Place Name
Named after the 124-day Siege – or as likely the Relief – of Kimberley which took place between October 14, 1899 – February 15, 1900, during the Second Boer War. Kimberley was, and remains, a major centre of diamond mining in South Africa. When war broke out Boer forces from the Orange Free State and the Transvaal besieged the the British enclave. The defenders organised an energetic and effective improvised defence that was able to prevent it from being taken. Cecil Rhodes, who had made his fortune in the town from control of all its mining activities, moved into the town at the onset. Many blamed him for starting the war following an incursion on Boer land. The siege was finally relieved by a cavalry division under Lieutenant-General John French, part of a larger force under Lord Roberts. Patriotic developers at the time would often name new streets after military successes from around the British Empire.
