Harrison is believed to have sold his claim for less than 10 Pounds before leaving the area. The first recorded discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand was made by Jan Gerrit Bantjes in June 1884, on the farm Vogelstruisfontein, and was followed soon thereafter, in September, by the Struben brothers who uncovered the Confidence Reef on the farm Wilgespruit, near present-day Roodepoort. One of them was to place heavy taxes on the sale of dynamite to the foreigners so as to slow the momentum. This was the first working railway line in the Transvaal. The line was opened on March 17, 1890 with the first train being hauled by a 14 Tonner locomotive, became known as the "Randtram", even though it was actually a railway in every aspect and not singularly dedicated to tram traffic. ", "Restoring of one of Parktown's Greatest Mansions | The Heritage Portal", South African Mines of Witwatersrand (Images), https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Witwatersrand_Gold_Rush&oldid=992998353, Wikipedia articles with style issues from February 2018, Articles needing additional references from September 2012, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, World's largest gold rush ever led to the eventual, This page was last edited on 8 December 2020, at 06:41. It was a key part of the Mineral Revolution. Ever since the gold rush of 1886, the Witwatersrand basin has been a major mining site. Er ist Teil der kontinentalen Wasserscheide zwischen Atlantik und Indischem Ozean. Its intent was to overthrow the Transvaal government and turn the region into a British colony. Boer resentment over the large number of foreigners (Uitlanders) in the Witwatersrand led to heavy taxes and the denial of voting rights for the gold miners, and in response the Uitlanders and the British owners of the mines began to pressure the overthrow of the Boer government. This at the time was a British attempt to give credit for the discovery to the Anglo sector in an attempt to justify claiming the Witwatersrand fields as British. News spread around the world and prospectors from Australia to California began arriving in masses and the first lanterns of a soon to be Johannesburg began flickering along dusty streets. The disastrous Jameson Raid followed which put Cecil Rhodes in the spotlight. This discovery started the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and attracted 1000’s of early settlers. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. But it was not until 1886 that the massive wealth of the Witwatersrand would be uncovered. The disastrous Jameson Raid followed which put Cecil Rhodes in the spotlight. It was a key part of the Mineral Revolution. This page was last edited on 7 June 2018, at 16:28. Johannesburg in South Africa has one of the world's largest gold deposits. Many Randlords built large estates and mansions on the Parktown Ridge.[11]. Rhodes purchased the first batch of Witwatersrand gold from Bantjes for £3000. [2] Though there were smaller mining operations in the region, it wasn’t until 1884 and the subsequent 1886 discovery at Langlaagte that the Witwatersrand gold rush got under way in earnest. [3], Explorer and prospector Jan Gerrit Bantjes [af] (1840-1914) was the first and original discoverer of a Witwatersrand gold reef in June 1884 having prospected the area since the early 1880s, as well as co-operating the Kromdraai Gold Mine in 1883 to the NW of present-day Johannesburg together with his partner Johannes Stephanus Minnaar in an area known today as "The Cradle of Humankind". Its intent was to overthrow the Transvaal government and turn the region into a British colony. There were 500 men who took part in the uprising; 21 were killed and many arrested, tried and sentenced. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. [4], The world's largest gold rush ever had begun and South Africa would never be the same. There were 500 men who took part in the uprising; 21 were killed and many arrested, tried and sentenced. The first discovery of gold in the region is recorded as being in 1852 in the Pardekraal farm[1] by J.H. It was a key part of the Mineral Revolution. Although legends of a South African “El Dorado” existed among the natives of the area, it was not until 1886, when a poor Australian prospector named George Harrison staked the first claim, that the vast riches of the “Rand” were discovered. Here is some history of the Witwatersrand Gold Style Ore Deposits as they related to South Africa since the arrival of the Dutch and the southernmost tip of the continent in 1652. The Jameson Raid was supported by Rhodes and led by Sir Leander Starr Jameson. The South African Railways - Historical Survey (Editor George Hart, Publisher Bill Hart, Sponsored by Dorbyl Ltd, Circa 1978), Learn how and when to remove this template message, Netherlands-South African Railway Company, https://www.wits.ac.za/media/migration/files/EGRI%20274.pdf, "History Of Gold In South Africa - In The Witwatersrand", "Correspondence of Cecil John Rhodes (1)", "City of Johannesburg - How was Johannesburg named? This move was one of the factors leading to the Anglo Boer War of 1899-1902. He sold £600 of gold to the Transvaal Treasury and was subsequently ordered to leave the country. For a number of years all went well, but then President Paul Kruger of the South African Republic (ZAR) began getting worried so many foreigners would soon outnumber the Boers, and the first of certain "measures" were put into place. It is made to simulate The Boer Wars. Scientific studies have pointed to the fact that the "Golden Arc" which stretches from Johannesburg to Welkom was once a massive inland lake, and that silt and gold deposits from alluvial gold settled in the area to form the gold-rich deposits that South Africa is famous for. This is the reason why Johannesburg's central business district streets are so narrow. The underground basin reaches the surface at a the Witwatersrand ridge, the namesake of the basin and the surrounding gold-rich region (Witwatersrand means “White Waters Ridge” in Afrikaans.) Davis, an English miner. It was part of the Mineral Revolution. Boer resentment over the large number of foreigners (Uitlanders) in the Witwatersrand led to heavy taxes and the denial of voting rights for the gold miners, and in response the Uitlanders and the British owners of the mines began to pressure the overthrow of the Boer government. The source of the huge amount of gold in the Witwatersrand is thought to be the entire greenstone-dominated Archaean cratonic surface, which was subjected to intensive chemical weathering permitting large-scale leaching of gold by contemporaneous surface waters. [4], The world's largest gold rush ever had begun and South Africa would never be the same. Gold was discovered in the area known as Witwatersrand, triggering what would become the Witwatersrand Gold Rush of 1886. There had always been rumours of a modern-day "El Dorado" in the folklore of the native tribes that roamed the plains of the South African highveld and in that of the gold miners who had come from all over the world to seek out their fortunes on the alluvial mines of Barberton and Pilgrim's Rest, in what is now known as the province of Mpumalanga. There is some dispute as to the origin of the name Johannesburg and to which Johannes, a common Dutch name, the city was named after. This move was one of the factors leading to the Anglo Boer War of 1899-1902. 2010 In 2010, Johannesburg hosts the final of the FIFA World Cup, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies. At the core of southern Africa's industrial revolution were the gold mines of the Witwatersrand. This only agitated the miners and gave the British another reason to make a grab for the gold fields and take the lot for themselves. Bantjes, whose father Jan Gerritze Bantjes had educated Kruger when he was a boy during the Great Trek, had discussions with Kruger regarding those "measures." It is thought to be named after two state surveyors who were sent to choose an area for the layout of the new town, Johann Rissik and Christiaan Johannes Joubert. rush und deutsch Rausch sind falsche Freunde), seltener auch Goldfieber, ist eine Periode der verstärkten Einwanderung in ein Gebiet, in dem es entweder verwertbare Mengen Gold oder zumindest Gerüchte über solche Vorkommen gibt. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. [5], It did not take long for fortune-seekers from all over the world to flock to the area, and soon what was a dusty mining village known as Ferreira's Camp was formalised into a settlement. It was part of the Mineral Revolution. There are however remarkable exceptions. Rhodes and his partner Robinson with a team of companions were curious and rode over 400 km to Bantjes' camp at Vogelstruisfontein and stayed with him for two nights near what would later become Roodepoort. [2] Though there were smaller mining operations in the region, it wasn’t until 1884 and the subsequent 1886 discovery at Langlaagte that the Witwatersrand gold rush got under way in earnest. The insatiable needs of the gold mining industry for cheap, unskilled black labour and the struggles of African communities to maintain a rural productive base led to the emergence of South Africa's notorious migrant labour system. [6], Within 10 years, the town was already the largest in South Africa, outstripping the growth of Cape Town, which was more than 200 years older. Ownership of the diamond and gold mines … Witwatersrand Gold Rush is an event that will happen to any great power bordering a nation owning the province of Witwatersrand (ID 2106), when gold is discovered there. In mining terms, the Pilbara is synonymous with iron ore.It is one of the world’s biggest suppliers of seaborne ore and has played a large part in establishing the fortunes of the big miners BHP and Rio Tinto and in more recent times Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest’s Fortescue.Famously, Lang Hancock and his partner Peter Wright discovered the massive iron ore deposits later called Hope Downs in 1952, although government geologist Harr… The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. In a matter of only 10 years, the city grew to 100.000 inhabitants. His discovery is recorded in history with a monument where the original gold outcrop is believed to be located, and a park named in his honour. [7][8][9][10], The discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand also created a super wealthy class of miners and industrialists known as Randlords. As a result of the rapid development of the goldfields on the Witwatersrand in the 1880s and the demand for coal by the growing industry, a concession was granted by the ZAR government to the Netherlands-South African Railway Company (NZASM) on July 20, 1888, to construct a 25 kilometres (16 mi) railway line from Johannesburg to Boksburg. Like the diamond discoveries before, the gold rush caused thousands of foreign expatriates to prospect and mine the region. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a major contributing factor of the failed Jameson Raid of 1895 to 1896, and of the outbreak of the Second Boer War in 1899. [3], Explorer and prospector Jan Gerrit Bantjes [af] (1840-1914) was the first and original discoverer of a Witwatersrand gold reef in June 1884 having prospected the area since the early 1880s, as well as co-operating the Kromdraai Gold Mine in 1883 to the NW of present-day Johannesburg together with his partner Johannes Stephanus Minnaar in an area known today as "The Cradle of Humankind". When the world’s largest known gold deposits were discovered in the Witwatersrand district of the former South African Republic (which is now part of South Africa) in 1886, a veritable gold rush ensued. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. [6], Within 10 years, the town was already the largest in South Africa, outstripping the growth of Cape Town, which was more than 200 years older. Harrison is believed to have sold his claim for less than 10 Pounds before leaving the area. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the Creative Commons CC0 License; all unstructured text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. Harrison declared his claim with the then-government of the Suid Afrikaanse Republiek (ZAR), and the area was pronounced open. One consequence of the gold rush was the construction of the first railway lines in this part of Africa. Es war ein wichtiger Teil der Mineralrevolution. The line was opened on March 17, 1890 with the first train being hauled by a 14 Tonner locomotive, became known as the "Randtram", even though it was actually a railway in every aspect and not singularly dedicated to tram traffic. Most of the gold in the Witwatersrand is present as native gold which occures in a variety of formes and habits, such as microscopic veinlets or overgowths and is usually only visible under the microscope (the average gold particle ranges from 0.005mm to 0.5mm in diameter). For a number of years all went well, but then President Paul Kruger of the South African Republic (ZAR) began getting worried so many foreigners would soon outnumber the Boers, and the first of certain "measures" were put into place. As a result of the rapid development of the goldfields on the Witwatersrand in the 1880s and the demand for coal by the growing industry, a concession was granted by the ZAR government to the Netherlands-South African Railway Company (NZASM) on July 20, 1888, to construct a 25 kilometres (16 mi) railway line from Johannesburg to Boksburg. Towards a people's history Witwatersrand Gold Rush; Further reading. The Witwatersrand is a word in Afrikaans which means “The Ridge of white waters”. The gold rush saw massive development of Johannesburg and the Witwatersrand, and the area remains the prime metropolitan area of South Africa. The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. His discovery is recorded in history with a monument where the original gold outcrop is believed to be located, and a park named in his honour. William Knight registered the first mining company on the Witwatersrand, the Witwatersrand Gold Mining Company, in September 1886. Rhodes and his partner Robinson with a team of companions were curious and rode over 400 km to Bantjes' camp at Vogelstruisfontein and stayed with him for two nights near what would later become Roodepoort. There had always been rumours of a modern-day "El Dorado" in the folklore of the native tribes that roamed the plains of the South African highveld and in that of the gold miners who had come from all over the world to seek out their fortunes on the alluvial mines of Barberton and Pilgrim's Rest, in what is now known as the province of Mpumalanga. Witwatersrand Gold Rush The Witwatersrand Gold Rush was a gold rush in 1886 that led to the establishment of Johannesburg, South Africa. Contribute. News spread around the world and prospectors from Australia to California began arriving in masses and the first lanterns of a soon to be Johannesburg began flickering along dusty streets. Obwohl der etwa 200 Kilometer lange Höhenzug bis 1.779 Meter über dem Meeresspiegel aufragt, überragt er die umliegenden Landschaften nur um bis zu 300 Meter. These early diamond surface mining activity photographs were taken by Weber & Sederstrom at New Rush (Kimberley). 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