second member of Parliament 
for Kimberley and again he took up the cudgels for 
the Kimberley Public Library, persuading Parliament 
to pay £150 for additional bricks required for the 
building of the library; he was· also instrumental 
in the passing of the Kimberley Borough Council 
constitution Bill, which· conferred immeasurable 
benefits on the community (Goch~ 1893, p.515). 
In 1886 he left Kimberley for the gold fields, where 
he floated the Wemmer and George Goch Companies. 
He became Vice-Chairman of the Finance Committee of 
the Town Council of Johannesburg in 1903, and Mayor 
in 1904 - 1905, in which capacity he officiated at 
the opening of the Seymour Memorial Library in 1905 
(Kennedy, 1970, p.419). He died in the Transvaal 
in 1918. 
While he lived in Kimberley, he was committed to the 
cause of providing library facilities to the 
community, and Laurence ( 1889) rightly called him 
"The Father of Libraries in Griqualand West". 
10.4 J B CUrrey 
J B Currey was born in England in 1829 and came to 
the Cape in 1850. After trying his hand at farming 
and mining, he entered the Civil Service in 1857 and 
became a precis writer in the Colonial Office. He 
lived in Kimberley for two years, holding the 
position of Secretary to the Government of 
Griqualand West, but when Richard Southey was 
recalled, he was paid off and retired on pension to 
Cape Town. 
In 1884 he returned to Kimberley as Manager of the 
r.ondon and south African Exploration co1n_I:~ny, a 
position which he . held for 15 years, until the 
Company was bought out by De Beers. He returned to 
Cape Town where he died in 1904. 
?<Ir Currey was a wide reader and a great lover of 
books. When he returned to Kimberley in _1884, one 
of the first things he noted was the existence of a 
Public Library. By September he found himself on 
the Kimberley Library Committee which he served 
with dedication until 1895. 
He came into close contact with the inhabitants of 
Beaconsfield, as this whole area fell under his 
jurisdiction. When there was a movement towards 
the establishment of a public library, Currey gave 
the project his full support and put the case for 
library accommodation very strongly to his· Board of 
Directors in England. It was with his assistance 
that a building, which had been erected to house his 
Company, was made available for library purposes. 
Despite the low rental which he negotiated for the 
library, he continually had to explain to his Board 
the reason for non-payment. By 1895, he had 
reduced the rental to El. per month. The 
Beaconsfield Library Committee were greatly indebted 
to him and, in recognition of his assistance, made 
him the honorary President of the library in 1890. 
Mr Currey gave donations to both the Kimberley 
Public Library and the Beaconsfield Library in his 
personal capacity as well as from the r.ondon and 
South African Exploration Company. The full extent 
of his. g~nerosity was not generally known. 
-----------------------------------------
177 
His sojourn in Kimberley came to an abrupt and 
unexpected end when Rhodes bought out the London and 
south African Exploration Company in 1889. 
10.5 Mr Moses Cornwall 
Mr Moses Cornwall arrived in Kimberley in 1870 and 
was an Assistant-Sheriff and Justice of Peace; he 
started serving on the Library Committee in October 
1886, took over as Chairman of the Committee when Mr 
Justice Laurence left, and died in office in January 
1906, after 20 years of library service. 
Mr Cornwall took ·an active interest in public life, 
serving as Mayor· of Kimberley in 1881, 1882 and 1898 
and as Member of Parliament from 1884 to 1888. He 
was known to be "a man of sound judgement and common 
sense (Cornwall, 19Q2, p.3). 
10.6 James Lawrence 
Mr Lawrence was born in the Cape Colony in 1853. 
He ran a business in Kimberley. He was very civic-
minded and was elected to the Towh Council in 1882, 
serving as Mayor of Kimberley in 1889, 1892/3 and 
1896 and as Member of Parliament in 1894 and 1898. 
Despite his public commitments, Mr Lawrence served 
on the Library Committee foi;: 10 years, from 
September 1891 to December 190i. He was known for 
his progressive outlook and for his talent as a 
fluent and persuasive public speaker. He was a 
Kimberley man "of whom the inhabitants may well be 
proud" (Lawrence, 1902, p.79). 
10.7 Cecil John Rhodes 
Cecil John Rhodes was born in England in 1853 and 
arrived at New Rush in 1872. Through ambition and 
business acumen, he reached great heights, forming 
the D~ Beers Company and amalgamating the mines. 
178 
He was a single-minded person, working towards a 
goal he had set for himself and was not to be side-
tracked by civic matters. In 1879 he stood for 
Town council, but withdrew his name at the last 
moment as he was at this time preoccupied with the· 
establlshment of the De Beers consolidated Mining 
Company and had also entered the field of politics. 
He became Member of Parliament for Barkly West in 
1880 and Prime.Minister of the Cape Colony in 1890, 
but resigned as a result of the Jameson raid, for 
which he was partly responsible. He was in 
Kimberley for the duration of the siege. 
In May 1880 he attended a meeting at which Mr Rose-
Innes, the Acting Administrator, presided and he put 
forward a motion that the Town Council should be 
induced to provide a room for library purposes in 
their proposed Town Hall; he was subsequently 
elected to serve on the Committee which was 
instructed to approach. . the Government for a yearly 
grant and a site for the library. It is not clear 
whether Rhodes did, in fact, act on this C_ommittee; 
his name was not put forward as a member of the 
Provisional Board of Library Directors at a meeting 
held a month later. In 1883 he was again nominated 
to serve on the Library C9mmittee but withdrew his 
name. 
Mr Rhodes was very friendly with Mr Justice 
Laurence, Mr J B Currey, Dr L S Jameson and probably 
many other Library Committee men, all of whom were 
prominent figures in Kimberley. He was sympathetic 
to the library cause and made generous donations in 
his personal capacity as well as through the De 
Beers Company.97 When approached by Mr Laurence 
for subsidisation of the building extension project, 
97. Vide p.112. 
179 
he acceded to the request by making funds available 
from compound funds.98 
Rhodes was a First Class subscriber and life-member 
of the library. The loan register for 1888 
indicates that he visited the library regularly 
while he was living in Kimberley and that he read 
mostly for relaxation. 
When Cecil Rhodes passed away on 16 March 1902, the 
library felt that they had lost a very good and 
sympathetic friend, which indeed they had. 
The following resolution was recorded at the time of 
his death : 
"That the Committee of the Kimberley 
Public Library desire to place on record 
their deep sorrow at the death of the Rt 
Hon C J Rhodes, who, as chairman of the 
De Beers Mining Company and also in his 
private capacity, long took the liveliest 
interest in this Institution and 
contributed generously to its support 
(KPL. Minutes, 10 April 1902)~ 
Indirectly Rhodes played a significant role in the 
library history of Kimberley; his mining 
transactions brought about a stability in the 
economy of Kimberley which ensured the permanence 
and growth of the Kimberley Public Library. At 
the same time, it brought unemployment and poverty 
for many, causing the deterioration of the 
Beaconsfield Library, which had been instituted 
expressly to render a service to the miners. 
Through his influence, De Beers took on the role of 
a fairy godmother towards the libraries of 
Kimberley, making regnlar annual grants to the 
98. Vide p.147. 
180 
Kimberley Public Library and later to the 
Beaconsfield Library. 
10.8 Barney Barnato 
Barnett Isaacs was born in the Jewish quarter of 
London's East End in 1852 and came to Kimberley to 
seek his fortune in 1873. Barnato, as he came to 
be called, made his fortune out of diamonds; in 
1881 he floated the Barnato Diamond Mining Company 
which amalgamated with De Beers in 1888 to form De 
Beers Consolidated Mines. 
By the middle of the eighteen-nineties, he was one 
of the richest men in the world (Norwich, 1972, 
[p.17]). Bearing in mind that he was worth over 
£10 million pounds, his donatien of £50 to the 
library in 1894 hardly atte.s ts to.  his generosity. 
He had, according to Harington (1972, p.31), "fill 
aversion to reading", hardly ever reading even a 
newspaper. However, this contention is inconsistent 
with the records of the Kimberley Public Library, 
which indicate that he was a First Class l;brary 
subscriber in 1888 and that he took out 37 items in 
December 1888 and 30 in January 1889. Furthermore, 
he was a member of the Committee which founded the 
.Johannesburg Public Library in 1889 (Kennedy, 1970, 
p. 4) and in the same year, he interceded on behalf 
of the Kimberley Public Library for financial 
support in his capacity as Member of the Cape 
Legislative Assembly. 
Barney Barnato served on the Kimberley Town Council 
from 1879 to 1880 and was a Member of Parliament 
from 1889 to his death in 1897. Taking into 
consideration the active role he played in the 
political and mining history. of Kimberley, and his 
great interest in recreational activities such as 
~------------------------
/ 
181 
horse-racing and boxing, it is surprising that he 
found the time to visit the library at all. 
10.9 Leander Starr Jameson 
L S Jameson was born in Scotland in 1853; he 
emb-atked on a career of medicine and arrived in 
Kimberley in 1878 where he practised as a doctor for 
some years. He met Cecil Rhodes and came under his 
influence to such an extent that he gave up his 
medical practice and devoted his energies to assist 
Rhodes in his hid to link Cape to Cairo by opening 
up the territory now known as Rhodesia. 
In 1890 he was appointed Managing Director Of 
Rhodes' British South African Charter Company. He 
became Administrator of Mashonaland in 1891 and 
took action against Lobengula, the King of the 
Matabele in 1893. Dr Jameson is remembered chiefly 
for his role in the abortive raid on Johannesburg in 
1895, for which he served a sentence of 15 months' 
imprisonment in England, returning to south Africa 
during the Anglo-Boer War. He rendered his services 
as a doctor at the siege of Ladismith. 
tn 1900 he became member of Parliament, and, as 
leader of the Progressive party, became Prime 
Minister of the Cape Colony in 1902. He was very 
a~tached to Cecil Rhodes and was buried next to him 
on the Matoppos in 1917. 
When "Dr .Jim" lived and practised medicine in 
Kimberley, he served on the Library Committee for 
two years ( 1887 and 1888 l and was a member of the 
sub-committee which was appointed to organise a 
bazaar for fund-raising purposes. In this capacity, 
he was seated on · the platform with the other 
dignitaries at the inauguration ceremony of the 
Kimberley Public Library in 1887. 
-. 
182 
He personally donated £40 towards the Libra-ry 
Building Fund and in 1890 became· a life member of 
the library on payment of £25. He was not a 
prolific reader but library records reveal an 
elevated taste in literature. 
10.10 Sidney S Mendelssohn 
Sidney Mendelssohn, who is today best known for his 
South African Bibliography in two volumes, was the 
eldest son of Rev Meyer Mendelssohn, who came to 
Kimberley in 1878 and served · on the Library 
Committee in 1884 and 1885. Sidney Mendelssohn was 
a diamond buyer and became the Director of the New 
Bultfontein Mine and later of the New Vaal Diamond 
and Exploration Company Limited, which was formed 
in 1902 and had its offices at sydney-on-Vaal, a 
small town later named after him.99 
Mendelssohn became interested in collecting Africana 
and was inspired by Mr P M Laurence to start 
compiling a catalogue of his collection.100 He 
established a library at Sydney-on-Vaal ·in 1906, 
having collected funds for this purpose overseas 
(Bradlow, 1965, p.14) and he assisted the librarian, 
Mr A J Silverston, who was a cousin of his (Smit, 
1968, p.529). 
His Africana catalogue was published in 1910 and a 
copy was donated to the library. Mr Mendelssohn 
was never directly involved with the Kimberley 
Public Library, although he corresponded with both 
Mr Dyer and the next librarian, Mr John Ross. His 
contribution to the library was minimal. He gave a 
donation of two guineas towards the Extension Fund 
99. When Sydney-on-Vaal was named after Sidney 
Mendelssohn, the spelling was inadvertently changed. 
100. This collection is at present housed in the 
Library of Parliament. 
--- _ __f_ 
183 
and left the library a legacy of !'100 after his 
death in 1917. He passed on odd items to the 
library, such as photographic facsimiles of early 
printed notes relating to the Diamond Fields, but no 
substantiation of the conte.ntion that he gave his 
duplicates to the Kimberley Public Library could be 
traced.101 
10.11 Conclusion 
The Public Library and its control was considered a 
prestigious activity and one within the scope of the 
more learned and respected gentlemen of the 
community. 
Some of the most prominent men in Kimberley played a 
role in the development of the library and this is 
probably the reason why it became a well-known 
institution which could exercise an influence over 
governing bodies to achieve its goals. It could 
quite easily have faded into obscurity if it had not 
been for the strength of purpose and dedicated 
leadership of these contemporary · Kimberley 
figures.102 
The library's fine collection of books and valuable 
Africana items can be ascribed to the expertise of 
men like Mr Justice Laurence and Mr B L Dyer. 
---------------------------------------------------
101. Statements made by Bradlow (1965), Smit, DE 
(1968) and Musiker (1986). 
102. It is interesting to note that· Barnato was 
born in 1852, Rhodes, Lawrence and Jameson in 1853 
and Laurence in 1854. At the time of the founding 
of the Kimberley libraries, these men were all in 
their thirties. 
Percival Maitland Laurence 
1854 1930. 
George H Gach 
1850 1918. 
John Blades Currey 
1829 1904. 
184 
CHAPTER 11 
EVALUATION AND COMMENT 
This study has traced the history of the Kimberley 
Public Library from the opening of the diamond 
diggings to the turn of the century; its gradual 
development has been examined within the context of 
the vacillating fortunes of a society, which has 
been viewed "not as. a static organism but as an 
organism continually growing through dynamic 
changes" (Young, 1964, p.139). Perspective gained 
by the passage of time enables the researcher to 
discern a pattern in the seemingly disconnected 
occurrences and upheavals ,1xperienced by a new 
society trying to establish itself. 
It becomes clear that Johnson (1965, p.405) was 
correct in stating that the fortunes of the library ' 
are intertwined with that of the community "each at 
one and the same time to a large extent cause and 
result of the other." 
Historical data· on their own mean nothing and should 
be interpreted if we are to learn from past 
experience. 
Bearing this in mind, the sub-problems outlined in 
the first chapter may now be examined and the 
validity of the hypotheses put forward may be tested 
against the sequence of events recorded in the 
preceding chapters. 
The first sub-problem dealt with the extent to which 
the socio-economic conditions on the diggings 
influenced the establishment and nature of the 
libraries which came into operation. 
) 
185 
The preceding chapters have shown that there was 
indeed a correlation between the vicissitudes of the 
social, economic and political conditions 
experienced in Kimberley and the fluctuating 
fortunes of the public library. The hardships and 
difficult conditions experienced by the diggers 
formed the background against which libraries came 
into operation. 
In the early stages of Kimberley, no specific desire 
for a public library was expressed. The 
circulating libraries of Hurley, Allen and Gach 
catered admirably for the transient life-style of 
the diggers, keeping them in touch with their places 
of origin by the provision of magazines and 
newspapers and providing light reading material for 
relaxation. 
The Griqualand West Library was established when 
people started settling down and small schools were 
making their appearance, but the uncertainty about 
the future of the mines and the duration of diamond 
deposits was the indirect cause of· the library's 
lack of progress and gradual decline. 
When the restriction on the ownership of more than 
ten claims was lifted, mining companies were formed 
and listed on the stock market. Following suit, a 
Library Company was established and shares sold to 
the public. Kimberley experienced an economic boom 
which started in 1880 and lasted for two years. By 
1882, however, "the entire sharebuying process was 
in reverse" (Roberts, 1976, p.198). Conditions 
deteriorated during the next couple of years; the 
economy suffered a severe depression, the miners 
organised a strike, there was a smallpox epidemic 
and, needless to say, the Library Company also 
landed in financial difficulties and had to be 
liquidated. 
------------------------------~-----------
186 
In 1885 the mining companies start,ed uniting an4 the 
economy rallied. At the same time, a renewed 
effort was made to build a library and fund-raising 
started in earnest, the library materialising in 
1887. Soon afterwards, the amalgamation of the 
large companies and the formation of De Beers 
Consolidated Mines took place ••• A building boom 
resulted and in 1890 no fewer than 144 buildings, 
including a fire station, were being erected. It 
was at this time, too, that the model village of 
Kenilworth was built by Rhodes. A new era of 
stability was ushered in and the Kimberley Public 
Library thrived. 
The amalgamation of the mines also had negative 
effects; it heralded three years of depression 
caused by unemployment, a drop ii;i the share market 
and the departure of many Kimberley residents for 
the newly opened gold fields in the Transvaal. The 
Beaconsfield Library and Institute, which had been 
established mainly to keep the young men on the 
mines constructively occupied during their leisure 
times, was very badly affected by the depression 
which lasted until after the Anglo-Boer war. By 
1902, with peace restored, conditions improved 
considerably, economically as well as politically 
and library utilisation reached an all time high. 
To sum up, Kimberley's economy in the early years 
showed a fluctuating tendency which was reflected in 
the fortunes of the library: there was a slump up 
to 1875, a recovery in 1876 and a boom in 1880; a 
slump in 1882, n. recovery in 1885 and a boom in 
1888; a decline over the next few years and a 
recovery in 1902. 
The graph overleaf depicts library membership and 
library utilisation from 1885 to 1902. 
187 
Library · · la Serles l B Serles 2 
1885-86. 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 991900 I 2 
Series 1 depicts the number of library subscribers 
and series 2 the average daily attendance. The 
graph reveals a pattern which is very similar to the 
economic fluctuations described above; it also shows 
a proportionately high library utilisation in 
comparison with the number of registered members. 
It has been shown that the progress of the library 
was intertwined with the events experienced on the 
Diamond Fields and that each library which came into 
operation was very mueh a product of th~ times and 
influenced by the economic and political conditions. 
on examining the social conditions prevailing on the 
Diamond Fields, it appears that when the diggers 
first brought their families to the· diggings and 
started settling down, the first aspect which 
received attention was the formation of a Borough 
council to provide basic services such as water, 
housing and sanitation. There already existed a 
great need for cultural and educational facilities 
but, while the future of the diamond mines was 
uncertain, nothing much was done in this direction. 
It was only wlien large mining companies took over 
the mines that a serise of security manifested itself 
and people started striving to improve the quality 
of life. Churches and schools were built and an 
188 
interest in theatre and intellectual .pursuits 
evinced itself. 
The time was now ripe for the resumption of the 
efforts of library protagonists to establish a 
Public Library; the infra-structure for this 
institution had been created and economic stability 
attained. When the library project was launched, 
the people of Kimberley gave it their whole-hearted 
support and made a concerted effort to raise the 
required amount. Despite the fact that library 
utilisation did not come up to expectations, the 
library not only survived but made significant 
progress. 
The validity of the hypothesis that stability and 
favourable economic conditions are prerequisites for 
the establishment of a public library is 
substantiated by the history of the Kimberley Public 
Library seen within the context of a growing belief 
in the future of Kimberley and in the permanence of 
the diamond mines. 
The second sub-problem was to evaluate the role of 
the library in the community life of Kimberley. 
An hypothesis was formulated which stated that the 
library, as a result of a diversity of functions, 
fulfilled a vital need in the community life of 
Kimberley. According to the facts and opinions 
recounted in the preceding chapters, the conclusion 
arrived at is that the library played a very small 
role in the community life at the time; there is no 
conclusive evidence to support the statement that 
the library fulfilled a vital need in the lives of 
residents. 
It was only when gambling was declared illegal in 
1873 and people started looking elsewhere for 
entertainment that those who were concerned with the 
189-
. intellectual and cultural upliftment of the mining 
. 
community grasped the opportunity ta expound on the 
virtues bf a ·library or a literary institute where 
leisure time could be spent profitably. ·The need 
for a literary society · and library,' (in that 
order), was often expressed but when tae Society was 
launched, the Colonial Secretary, Mr J B Currey, 
named it the 'Kimberley Library and Institute', thus 
giving the library function greater prominence. 
When the library came into operation, the 
intellectuals entertained high hopes for its success 
but it was obvious fro' m the decline .of the library 
when it was moved td new premises that its main 
i 
attraction had lain in its close proximity to Dodds' 
Billiard Saloon and bhe communal use· of the card 
' 
' ' room. People were in search of. entertainment, ' 
which obviously the library did not provide. 
' 
Even when the Kimberley Public Library was in the 
process of being built, other societies, such as t~e 
Athenaeum, the Li ter,ary Society an\i Young Men's 
Improvement Societies/, sprang up and, according to 
reports, the literary and musical programmes 
organised by these institutes, were _·well received. 
The record of early library history confirms 
Benade's allegation that the public library was 
never a popular service (1977, p.256). 
Statistics reveal a very low membership in relation 
to the population of Kimberley. For 14 years it 
fluctuated between 232 and 387, only increasing by 
147 in 1902 after a drastic reduction in 
subscription fees had been made. (See table 
overleaf), 
190 
------------W--h-i-t-e- ---------------------------------
Year Population Subscribers Percentage -
1-8-9-1- ------1-2- -6-5-8- ----------3-0-1- ---------------2-,3-%-- ---
.1900. 13 500 325 2,4% 
1902 13 556 528 3,9% 
---------------------------------------------------
According to attendance records, many non-subscibers 
used the library's facilities, presumably to make 
use of the free reading room. Through the years 
various methods were employed to entice people to 
join the library as subscribers: 
- Library hours were extended to accommodate the 
public; 
- book stock was replenished with the latest titles 
from overseas at a rate of more than 1 000 a year; 
patrons were encouraged to make their own 
recommendations for purchases; 
books could be reserved and a new system was 
devised by which patrons were notified immediately 
when reserved books were available; 
subscribers were allowed to take out extra books 
should they wish to do so; 
and the chairman of the r.iJ:>rary committee made 
himself available on Saturday afternoons to find 
information for patrons and acquaint them with the 
library stock. 
The reason for the low utilisation of library 
facilities is to be found in the general social 
structure of Kimberley; the population was 
predominantly working class, and factors such as 
background, standard of education, previous library 
•------------------~----~--------
191 
usage, employment situation, housing conditions and 
leisure activities, would have had a vital effect on 
readership patterns. In establishing a public 
library, no cognisance was taken of the clientele 
and their peculiar circumstances. 
The champions of the - library movement equated the 
cultural needs of the community with their own; 
there was no scientific basis for the assumption 
that a public library would fulfil so great a need 
that ~he average householder would willingly pay for 
the privilege of utilising it. It was not realised 
that the mere provision of a good selection of books 
would not necessarily instigate people to use the 
facilities either for recreation or for serious 
study, and that a process of enculturation was 
required to establish the reading habit. 
It was claimed that free rate-supported libraries 
would attract greater support. There is no doubt 
that the subscription rates, ~hich were high for 
that time, deterred people from joining the library; 
but the public also built up resistance to the 
library as a re9ult of its forbidding image and 
atmosphere of exclusiveness. The Kimberley Public 
Library was the product of the intelligentsia and 
its select character was typical of the 'gentlemen's 
library' of the 19th century. 
The plethora of. rules and regulations and their 
strict enforcement, perceived by the Committee to be 
necessary for the smooth running of the library, 
made it a bureaucratic institution where the 
ordinary man did not feel welcome. If it had been 
less prescriptive and conservative and more of a 
community centre, more people would have been 
encouraged to join. For almost a century, 
librarians have tried to live down the image of 
austerity and severity created by the early public 
libraries, with minimal success. 
•--- -
192 
It has been shown that Beaconsfield Library was the 
outcome, not of the expressed needs of the working 
class, but of the schemes 6f philanthropic idealists 
who were endeavouring to raise the moral standards 
of the young miners who roamed the streets in the 
evenings. ~hey were more concerned with the 
provision of a facility than with the actual library 
stock. Had a prior survey of community needs been 
made, the design, nature and function of the 
Institute would probably have differed appreciably. 
Even before. the official inauguration of the 
library, mention was made of the apathy of the 
public. The membership of the library dropped year 
by year and the only successful attraction was the 
billiard table. 
Both the Beaconsfield and the Kimberley librarie·s, 
like most educational institutions, originated for 
the purpose of assisting those who, in the eyes of 
those concerned a?out the living standards of the 
community, required upliftment and education; but it 
appears that a more active approach was required. 
This is the reason why other literary societies, 
such as Young men's Improvement Societies, with 
their own reading rooms, were far more popular and 
achieved better results than the libraries. Even 
after the establishment of the library, the question 
was asked, "Where are our Improvement Societies, 
such as debating and discussion groups?" (DFA, 8 
February 1888) Obviously, informal education on an 
organised basis was a prerequisite for the provision 
of library books. The fact that subscriptions had 
to be paid for the dubious privilege of taking out 
library material, did not enhance the library's 
popularity. 
The people themselves neither demanded a library, 
nor actively supported it; it was mainly the editors 
of local newspapers and a small band of idealistic 
193 
intellectuals who repeatedly referred to the lack of 
educational and library facilities on the Diamond 
Fields. The apathy of the man-in-the-street refutes 
the premise that the Public Library _fulfilled a 
vital need in the community life of Kimberley. 
The third sub-problem was to establish how libraries 
were financed and to what extent the governing 
bodies were responsible f~r the financing. 
The hypothesis that libraries were unable to exist 
from funds generated by themselves and that 
financial support from the governing bodies is vital 
for the success of a library, has been covered in 
this study and has been shown to apply. 
Subscription libraries which were financially 
dependent upon subscribers, made very little headway 
and never attained more than mediocrity. The 
library fathers found it difficult to reconcile the 
dual functions of the library, that of acquiring 
popular fiction and that of collecting and 
preserving reference material. They tried to do 
both with the limited resources at their disposal. 
Revenue from subscriptions at the Kimberley Public 
Library averaged £765 a year and salaries amounted 
to £500 to £600 annually, leaving about £200 with 
which to cover expenses such as insurances, 
lighting, bookbinding, maintenance and the purchase 
of books. It stands to reason that, without grants 
from other sources, it would have been impossible to 
add to the collection. 
The Chairman of the Kimberley Library Committee 
spent a large part of his time campaigning for more 
financial support from the authorities, and every 
means at his disposal was employed to extract 
promises for grants from them. He had the support 
of all the Members of the Legislative Assembly for 
I 
~ 
194 
Kimberley in any legislation affecting the welfare 
of the library. 
Kimberley was legally empowered to assist the 
library by means of grants and Mr Justice Laurence 
always hoped that Kimberley would be the first town 
to finance a free Public Library by means of a levy 
on rates. When the Library Committee tried to put 
a system of rate-supported membership into 
operation, however, the Borough council was too 
impoverished to co-operate . 
. 
The Government gave the library a grant of.£300 per 
annum for many years running. With these grants and 
with the generous assistance of De Beers, the 
library managed to purchase a very large stock of 
books, many of them forming the nucleus of the 
valuable Special Collection housed in the library to 
this day. 
The library, it appears, is a servii::e which can 
never be fully privatised. It is not popular enough 
to. maintain itself on user fees.alone. 
The fourth sub-problem which received attention in 
this study was to identify the people who played a 
significant role in the development of the Kimberley 
public Library. 
The hypothesis that the library would never have 
acllieved the success it did were it not for the 
efforts of certain protagonists of the library, was 
based on the assumption that it was a successful 
institution by the eighteen-nineties. That this was 
indeed the case, is confirmed by opinions expressed 
by the Johannesburg Library Committee of the time 
(Kennedy 1970, pp 9-10, 15, 28) and by the high 
regard in which the opinion of people like Mr 
Justjce Laurence and Mr Dyer on library matters was 
held. 
195 . 
It has also been shown that pi::ominent and learned 
citizens of Kimberley involved ·themselves with the 
library to the extent of pleading its cause in their 
Council chambers or in Parliament. The commitment 
and enthusiasm of these men who were involved in 
many other, possibly more important matters, . gave 
the library a certain amount of prestige in the eyes 
of the community and engendered the respect and 
support of governing bodies and large mining 
companies. Rhodes's sympathy with the library cause 
resulted in munificent financial support from De 
Beers, and J B Currey's influence brought about 
accommodating exemptions from the London and south 
African Exploration Company for the Beaconsfield 
Library. 
Mainly, however, the success of the Kimberley Public 
Library can be ascribed to the efforts of inspired, 
dedicated and enthusiastic men like G H Goch, P M 
Laurence and B L Dyer. 
Conclusion 
By the turn of the century, Kimberley, a mining town 
with a population of predominantly working class, 
had managed to establish an excellent public library 
"entirely by the collective action of the citizens 
of Kimberley" themselves (Dyer, 1903, p.47). This 
in itself is quite remarkable when one takes into 
account that the Cape Government contributed 
lavishly towards the building of the south African 
Public Library and that priceless collections, such 
as that of Von Dessin, Sir George Grey and Dr L 
Pappe were donated to the library and formed the 
basis of this library's stock. 
Furthermore, the South African and Grahamstown 
libraries became copyright libraries in 1873, which 
meant that they received all South African 
publications automatically. ·The Port Elizabeth 
196 
Public Library received bequests and donations from 
the savage family. The Kimberley Library's sole 
benefactor was J MacFarlane who bequeathed £500 "to 
the library. The strong collection was built up 
from scratch and the library itself was erected 
with funds collected through the efforts of the 
people of Kimberley. 
Kimberley was the first town to be legally 
authorised, by the Kimberley Borough Amendment Act 
no 30 of 1884, to grant sums of money for the 
provision of library services. Two years before, in 
1882, the Kimberley Borough Council had assumed 
civic responsibility towards the library by offering 
to buy the assets of the insolvent library company. 
After this, the Council made welcome, if inadequate, 
grants to both the Kimbe.--:ley and Beaconsfield 
libraries annually. 
The preceding chapters of this study have shown that 
the contribution of Kimberley to the development of 
librariax:iship in South Africa was considerable, a 
fact which is possibly not generally kndwn and 
recognised. Kimberley is known for its large 
number of 'firsts', and, in the field of 
librarianship, Kimberley was also the first in many 
respects. 
As early as January 1890, the Library Committee 
expressed the opinion that a South African Library 
Association should be formed and they authorised the 
Chairman to take preliminary steps to bring this 
about. Mr Laurence travelled to Cape Town to 
discuss the matter with the librarian of the South 
African Library, Mr F s Lewis. The latter stated 
in a letter dated 5 . March 1890, that he would 
procure the rules of the English and American 
Library Association and that his Committee would 
then follow up the matter (Dyer, 1903, p.240). 
197 
Mr Dyer, the Librarian of the Kimberley Public 
Library, organised the first conference for 
librarians in South Africa in 1904; he advocated 
professionalism in librarianship and believed in 
free access to the library for everyone, .regardless 
of colour, race or creed. 
Mr Dyer advocated the abolition of the subscription 
system, which he considered to be discriminatory 
towards the poor and prejudicial to researchers and 
readers of serious literature as it had the effect 
of lowering the quality of the collection·. It was 
the responsibility of the Government, he contended, 
to fund an educational institution such as the 
Public Library. 
"The one and only expenditure of a 
Government which is returned an hundred-
fold to the country governed," maintained 
Dyer (1903, p.30) "is its expenditure in 
educational work." 
Kimberley was in the forefront as far as the 
cataloguing and classification · of books was 
concerned. The library catalogue compiled by Mr 
Justice Laurence was an accurate reference tool that 
was consulted for many years, and, according to ·Dyer 
(1903, p. 21), with the exception of the South 
African Library, no attempt at scientific 
classification of books was made in any library in 
South Africa prior to the Kimberley Public Library. 
Dyer was one of the first librarians to implement 
the Dewey Decimal Classification System. 
The Kimberley Public Library started collecting 
material pertaining · to South Africa as early as 
1889, when Mr Fairbridge was instructed to purchase 
material for Kimberley. Mr Justice Laurence 
advocated the collecting and preserva~ion of 
pamphlets, photographs and ephemera of local 
---- --- ------··--·----
t98 
interest and Mr Dyer actively implemented the policy 
of building up a collection of local Africana· 
The study has highlighted other contributions made 
by the Kimberley Public Library, such as obtaining 
exemption from municipal taxation for all libraries 
and negotiating third class rates for book railage. 
The Kimberley Public Library was the first library 
to institute a Branch Library in the form of the 
Kenilworth Library, and the loan arrangement between 
the Kimberley and Beaconsfield libraries may be said 
to constitute the first inter-library loan system in 
South Africa. 
To sum up, the problems experienced today are not 
unique; they are the same that our forebears had 
to contend with, except perhaps . in the degree of 
complexity. Let us remember that "the past is the 
key to the present" (Young, 1964, p. 139) and let us 
go back to the basics and see today's problems in 
the perspective of past experience. 
-----------------------------------------------
L __ ---~·---
199 
Bibliography 
Aitken, W R 1971. A history of the public library in 
Scotland to 1955. Glasgow: [s.n.]. 
Altick, R.D. 1957. The English conunon reader : a social 
history of the mass reading public 1800 1900. 
Chicago: University of Chicago press. 
Angove, J. 1910. In the early days: the reminiscences of 
pioneer life of the South African Diamond Fields. 
Kimberley: Handel House. 
Babe, J.L. 1872. The South African Diamond Fields. New 
York: David Westley. 
Beaconsfield Library and Institute. 1890. Report for the 
year ending 30 April 1890. 
Beaconsfield Library and Institute. 1892. Report for the 
year 1890 - 1892. 
Beaconsfield Library and Institute. Circular, 2 June 
1891. 
Beet, G. and Terpend, T.L.1917. Romance and reality of 
the Vaal Diamond Diggings. .Kimberley: D.F.A. 
Beet, G. n.d. The grand old days of the Diamond Fields. 
[S.l]: Maskew Millet. 
Benade, R. 1977. The Port Elizabeth Library 1848 - 1904. 
M.Bibl. thesis, University of South Africa. 
Benge, R. C. 1970. Libraries and cultural change. 
London: Bingley. 
Botma, J.P. 1947. Die geskiedenis van die onderwys in 
Griekwaland-Wes, 1800-1940 D.Ed.-proefskrif, 
Universiteit van Stellenbosch. 
Boyle, F. 18 7 3 . To the Cape for diamonds: a story of 
digging experience in south Africa. London: Chapman 
Bradlow, F.R. 1965. Sidney Mendelssohn and the 
Mendelssohn collection. In: Jewish affairs, May 1965, 
pp. 12-17. 
Britain. Parliamentary Papers, vol 27. 1876. 
Correspondence regarding the establishment of 
responsible government, the annexation of Griqualand 
West and other affairs of the Cape Colony, 1857-73 
(Colonies, Africa). Shannon: Irish University Press. 
Cape Government Gazettes, 1890-1899. 
Cape Monthly Magazine, 1871. Cape Town: Juta. 
L __ 
200 
Cape of Good Hope. Parliament. House of Assembly. 1854-
1910. Manuscript annexures to the votes and 
proceedings. 
Cape Town Directory, 1866. Comp. by Charles Goode. Cape 
Town: Cyrus J. Martin. 
Chilvers, H.A. 1939. The story of De Beers with· some 
notes on the company's financial, farming, railway and 
industrial activities in Africa and some introductory 
chapters on the River Diggings and Early Kimberley. 
London: Cassell. ' 
Coetzee, J.C. 1938. Leer- en leesstof van die trekkende 
Afrikaner 'n eeu gelede. In: Koers, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 
33-40. 
Coetzee, P.C. 1945. Die biblioteek in die Afrikaanse 
kultuur. In: Kultuurgeskiedenis van die Afrikaner. 
Reds. C.M. van den Heever en P. de v. Pienaar, deel 3. 
Kaapstad: Nasionale Pers, pp. 521 - 534. 
Cornwall, M. 1902. In: Kimberley and Beaconsfield 
Illustrated. Cape Town: Argus, p.3. 
Cory, G. 1964. The rise of South Africa: a history of 
the origin of South African colonization and its 
development towards the East from earliest times to 
1857, vol.2. Cape Town: Struik. 
Cotgreave, A. 1901. Views and memoranda. London: Library 
Aids. 
Cronje, G. 1945 •• Die huisgesin in die Afrikaanse 
kultuurgemeenskap. In: Kultuurgeskiedenis van die 
Afrikaner. Reds C.M. van den Heever en P.de v. Pienaar, 
deel 1, Kaapstad: Nasionale Pers, pp.309 - 360. 
Currey, J.B. 187 4. Letter to John Rorke, Secretary of 
Library Committee, 19 August, New Rush. (GLW 64, 
Miscellaneous Letters, S.A. Archives). 
Currey, J.B. 1884. Letters to London and south African 
Exploration company, Beaconsfield. (LSAE, vol. 20, De 
Beers Archives). 
Currey, J.B. 1887. Letters to London and South African 
Exploration Company, Beaconsfield. (LSAE, vol. 20, De 
Beers Archives). 
Currey, J.B. 1888. Letters to London and South African 
Exploration Company, Beaconsfield. (LSAE, vol. 23, De 
Beers Archives). 
Currey, J.B. 1889. Letters to London and South African 
Exploration Company. Beaconsfield. ·(LSAE, vol. 24, De 
Beers Archives). 
!. -··. -·----- ·-
~---------------------------------
201 
Currey, J.B. 1894. Letter to the Secretary, Beaconsfield 
Library and Institute, 19 September, Beaconsfield. (KPL 
1751/94)~ ' 
Currey, J.B. 1895. Letter to Secretary of Beaconsfield 
Library and Institute, 1 February, Beaconsfield.(KPL). 
Currey, J.B. 1900. John Blades Currey, 1850-1900: Fifty 
years in the Cape Colony. Ed. by Phillida Brooke 
Simons. Houghton: Brenthurst Press, 1,986. • 
Currey, J.B. 1904. In: South Africa, April, p.196. 
Daily Independent. 1879 - 1892. Kimberley. 
Davenport, T.R.H. 1977. Jameson, Leander Starr. In: 
Dictionary of South African Biography, vol. 3. Cape 
Town: Tafelberg, pp. 438 - 441. 
Dawson, K.P. 1890 ..L etter to J.B. Currey, Manager of the 
London and South African Exploration Company, 11 
August, Beaconsfield. (LSAE, De Beers Archives). 
De Beers Consolidated Mines. 1964. Letter to the 
Kimberley City council, 21 August, Kimberley. :'copy, De 
Beers Archives). 
De Beers Consolidated Mines. 1966. Letter to the 
Kimberley City Council, 12 July,· Kimberley. (Copy, De 
Beers Archives). 
De Kiewiet, c.w. 1957. . A history. of South Africa: 
social and economic. Oxford: University Press. 
Dennison, H.P. 1890. Letter to J.B. Currey, 11 August, 
Beaconsfield. (LSAE, De Beers Archives). 
Dennison, H.P. 1891. Letter to Secretary of De Beers 
Consolidated Mines, 19 August, Beaconsfield. (LSAE, De 
Beers Archives) . 
Diamond Fields Advertiser. 1878 - 1903. Kimberley. 
Diamond Fields. 1870 - 1877. Kimberley. 
Diamond News. 1870 -1884. Kimberley. 
Doughty, o. 1963. Early diamond days : The opening of 
the Diamond Fields of South Africa. London: Longmans. 
Dyer, B.L. 1899. The library assistant question. In: The 
Library World, vol. 2, pp. 138 - 140. 
Dyer, B L 1902. Literature at the Cape. In: Diamond 
Fields Advertiser, 22 May. 
Dyer, B.L. 1903. The public library systems of Great 
Britain, America and South Africa. Kimberley (n .• p.]. 
202 
Dyer, B.L. 1904a. The future of our libraries and the 
abolition of the subscription syst.em. In: New Er.a, 
vol. 1, no.l, pp. 20 - 21. . 
Dyer, B.L. 1904b. Local records. In: New Era, vol. 2, 
no.11, p.342. 
Dyer, B.L. 1904c. Reading circles. In: New Era, vol 2, 
no 19, p. 59S. 
Dyer, B.L. 1907. Libraries for scantily populated 
districts. In: Report of the South African Association 
for the Advancement of Science. Cape T6wn: S.A.A.A.s., 
pp. S23 -S28. 
Dyer, B. L. 1909. Obituary. In Library Association 
Record, vol 11, p.24. 
Een honderd iaar van elektrisiteit in Suid-Afrika. 1982. 
Kimberley, Evkom. 
Engelbrecht, E. 1983. Die geskiedenis van die openbare 
biblioteek van Stellenbosch en sy voorcianger·s tot 196S". 
M.Bibl.-verhandeling, Universiteit van Stellenbosch •• 
Finberg, H.P. R. and Skipp, V. H. T. 1967. Local history, 
objective and pursuit. [n.l.] David & Charles. 
Friend, 7 September 1871. Bloemfontein. 
Friis, T. 1962. The Public Library in South Africa :an 
evaluative study. Cape Town: A.P.B. 
Fullard, W. 19 7 2 • "'N_.e_.d_.._..,..G~e_.r_e,__f,,,.,,..,,..~K__.e_  r__ k ~,= --K--i"=mb~e...,.r_l~e~y,__ 
=G=e=s~k~i~e~d~e~n~i~s'--v~a~n==-~d~i~e"-~g=em::.:=e=e~n~t~e'--'1~8~7~2=-_-_1~9~7.:....::.2· Kimberley: 
Noordkaap Drukkers. 
Glanville, T.B. 1878. Abroad and at home. Port 
Elizabeth: Godlonton. 
Goch, G. 1893. Mr· George Gach. In : South Africa, 16 
September I p. s 1 s·. 
Gous, H.G. 1972. Die N.G. Kerk Dutoitspan-gemeente, 
Beaconsfield - Kimberley. Kimberley, N.k. Drukkers. 
Greenwood, T. 1887. Free Public libraries: their 
organisation, use and management. Cn. 1. l ; Simpkin 
Marshall. 
Grigualand West Government Gazettes, 1876 - 1877. 
Grigualand West Government Gazettes, January 1877 -June 
1879. 
Griqualand West Legislative Council. Proceedings, 
December 1873 - August 1874. 
203 
Griqualand West Public Library. 187 4'. First annual 
report. (GLW 64, S.A. Archives). 
Gutsche, T. 1966. No ordinary woman : life and times of 
Florence Phillips. [n.l.J: Timmins. 
Harington, A.L. 1972. Barney Barnato. In: Dictionary of 
south African Biography, vol. II. Cape ~own: Tafelberg 
for Human Sciences Research council, pp. 31 - 33. 
Hattersley, A.F. 1933. South Africa 1652 - 1933. London: 
Butterworth. 
Hawthorne, S. n.d. Digging for diamonds: the intimate 
story plus photographs, compiled chronologically from 
newspapers and other sources (KPL, MS 258). 
Herbert, I. 1971. The diamond diggers: South Africa 1866 
to the l970's. London: Stacey. 
Hornsby, A.H. 1874. The South African Diamond Fields: a 
practical matter-of-fact account to the latest date. 
Chicago: Inter-ocean Steam Book and Job Print. 
Immelman, R.F.M. 1972. The history of libraries in South 
Africa. In: Give the people light : essays in honour of 
M.M. Stirling. Pretoria: State Library, pp. 15 - 37. 
Independent. 1875 - 187-9. Kimberley. 
Irwin, R. 1958. The origins of the English Library. 
London: Allen & Unwin. 
Johnson, E.D. 1965. A history of libraries in the 
Western World. New York: Scarecrow press. 
Jones, M.W. 1976. The world 100 years ago. London: 
Macmillan. 
Kelly, T. 1973. A history of public libraries in Great 
Britain, 1845 - 1965. [n.l •. J: Library Association. 
Kennedy, R.F. 1947. Benefactions. In: South African 
Libraries, vol. 14, nos 3 & 4, pp.65-71. 
Kennedy, R.F. 1970. Library mechanics : South Africa's 
first trained librarians. In : Libraries and people: 
essays offered to R.F.M. Immelman, ed. by J.G. Kesting 
et.al. Cape Town: Struik. 
Kennedy, R.F. 1970. The heart of the city, a history of 
the Johannesburg Public.Library. Cape Town: Juta. 
Kennedy, R.F. 1977. Laurence, P.M. In: Dictionary of 
South African Biography, vol. 111. Cape Town: Tafelberg 
~or Human Sciences Research Council, pp 500 - 501. 
/ 
204 
Kidd, A.S. 1903. Our public libraries. In : Cape Times, 
3 April 1903, p.11. 
Kilgour, G. 1884. Letter to London and South African 
Exploration Company, 1 April, Beaconsfield. (LSAE,· vol. 
20, De Beers Archives). · 
Kimberley Public Library. 1902. Library Record. 
Kimberley Public Library. 1884-1929. Annual Reports , 
Kimberley: D.F.A. 
Kimberley Public Library. Library Committee. Minute book. 
September 1882 - December 1897. (Unpublished). 
Kimberley Public Library. Library Committee. Minute book. 
January 1989 - March 1904. (Unpublished). 
Kimberley star, 23 January, 1909 .• 
Kritzinger, S.J .. ·1948. Historical survey of the more 
important public libraries in the Union of south 
Africa, vii: Kimberley Public Library. In: South 
African Libraries, vol.15, no.4, pp.97 - 102. 
Laurence,'· P.M. 1888, Chairman's address. Kimberley 
Public Library. Report for the year ending 30 September 
1888. 
Laurence, P.M. 1889. Chairman's address. Kimberley 
Public Library. Report for the year ending 30 September 
1889. 
Laurence, P.M. 1885. Correspondence. {Laurence Letter 
book, MS 41, KPL). 
Laurence, P.M. 1891. Catalogue of the Kimberley Public 
Library, (Introduction). London: Clowes, p. v-xx. 
Laurence, P.M. 1893. Chairman's address. Kimberley Public 
Library. Report for the year ending 30 September 1893. 
Laurence, P .M. 1897. Public libraries in South Africa. 
In: Collectanea, essays, addresses and reviews. London: 
Macmillan, pp. 256 -270. (Reprinted from Library, 
vol.9, pp.l - 16). 
Laurence, P.M. 1904. Inaugural address delivered at the 
first conference of South African librarians. South 
African Association for the Advancement of Science. 
Report of the second meeting held at Johannesburg, pp. 
526 - 537. 
Lawrence, J. 1902. In: Kimberley and Beaconsfield 
Illustrated, p.79. 
Lewinsohn, R. 1937. Barney Barnato : From Whitechapel to 
Diamond King. London: Routledge. 
q • 
--~ -------- -----
205 
Lighten, c. and Harris, C.B. 1968 Details regarding the 
Diamond Fields Advertiser ( 1878-1968 l. . Kimberley: 
Northern cape Printers. 
Liley, J.H. 1887. Letter to J.B. Currey., 28 November, 
Beaconsfield.(De Beers Archives). 
Lindley, A.F. 1873. Adamantia : The truth about the 
South African Diamond Fields. London: Collingridge. 
Lochner, L. 1972. Talk on Leander Starr Jameson. In: Men 
of their times, Johannesburg Historical Society. 
London Missionary Society. ""'R:O:e.,p"'oi"r'--=to::s,__o=-f=-.,::t=h:;:e'--'s=-t.;.a::.t-=:io;:::.n=s--=o:.::-f 
the London Missionary Society, Grigualand and 
Bechuanaland, 1795-1854. [n.l], [n.p.] (KPL Typescript) 
Lucas, A. 1898. A historical geography of the British 
Colonies, vol lV. South Africa, part l, History to 
1895. Oxford: Clarendon press. 
Malherbe, E.G. 1925. Education in South Africa, vol. 1, 
1652 - 1922. Cape Town: Juta. 
Matthews, J.W. 1887. Incwadi Yami: Twenty years personal 
experience of South Africa. New York: Rogers & 
Sherwood. 
McColvin, L.R. 19~.6. The chance to read: public 
libraries in the world today. [n.l.]: Phoenix House. 
Mcintyre, o. 1965. The history of the Kimbez;:ley Public 
Library and its Africana collection. In: South African 
Libraries, vol. 33, no. 2, pp. 70 - 80. 
Millin, S.G. 1951. The people of south Africa. London: 
Constable. 
Moult , L. 19 8 7 • ::;;K'-'H=o--=s'--=t;..;;o=r""y'"":'--'a=-~h=i=s'--=t"'o=r. y.-, ..'o"'f=---,,.::t;::;h=e'--'K"'i=mb=e"-'r::..;l=.e=.-.y. 
Boys' High School. Kimberley: Boys' High Centenary 
Committee. 
Murison, W.J. 1955. The Public Library its origins, 
purpose and significance as a sobial institution. 
London: Harrap. 
Musiker, R. 1986. Companion to South African Libraries. 
Craighall: Denker. 
Nathan, M. 1925. South African literature, a general 
survey. Cape Town : Juta 
Nienaber, P.J. en Nienaber, G.s. 1941. Geskiedenis van 
die Afrikaanse letterkunde. Pretoria: Van Schaik. 
Nixon, J. 1880. Among the Boers. Strand: Remington. 
206 
Norwich, I. 1972. Barney Barnato. In: Men of their 
times. Johannesburg Historical Society. 
Oberholster, J.J. 1946. Die Anneksasie van Griekwaland-
Wes. Kaapstad: Staatsdrukker. ( Argief-j aarboek. vir 
suid-Afrikaanse geskiedenis, 8ste jaargang). 
"One who has visited the Fields". 1871. Among the 
diamonds. In: Cape Monthly Magazine, NS Vol. 11, no. 8, 
pp 112 - 127. 
Payton, c.A. 1872. The diamond diggings of South Africa: 
a personal and practical account. London: Cox. 
Pienaar, W.J .B. 1945. Die Britse st.amverwantskap en 
kulturele belnvloeding. In: Kultuurgeskiedenis van die 
Afrikaner, Reds C.M. van den Heever en P. de v. 
Pienaar, deel 1, Kaapstad: Nasionale Pers, pp. 219 -
249. 
Record and Beaconsfield Advertiser, 4 December 1886 - 31 
December 1887. 
Roberts, B. 1976. Kimberley : turbulent city. Cape Town: 
David Philip. 
Roberts,. B. 1978. Civic century: The first hundred 
years of the Kimberley municipality. -Kimberley: 
Municipality. 
Rorke, ··J. 1873. Letter to the Lieutenant-Governor of 
Grigualand West, 10 October, New ·Rush. (·GL'i'i Semi-
official letters received by Southey, August-December 
1873, S.A. Archives). 
Rorke, J. 187 4. Letters to the Lieutenant-Governor of 
Grigualand West, New Rush. (GLW 64, Miscellaneous 
Letters, S.A. Archives). 
Scheffler, H.M. 1976. Die kulturele lewe van die 
diamantdelwers te Kimberley van 1870 tot 1890. M.A.-
verhandeling, Universiteit van Pretoria. 
Schreiner. o. 1923. Thoughts of South Africa. London: 
Fisher Unwin. 
Shera, J.H. 1965. Foundations of the public library. 
Chicago: University of Chicago Press. 
Smit, D.E. 1968. Sidney Mendelssohn. In: Dictionary of 
south African Biography, vol. 1. Cape Town: Tafelberg, 
pp. 529 - 530. 
South Africa. London, May and August 1892. 
So,uth African. (Newspaper ed. by R.W. Murray). London. 
1880 - 1883. 
207 
south African Library, its history, collections and 
librarians 1818-1968: Papers contibuted on the occasion 
of its 150th birthday. 1968. Ed. by c. Pama. Cape Town: 
Balkema. 
Southey, R. 1873. Letter to N. Solomon, Hon. Secretary of 
the Library Committee, 16 August, New Rush. (GLW Semi-
official dispatches, July -October.' S.A. Archives). 
Steyn, M.M. 1919. The diary of a South African, Cape 
Town: Juta. 
Stones of fire: the· story of diamond mining in South 
Africa. London: The Times, 5 November 1910. 
Streak, M. 1974. The Afrikaner as viewed by the English, 
1795-1854. Cape Town: Struik. 
The south African Public Library. 1871. ~n: Cape Monthly 
Magazine, N.S. Vol. 2, pp 300 - 304. 
Theale, G.M. 1889. History of South Africa. London: 
swan, Sonnenschein. 
Thomas, W.M. 1979. History of the Germiston Library and 
its influence on library development in South Africa. 
Pretoria : University of South Africa. 
Tobias, C.F. 1887. Letter to J.B. Currey, 6 October, 
Beaconsfield. (De Beers Archives). 
Tobias, C.F. 1888. Letter to J.B. currex 1 23 March. 
Beaconsfield. (De Beers Archives). 
Toynbee, A.J. 1966. Change and habit: the challenge of 
our times. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 
Trollope, A. 1973. =S~o~u~t=h:...:.A~f~r~i~c~a=--·~·-a=-~r~e~p~r~i=n~t--=o~f,_.,.t~h~e"-~1~8~7=8 
edition with an introduction and notes by J.H. 
Davidson. Cape Town: Balkema. 
Turners' Kimberley, Old De Beers; Dutoitspan, Bultfontein 
and Barkly. 1878. Directory and <zy.ide. Kimberley, 
Richards & Radford. 
Tyrrell-Glynn, W.H.P.A. 1972. An account of some early 
libraries and book collections at the Cape of Good 
Hope, with special reference to the establishrnnet of 
the South African Library. M.A.thesis, ·University of 
Stellenbosch. 
Union of South Africa. Report of the Interdepartmental 
Committee of the libraries of the Union of South 
Africa. 1937. Cape Town: Cape Times. 
Van der Westhuizen, w.s. 1934. Die geskiedenis van die 
onderWvs. in Kimberley, 1870 - 1930. M.A ..- proefskr,if, 
Universiteit van Stellenbosch. 
208 
Van Jaarsveld, F.A. 1964. The Afrikaners' interpretation 
of South African history. Cape Town: Simondium 
Publiqations. 
Varley, D. H. 1952. The 19th century and the common 
reader. In : South African Libraries, vol 19 no 4, pp. 
103 - 110. 
Vyf honderd j aar van Suid-Afrikaanse geskiedenis. 1968. 
Red. C.F.J.Muller. Pretoria: Academica. 
Weinthal, L. comp. 1929. Memories, mines and millions, 
being the life of Sir Joseph B. Robinson. - [n.l.]: 
Simpkin Marshall. 
Wellard, J. H. 1935. State of reading among the working 
classes of England during the first half of the 
nineteenth century. In: Library Quarter'ly, vol. 5, no 1 
p. 87- 100. 
Wells, N.H. 1895. Letter to J.B. Currey, l February, 
Beaconsfield (De Beers Archives). 
Williams, A.F. 1948. Some dreams come true: ,being a 
sheaf of stories leading up' to the discoYery of copper, 
diamonds and gold' in Southern Africa, and of the 
pioneers who took part in the excitement of those early 
days. Cape Town: Timmins 
Young, P. V. 1964. Scientific social surveys and 
research. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, Prentice-Hall. 
---------------------------------------------------------
., _______ ~-------------------------~ 
... TABLE II.  
THE GROWTH OF THE KIMBERLEY PUBLIC LIBRARY. 
! I 
188311884118851188&11887 188811889 1800 I 1891 1892f1893 189411895 l1se!J \1se1 l1se8 l1s99!100011001 1902 
;----1----1-- -1----1----0---·1----•---·-•----•----• --- •----•----•----- r----•----:-1----•----J----
No. ofSubscri· 
bers ... ... 150 IS:l rn1 I 1s:1 I 28!J 310 I ::1871 3001 3011 2HOI 2321 2-101 2721 l!S:ll 3071 3271 3:111 3251 3501 528 
Amount of • 
Subscriptions £3",() £!it £5ta l £50"l l£ USO £8:lCl \£l,012l£1, 14.'1 £!Jf'1 £85.~ .£7811 .£787 .l;i!Jl £76H £78:! .£805 £7491 £7111 £7951 ~ ::I> 
Go\·erni11ent 
Grunt j £2lXI I. £200 J £:-l!Xl l £:llKI j£ :ilKI ;1:::100 I ;t:ux~ £6()(~ £lil llJ\ £aool £:J £::1.x1 ,£::1.'llJ .£ario .£.<1.:;o £::1.:;o £.'i'iOI £.-i:;o1 £3501 £-100 
Borou~hCoun-
cit Grant .:. I ·- I £;,!!\ I £!IHI £100 £:WO i .1::ux1 I ;1::2uul £:.!ut~ .£2001 £tool ~JO! £l)(1I £.')(11 .£l)(1I £wl £r>()I £50i £nlll £ri0\ ;£100 
No. of Books. .. ,3,UUO 13,:3!Xl 14,150 .t,:-!Oli 5,0:!:! 
Annual '"" I '"'> !11 •. <•i '"""I "";.'l9j 16,07'/' ""'"I 18,""' m,swl .,," "I" ·""I"'.'"'~""' •I '"·""i ''"" 
. Circulation pi.:-i.'ll> Iii , llli' Ji i,:·m.t I5 ,2Hli 15,lil.iO 1t .:HHI 12.iH ti IH,tKil :!!l,:11 Nil IH,1 2.il 11:1,1xx1b 1,wo I: m, Hi:1lt1,1xllJl.:n ,7:iol:1a,2oa laa, 10012n,2lU1a 2,<il38\ .t0,12u 
Av emg1• Daily 
Atte111la nee I - I - . I /.; I !I:~ I' 14:.! 1ii11 :!a»I :.!:itl tml 1101 . Hx1l uml 1wl :!~ii 2wl !!S51 :mil 't.77 400! an 
I.  ,I . , I  
' ' t ' LI I I I I I I I: I 
1 
DIE GESKIEDENIS VAN DIE 
KIMBERLEY OPENBARE BIBLIOTEEK. (Opsonuning) 
Die doel van hierdie verhandeling is om die ontstaan 
en ontwikkeling van die Kimberley Openbare 
Biblioteek na te gaan en vas te stel in hoe 'n mate 
politieke, ekonomiese en sosiale toestande die 
biblioteek geraak het, en om die persone wat 'n 
leidende rol gespeel het te identifiseer. 
Met die ontdekking van diamante in 1871, was daar 'n 
groot toestroming van fortuinsoekers na New Rush, 
die delwersdorp in Noordkaapland. 'n Behoefte aan 
onstpannings- en kulturele geriewe het ontstaan en 
in 1873 het 'n biblioteek tot stand gekom; dit het 
egter misluk as gevolg van onvoldoende finansiele 
ondersteuning. -.-
In 1880 was daar 'n ekonomiese oplewing in die 
aandelemark van Kimberley. 'n Biblioteek-maatskappy 
is deur biblioteekkampvegters gestig en fondse is 
deur middel van aandele ingesamel. 'n Biblioteek is 
opgerig, maar voor dit betrek kon word, moes die 
maatskappy gelikwideer word. 
Die Dorpsraad van die pasgeproklameerde dorp, 
Kimberley, het ingetree en die biblioteek gekoop vir 
gebruik as 'n stadsaal. Twee vertrekke is vir 
biblioteekdoeleindes ingeruim. Die lokaal was egter 
ondoeltreffend en die Biblioteekkomitee het, onder 
leiding van die Voorsitter, Regter P M Laurence, 'n 
fondsinsamelingsveldtog van stapel gestuur. 
Grond is in Dutoitspanweg aangekoop en 'n 
biblioteekgebou is opgerig wat op 25 Julie 1887 in 
gebruik geneem is. 
~------------~~-~ -
2 
Kort hierna is daar ook op die buurdorp, 
Beaconsfield, 'n biblioteek tot stand gebring deur 
die bemiddeling van mnr J B Currey, die bestuurder 
van die London and South African Exploration 
Company, met die doel orri konstruktiewe tydverdryf 
aan jongrnense te verskaf. Die biblioteek, wat 
later 'n tak van die Kimberley Openbare Biblioteek 
sou word, het 'n sukkelbestaan gevoer weens 
ongunstige ekonomiese toestande. 
Die verhandeling bevestig die hipotese dat 
stabiliteit 'n voorvereiste is vir die 
totstandkoming van 'n biblioteek in 'n spesifieke 
gemeenskap en dat die sukses van so 'n onderneming 
grotendeels afhang van finansiering van plaaslike-
of regeringsowerhede. 
Die bevindings van ander ondersoeke dat die openbare 
biblioteek in sy ou gedaante nie 'n populere 
instelling onder die algemene publiek was nie weens 
sy burokratiese inslag, word gestaaf. 
Di t was deur die onvermoeide ywer en versiendheid 
van veral begeesterde mense soos mnre P M Laurence 
en B L Dyer dat die Kimberley Openbare Biblioteek 
bekendheid verwerf het. 
Op baie gebiede is ook 'n wesenlike bydrae tot die 
biblioteekwese van Suid-Afrika gemaak. 
---------------------------------------------