Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley | |
|---|---|
Top: City centre seen over the Big Hole, Middle left: Griqualand West High Court, right: Kimberley Town Hall, bottom left: Trinity Church, Honoured Dead Memorial, World War I Memorial | |
| Coordinates: 28°44′18″S 24°45′50″E / 28.73833°S 24.76389°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | Northern Cape |
| District | Frances Baard |
| Municipality | Sol Plaatje |
| Established | 5 July 1873 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Kagisho Dante Sonyoni (ANC) |
| Area | |
• Total | 142.77 km2 (55.12 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 1,184 m (3,885 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 96,977 |
| • Density | 680/km2 (1,800/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 41.5% |
| • Coloured | 36.7% |
| • Indian/Asian | 2.3% |
| • White | 18.4% |
| • Other | 1.1% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Afrikaans | 55.5% |
| • Tswana | 18.7% |
| • English | 15.6% |
| • Xhosa | 4.6% |
| • Other | 5.6% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 8301 |
| PO box | 8300 |
| Area code | 053 |
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Kimberley is the capital and largest city of the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is located approximately 110 km east of the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The city has considerable historical significance because of its diamond mining past and the siege during the Second Boer War. The British businessmen Cecil Rhodes and Barney Barnato made their fortunes in Kimberley, and Rhodes also established the De Beers diamond company in the early days of the mining town.
On 2 September 1882, Kimberley was the first city in the Southern Hemisphere and the second in the world after Philadelphia, in the United States, to install electric street lighting. The first stock exchange in Africa was built in Kimberley as early as 1881.