The Beginnings Of Johannesburg And The Gold Rush In 1886

Based on the interest that my last post has created I would like to share today some other images of my collection showing the early beginnings of Johannesburg. 

Around 1886 Johannesburg was nothing but a collection of shacks. Gold had not been found yet and there was a lot of doubt by the rest of the world that Johannesburg had the potential of producing larger amounts of gold. Little was it known then that it would develop into one of the biggest gold mining centers of the world.

Looking at this picture it is very hard to imagine that these are the beginnings of today's buzzing African metropole Johannesburg. 

But prospecting had begun...

Those days the traditional old method of "panning" was used. The name comes from the flat pan that was used to wash the crushed rock and separate the gold. It was not only the earliest method of gold mining but also the most convenient one. The pan was light and could be carried around easily by prospectors travelling far and alone.

Panning was a very laborious process but highly efficient for limited quantities. Its value lay in the fact that immediate tests could be made of the rock.

Here we see the landscape of the areas surrounding Johannesburg when the gold rush was in full swing. For hundred of miles the landscape had been turned into grey hills consisting of the stamped and washed rock after the last ounce of gold had been extracted. It was deposited as waste on the surface creating new geological formations.

It is said that this was the first house ever to be built in Johannesburg, a building constructed with brick and thatch. 

As far as it can be ascertained it stood on the site of the head office of the Standard Bank of South Africa. The head office of the Standard Bank is located on corner Simmons and Commissioner street.

A train arriving at Park Station Johannesburg in 1891. 

At the time the Park station covered all together 17 acres of land with railway lines, passenger stations and platforms. The arrival of a train system became the biggest competitor to the mail coach system which was operating in South Africa before.

And here we see a rare photo of the early days of the Zeederberg Mail Coach Office. The name of the Zeederberg Mail Coach was very well known throughout South Africa and it was a very important means of transportation for goods. 

Later on when railways started to compete with the Zeederberg Mail Coach Office, it transferred most of its coaching business and operations to then Rhodesia.

A look back into a time before gold was found in Johannesburg. This image shows a typical large Boer family in front of their homestead on their farm at the Witwatersrand at a time when Fred and Harry Struben and Walter and Honeyball had discovered the mineral wealth of this area. 

When gold was found many of the old homesteads vanished. Instead mining towers appeared all over the land.

All my sources come from old books and photographs and newspaper cut-outs collected over time.

 

The Old Market Square In Johannesburg In 1894

Looking at this old black and white photograph of Johannesburg Market Square in 1894, one is reminded of what a young city Johannesburg really is. I had this photograph in my collection for a long time but I had never given it a lot of attention.

Comparing important mega-cities of the world, Johannesburg is probably one of the cities which has grown and developed in the shortest of times into a massive metropole. One century later and here we are: one of the most important cities on the African continent.

131 years ago, "The Market Square" in Johannesburg was the meeting place of the farmers of the surrounding areas. Once or twice a week the farmers would come to Johannesburg to sell their produce to the people living in town. Market days were usually held on Saturday.

Spans of oxen and wagons were parked close to each other, and the whole scene had the appearance of a cattle market.

Vervet Monkey Teenager Party In The Carport

 

When A Baby Monkey Looses Its Mother! Think Twice Before You Buy An Orphan Baby Monkey

I have shared this video to create some awareness as to were the so called "orphan baby monkeys" actually come from. If a female monkey dies, the other female monkeys of the troop take care of her baby. A baby monkey would never be left lying alone on the road or in a trench along side the road (like you see it in many videos). 

As long as there are other female monkeys around that baby would be taken care of. Female monkeys raise their babies together. 

Many orphan baby monkeys have become orphan monkeys because their mothers were killed by humans so they could be sold to people who desire a monkey as a pet. It is nearly impossible to snatch a tiny baby monkey from her mother. 

Whoever tries will end up with very serious injuries. The only way to get hold of a baby monkey is to kill the mother. 

You have to get them very young otherwise they will not accept their future owner as a substitute mother. Many baby monkeys die. 

If you think or have considered getting a baby monkey PLEASE THINK TWICE. 

The bond between a baby monkey and its mother is extremely special. The baby clings for 4 months constantly to its mother's belly. Lollipop's pain that you hear in this video is every baby monkey's pain that has been separated from its mother. 

It was heart breaking for us to watch and hear this. 

That specific sound she made in this video we have not heard again from her. 

It was a sound of mourning and fear. 

A day after her parents were shot baby monkey Lollipop came into our house through the open window. She had come inside the house many times with her mother, clinging onto her mother's belly. She was used to us but not enough to let us touch her or pick her up. 

She found refuge on our curtain rail and in the window.

Looking out into the valley below through the window she called and cried consistently for her mother. It took us several hours to get her down. I finally managed to lure her into a wicker basket with a mashed banana inside it. 

The backside of the basket I had covered with a towel. I slowly retreated into the corridor. She was very hungry and came down from the rail and climbed into the basket to eat. I managed to approach slowly and close the door. Piet had prepared our hot house for her because this was the only safe place for her at this moment. Lollipop cried incessantly for 3 days and nights.

 

Rock Hyrax Sunbathing On The Wall After A Cold South Afr

Rock Hyrax sun bathing on the wall in the first rays of the morning sun after a very cold South African night.

Just Before The Storm! Bonza Bay Beach East London South Africa

Please Don't Throw Your Cigarettes Ends On The Floor The Cockroaches Are Getting Cancer!

Seen In An East London Parking Lot, South Africa!

When Your Orphan Monkey Is A Handful!

ASMR Baby Monkey Lollipop Primal Stimulation Scalp Massage Tension Relief And Nerve Stimulation

Crab Walk! Found A Crab With One Leg! Is It A Fiddler Crab?

The Incredible Vibration Of A Dragonfly's Buzzing Wings

Caring For An Orphan Baby Monkey

A year ago we have become the parents of a baby vervet monkey. It is a lot of work and takes up lot of your time. But what little Lollipop gives back to us is incredible! Have a look at our latestet video.