Haunted by the Lily MineTragedy
Solomon Nyarenda, Yvonne Mnisi and Pretty Mabuza have been trapped underground for over a week now. Reports earlier today suggested that there has been another collapse at Lily Mine in Louisville outside Barberton in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa.
Rescue operations reportedly remain suspended. Our thoughts and prayers are with the trapped miners as well as with their loved ones who anxiously await their return. as well as with the thousands of miners who descend into the belly of the earth day in and day out in an attempt to eke out a living for themselves and their families.
The Lily Mine tragedy struck a raw nerve in me. I have intricate links to mining in South Africa. My paternal Great, Great, Grandfather, John Wardle (inset) who hails from Newcastle Upon Tyne, died at Du Toitspan Mine, Beaconsfield (now Kimberley) on 24th August 1874. We have not been able to trace his grave and the cause of his death at the mine remains a mystery. All we have is a newspaper report which states that 'Prominent, Grahamstown Farmer, John Wardle, died at Du Toitspan Mine Kimberly, 24th August 1974.' My maternal grandfather Nkonko Mene (Pinini) was ''conscripted' to the mines by Theba but fortunately in his case, he made it back to Tsomo, in the Eastern Cape, where he lived until he died in 1976.
Kimberley Underground is comprised of three historic diamond mines namely Bultfontein Mine, Du Toitspan Mine and Wesselton Mine. Mining at Du Toitspan, which has a surface area of 11 hectares commenced in 1869 as an open-pit mine until these three aforementioned mines were amalgamated into De Beers in 1890. Du Toitspan Mine with its diamondiferous soil, is currently being mined as a closed mine at depths of 870m. A neglected graveyard with tall grass and old tombstones litters a lonely and scary patch at the mine. A search for the grave of my Great Great Grandfather proved fruitless and unnerving. Why the current owners of the mine have not bothered to maintain this cemetery in a decent state, is unknown to me. But, we go to sleep daily in the hope that someday someone will locate Great Great Grandpa's grave and his death notice.
According to a right up by Steve Lunderstedt,
'The first of the Kimberley diamond mines to be discovered was the Du Toitspan Mine, named such because the farm Dorstfontein originally belonged to Abraham Paulus du Toit, who had built a small house next door to the Pan, a basin shaped like a saucepan that holds water. It was named Du Toit’s Pan for obvious reasons. Du Toit sold the farm to a Mr. Geyer for £525 on 12 May 1865, and he in turn sold it to Adriaan J. van Wyk for £870 on 6 January 1869. At the time of the discovery the owner was Adriaan J. van Wyk, George Beet states that van Wyk found some “pretty stones” while digging a well, and these he sold to a travelling Jew.
Lunderstedt continues:-
The first mention in the South African newspapers on the diamond finds at Du Toitspan was a letter dated 4 November 1869 where it stated that in middle October five diamonds were picked up in 2-3 hours at “Tooispan.” Brian Roberts suggests that the first diamonds were discovered in early 1869 at Du Toitspan and by September the same year at Bultfontein. Fred Steytler, a clerk from Hopetown, stated that he had seen at least six diamonds found at Du Toitspan in October 1869 and that “diamonds are to be found in abundance.”
Certainly by December 1869 there were diggers at Du Toitspan, and the Diamond News, based at Klipdrift, stated that diamonds were being found at both Du Toitspan and Bultfontein from November 1869. By July 1870 there were a fair number of diggers operating their claims.'.
And then Lunderstedt concludes thus:-
'Van Wyk tried his best to sell his farm towards the end of 1870, even placing advertisements in newspapers proclaiming the value of the land. “For more than six months people have been digging…” stated one such advertisement, and the “…weekly finds average 60 – 100 diamonds…”
On 11 March 1871 the Du Toitspan farm was sold to Lilienfeld, Webb and partners (the London and South African Exploration Company) for £2600. The diamond controversy that followed and the Keate Award verdict of 1871 led to the annexation of the farms from the Orange Free State which became part of Griqualand West, which in turn was absorbed into the Cape Colony as from 1880.'
So, at the time of Great Great Grandpa's death, the mine been purchased by the London and South African Exploration Company. Perhaps that is where we will find some answers and perhaps much-needed closure.
Hopefully, with the passage of time, equipment will be used to descend to these dangerous depths of the earth without any risk to the valuable lives of miners. May the people of Lily Mine find strength at these trying times.
Rescue operations reportedly remain suspended. Our thoughts and prayers are with the trapped miners as well as with their loved ones who anxiously await their return. as well as with the thousands of miners who descend into the belly of the earth day in and day out in an attempt to eke out a living for themselves and their families.
The Lily Mine tragedy struck a raw nerve in me. I have intricate links to mining in South Africa. My paternal Great, Great, Grandfather, John Wardle (inset) who hails from Newcastle Upon Tyne, died at Du Toitspan Mine, Beaconsfield (now Kimberley) on 24th August 1874. We have not been able to trace his grave and the cause of his death at the mine remains a mystery. All we have is a newspaper report which states that 'Prominent, Grahamstown Farmer, John Wardle, died at Du Toitspan Mine Kimberly, 24th August 1974.' My maternal grandfather Nkonko Mene (Pinini) was ''conscripted' to the mines by Theba but fortunately in his case, he made it back to Tsomo, in the Eastern Cape, where he lived until he died in 1976.
Kimberley Underground is comprised of three historic diamond mines namely Bultfontein Mine, Du Toitspan Mine and Wesselton Mine. Mining at Du Toitspan, which has a surface area of 11 hectares commenced in 1869 as an open-pit mine until these three aforementioned mines were amalgamated into De Beers in 1890. Du Toitspan Mine with its diamondiferous soil, is currently being mined as a closed mine at depths of 870m. A neglected graveyard with tall grass and old tombstones litters a lonely and scary patch at the mine. A search for the grave of my Great Great Grandfather proved fruitless and unnerving. Why the current owners of the mine have not bothered to maintain this cemetery in a decent state, is unknown to me. But, we go to sleep daily in the hope that someday someone will locate Great Great Grandpa's grave and his death notice.
According to a right up by Steve Lunderstedt,
'The first of the Kimberley diamond mines to be discovered was the Du Toitspan Mine, named such because the farm Dorstfontein originally belonged to Abraham Paulus du Toit, who had built a small house next door to the Pan, a basin shaped like a saucepan that holds water. It was named Du Toit’s Pan for obvious reasons. Du Toit sold the farm to a Mr. Geyer for £525 on 12 May 1865, and he in turn sold it to Adriaan J. van Wyk for £870 on 6 January 1869. At the time of the discovery the owner was Adriaan J. van Wyk, George Beet states that van Wyk found some “pretty stones” while digging a well, and these he sold to a travelling Jew.
Lunderstedt continues:-
The first mention in the South African newspapers on the diamond finds at Du Toitspan was a letter dated 4 November 1869 where it stated that in middle October five diamonds were picked up in 2-3 hours at “Tooispan.” Brian Roberts suggests that the first diamonds were discovered in early 1869 at Du Toitspan and by September the same year at Bultfontein. Fred Steytler, a clerk from Hopetown, stated that he had seen at least six diamonds found at Du Toitspan in October 1869 and that “diamonds are to be found in abundance.”
Certainly by December 1869 there were diggers at Du Toitspan, and the Diamond News, based at Klipdrift, stated that diamonds were being found at both Du Toitspan and Bultfontein from November 1869. By July 1870 there were a fair number of diggers operating their claims.'.
And then Lunderstedt concludes thus:-
'Van Wyk tried his best to sell his farm towards the end of 1870, even placing advertisements in newspapers proclaiming the value of the land. “For more than six months people have been digging…” stated one such advertisement, and the “…weekly finds average 60 – 100 diamonds…”
On 11 March 1871 the Du Toitspan farm was sold to Lilienfeld, Webb and partners (the London and South African Exploration Company) for £2600. The diamond controversy that followed and the Keate Award verdict of 1871 led to the annexation of the farms from the Orange Free State which became part of Griqualand West, which in turn was absorbed into the Cape Colony as from 1880.'
So, at the time of Great Great Grandpa's death, the mine been purchased by the London and South African Exploration Company. Perhaps that is where we will find some answers and perhaps much-needed closure.
Hopefully, with the passage of time, equipment will be used to descend to these dangerous depths of the earth without any risk to the valuable lives of miners. May the people of Lily Mine find strength at these trying times.
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