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November 25, 2004
The old saloon at Kimberley
Looking almost like something more familiarly associated with the Wild West in the US of A, this is, in fact, the last surviving "Saloon" Bar from the great days of the Diamond Rush in Kimberley. The recreated "Old Kimberley" is now home to original and beautifully restored buildings from the town's historic days as a mining boom town.
The interior of the "Barney Barnato" Saloon Bar preserved at the Mining Museum in Kimberley.
The only thing missing in this 'town' is the throngs of miners, their families, and the hoards of businessmen who descended on it to get rich, if not by mining, by exploiting the needs of the mining community. It is reputed that in this saloon and many like it, diamonds changed hands at a fraction of their value as miners traded their hard-found stones for essential supplies - and hard liquor.
The building is carefully arranged exactly as it was from old photographs which show the original furnishings and, of course, the customers. It seems strangely quiet, despite the atmospheric "period" music being played inside it now, and one almost has the feeling that some, at least, of its old customers, are still there.
And all because the ladies love diamonds.
Posted by The Gray Monk at November 25, 2004 10:18 AM