Luderitz Diamond Rush 1907

NAMIBIA HISTORY L Ü DERITZ 1907 THE DIAMOND RUSH. The finding of gold may bring upon a rush, but the news of diamonds laying ready to be picked up from the sands of the desert caused the

Luderitz Diamond Rush 1907 and onwards

They came to the diamond-fields any way they could

The finding of gold may bring upon a rush, but the news of diamonds laying ready to be picked up from the sands of the desert caused the small town to descend into chaos. Applications for prospecting licenses poured in from all over the country. The local population 'closed shop'; succumbed to 'diamond fever' and poured into the desert as fast as they could.

The German Government took immediate interest in the activities at Luderitz and dispatched the Secretary For The Colonies to the town to investigate the situation and attempt to bring about a more business like and control to the industry. The Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft limited the issuing of licenses and a system of diamond taxation was introduced. An amount of order was brought to the industry, but the mining operations could still be considered 'wild-cat', inefficient and often wasteful. Further improvements were needed.

The town enjoyed a boom time and a considerable amount of development between 1908 and 1914. Note the sailing ship in the bay.

The First World War in August 1914 brought a cessation in diamond mining at the Kolmanskop and Area diggings.

Acknowledgements and further reading: H3, H5, M4, P2

Of Interest: In the period 1908 to 1914 some 5,000,000 carats of diamonds were recovered from the desert around Luderitz .

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