Cullinan is a small town in the
Gauteng
Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'.
Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...
province of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. It is located east of the city of
Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
along the diamond route and is heavily reliant on tourism and the mine that dominates the skyline. The town is named after diamond magnate
Sir Thomas Cullinan
Sir Thomas Cullinan (12 February 186223 August 1936) was a South African diamond magnate. He is renowned for giving his name to the Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever discovered, and as owner of the Premier Mine, now renamed the Cullinan ...
.
History
In 1898
Sir Thomas Cullinan
Sir Thomas Cullinan (12 February 186223 August 1936) was a South African diamond magnate. He is renowned for giving his name to the Cullinan Diamond, the largest diamond ever discovered, and as owner of the Premier Mine, now renamed the Cullinan ...
was handed a three carat diamond found along a farm fence. He studied the area and came to the conclusion that the diamond was washed down from a nearby hill. Sir Cullinan made an attempt to buy the land from the owner,
Joachim Prinsloo, but did not succeed. After Prinsloo's death, he was able to purchase the land for £52,000 from Prinsloo's daughter.
[Sale of the farm](_blank)
/ref> The Cullinan kimberlite was discovered in 1902 and in 1903 open pit mining
Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, is a surface mining technique of extracting rock or minerals from the earth from an open-air pit, sometimes known as a borrow.
This form of mining ...
commenced. The mine was named the Premier mine.
On 25 June 1905, the famed Cullinan Diamond
The Cullinan Diamond is the largest gem-quality rough diamond ever found,Scarratt and Shor, p. 120. weighing (1 lb 5.92 oz), discovered at the Premier No.2 mine in Cullinan, South Africa, on 26 January 1905. It was named after Thomas Cull ...
, the largest in the world at , was discovered by Frederick George Stanley Wells, surface manager of the Premier Diamond Mining Company. It was bought by the Transvaal Transvaal is a historical geographic term associated with land north of (''i.e.'', beyond) the Vaal River in South Africa. A number of states and administrative divisions have carried the name Transvaal.
* South African Republic (1856–1902; af, ...
government and presented to King Edward VII
Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.
The second child and eldest son of Queen Victoria a ...
.
The town of Cullinan owes its existence to the diamond mining in this area, much like Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province
The Northern Cape is the largest and most sparsely populated province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, ...
of South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
.
Geography
Cullinan is situated in the Highveld
The Highveld (Afrikaans: ''Hoëveld'', where ''veld'' means "field") is the portion of the South African inland plateau which has an altitude above roughly 1500 m, but below 2100 m, thus excluding the Lesotho mountain regions to the south-east of ...
region of South Africa. The town has an elevation of 1476 m (4842.52 ft)[Elevation](_blank)
/ref> and is located at −25.6709 atitude in decimal degrees 28.5236 ongitude in decimal degrees
The closest city is Pretoria
Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa.
Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
being away, while Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
is away.
Government
Cullinan formed part of the Nokeng tsa Taemane Local Municipality until 18 May 2011. Due to mismanagement of funds, this municipality was disbanded and incorporated into the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality
The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (also known as the City of Tshwane) () is the metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of northern Gauteng Province, South Africa. The Metropolitan area is centred on the city of Pr ...
.[Municipality disbanded](_blank)
/ref>
Tourism
Tours
Various operators offer tours around Cullinan. Tourists can choose between tours around town, within the mining area and even underground mining tours. Various means of transportation is used to provide these tours, the most popular being on an open vehicle or on foot.
Museums
There are a few museums in the area in and around Cullinan. A few of the most popular ones are:
*The History room Cullinan.[History room cullinan](_blank)
*The McHardy house museum.[McHardy house museum](_blank)
*The Zonderwater Italian POW museum[Zonderwater POW museum](_blank)
*The Sammy Marks
Sammy is a nickname, frequently for people named Samuel, and also an English spelling of the Arabic name Sami.
People Music
* Sammy Adams (born 1987), American rapper and songwriter
*Sammy Cahn (1913-1993), American songwriter
*Sammy Davis Jr. ...
Museum[Sammy Marks](_blank)
Adventure
The mountainous terrain surrounding Cullinan offers multiple activities for more adventure-oriented people, like:
* Gorge gliding
* Horse riding
* Abseil
Abseiling ( ; ), also known as rappelling ( ; ), is the controlled descent of a steep slope, such as a rock face, by moving down a rope. When abseiling the person descending controls their own movement down the rope, in contrast to low ...
ing
* Bongo drum
Bongos ( es, bongó) are an Afro-Cuban percussion instrument consisting of a pair of small open bottomed hand drums of different sizes. They are struck with both hands, most commonly in an eight-stroke pattern called ''martillo'' (hammer). The ...
sessions
* Archery
Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows.Paterson ''Encyclopaedia of Archery'' p. 17 The word comes from the Latin ''arcus'', meaning bow. Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In m ...
There is also an annual mountain bike
A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which ...
race called the Cullinan Diamond Rush.
Architecture
St. Georges Anglican church
The church was designed by British architect Herbert Baker
Sir Herbert Baker (9 June 1862 – 4 February 1946) was an English architect remembered as the dominant force in South African architecture for two decades, and a major designer of some of New Delhi's most notable government structures. He wa ...
, who was a dominant figure in South African architecture between 1892 and 1912.
The church was built in 1904 as the parish church for the miners. The church is a simple square structure with a corrugated iron roof. The first recorded meeting was held on April 22, 1906.
Cullinan hospital
The hospital was built in 1907, and was officially opened by Annie Cullinan,[Annie Cullinan Genealogy](_blank)
/ref> wife of Sir Thomas Cullinan. It served only the European miners back then, but now serves the need of all the people living in Cullinan.[Hospital](_blank)
The hospital has since closed down.
Nedbank
The Nedbank
Nedbank Group is a financial services group in South Africa offering wholesale and retail banking services as well as insurance, asset management, and wealth management. Nedbank Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nedbank Group.
Nedbank' ...
building was built around 1908. The building is still in use today by the bank.Nedbank Cullinan
/ref>
Masonic lodge
The Premier Diamond Masonic Lodge
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
was consecrated in the Cullinan School Hall and met there until 1909 when the new lodge building was completed at a cost of £1200. A feature of the Lodge's history has been the number of times it has been forced into recess, whether because of war, as in 1914 to 1916, disturbances leading to martial law, 1921 to 1922, and the closing down of the diamond mine (the main source of members) during the depression, 1932 to 1941. However the Second World War saw military forces stationed on the mine and an adjoining farm and this helped the lodge to get restarted. Then in 1945 the mine was reopened, restoring 'normality' to Cullinan, and since then the lodge's progress has been steady and sound. The lodge is still in use and looks the same as it did 100 years ago, having been preserved by active members.
Climate
See also
* Rayton
Rayton is a town in North-Eastern Gauteng which started out as a tin shack mining town on the farm Elandshoek. During its boom days the town served the needs of thousands of diggers and prospectors working for the Schiller, Montrose and Dunmore mi ...
* Petra Diamonds
Petra Diamonds Ltd is a diamond mining group headquartered in Jersey. Petra own one of the world's most productive mines historically, the Premier Mine, Cullinan Diamond Mine is famed for having produced the Cullinan Diamond, world's largest roug ...
References
External links
*
Cullinan Meander
Cullinan Gauteng
{{authority control
Populated places in the City of Tshwane
Mining communities in South Africa
Populated places established in 1903
1903 establishments in Transvaal Colony