THE FIRST DISCOVERY OF DIAMONDS IN SOUTH AFRICA.

Waikato Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 2567, 22 December 1888, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE FIRST DISCOVERY OF DIAMONDS IN SOUTH AFRICA.

From a book entitled, " Diamonds and Gold in South Africa," by HenryMitchell, we bike the following concerning the origin of tho diamond indiscry, now represented by hundreds of millions sterling : —" In 1867 the first diamond was found. At this time aMr O'Keilly was returning from the interior to Colesberg,. Having made a halt at the farm of Mr Van Niekerk in Albania, near Griqualand West, he observed some children playing with what were thought to be pretty pebbles. One of tho stones threw out a strong dazzling light. O'Reilly examined it, and informed the farmer at the same time that he believed it was a preoious stone of considerable value. Van Niekork thought this absurd, and at length O'Reilly, finding that Niekerk would not take anything for the stone, made the proposition that if it should fetch any money value the proceeds ehould be shared equally between them ; this was agreed to. The stone was then taken to Colesberg, aud Mr Plewmnn (of Messrs Plowman Bros., who supplied O'Reilly with interior goods) informed me notlongsince that when O'Reilly stated his conviction that the stone was a diamond he was laughed and scoffed at. O'Reilly, with the stone, then wrote his initials on a pane of glass. A bystander remarked that a common flint would do the same ; a gun flint was tried, and it scratched the glass. O'Reilly was told that his " precious" stone was no better than fliut, and a man present snatched up tho stone and threw it out of tho window, but O'Reilly picked it up and then cut a tumbler with it; even then no one in Colesburg would believe that the stone was a diumond, and O'Reilly became the subject of ridicule. In CJrnhamstown there resided a very celebrated man named Atheretone. O'Reilly sent the stone to him ; and Bishop Ricards, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Grahamstown, whom Dr. Atheutone consulted pronounced it to be a diamond of 22J caruts. Even then people would not believo it was a diamond, and stated that this gentleman knew nothing about it. Tho stone was then sent to Colonial Secretary Southoy, who stated that it was unquestionably a diamond. It was. forwarded to England and valued by Messrs Hunt and Roskell at five hundred pounds, at which price it was purchased by Sir Philip Wodehouse, then Governor of Cape Colony. On being assured that his find was a diiimond, O'Reilly set about searching for more, and he shortly discovered a second, which weighed S J carats, which he sold for £200. This caused a great deal of excitement, and induced muny persons to search for diamonds. As O'Reilly will pass from our view, it is well to remark that it was owing to his dogged perseverance that the present generation owe the discovery of diamonds, and from what I can gather no reward has ever been given to him or any money acknowledgment made to him by the Governments of South Africa, and O'Reilly is now in the Trausvail working for his livelihood. Small etonea after this were brought to the white farmers and traders by natives who had learnt that the stones were of value. These natives thought, from the desire of the white men to purchase, that the stones possessed talismanic powers. The excitement reached a climax when it was rumoured that an eighty-three carat had been picked up. Mr Niekerk heard this rumour and set about hunting it up. He had seen one in the possession of a native previous to O'Reilly purchasing the first stone ; this native was found, and fortunately he had kept the stone, but it was now difficult to induce the native to part with it, but Mr Niekerk gave him 500 sheep and nearly all he possessed for this stone, which was afterwards sold by him in Hopetown for £11,200, and was known afterwards as the " Star of South Africa," and I believe it is now in the possession of the Countess of Dudley.