Confidence Reef

In the feel good article below, journalist Lucille Davie describes the epic return of Joburg's first stamp mills to the area where they were originally installed in 1885. The article was first published on the City of Joburg's website on 21 May 2009. Click here to view more of Davie's writing.

It always feels good when something is returned to where it originally belonged. So it is with the stamp mills owned by Joburg's first gold prospectors, Fred and Harry Struben.

Last Saturday, the two stamp mills or batteries that the two men used to crush rock in search of gold at their Confidence Reef in Roodepoort, were moved back to the site in the 100ha Kloofendal Nature Reserve. They were the first stamp mills to be used on the Witwatersrand, imported from England and arriving here by ox wagon in 1885, a year after the men found gold in 1884.

The first stamp mills on the Rand (The Heritage Portal)

"We are elated that the stamp mills are back," said Roland Cundill, the chairperson of the Friends of Kloofendal Nature Reserve. He explained that the idea of returning them to the mine workings was raised some two-and-a-half years ago, and approval was given by the mayoral committee in late 2008.

The stamp mills have been on display for some...

The Struben brothers, Fred & Harry, by invitation of Louw Geldenhuys, discovered and mined gold on the Eastern part of the farm Wilgespruit in 1884-5. They learned mining from a Cornish miner, George Arnold (every body is ‘George’) and blasted and dug their way into the Witwatersrand Ridge in several places, most famously the “Confidence Reef Mine”. They imported a stamp mill from Sandycroft Foundry in England and powered it with an 8 horse-power steam engine they had on their farm, from Ransom, Simms & Jefferies, also a UK firm.

Struben Brothers Stamp Mill 1885 - HF Gros Collection via Rod Kruger

Two other Georges, George Harrison & George Walker, learning of their mining activities from Arthur Edgson at Muldersdrift, came over looking for work. Walker was commissioned to help set up the new stamp-mill in a nearby Kloof, and build a small cottage nearby to replace the Strubens ‘s tent. Harrison, a brick-layer and prospector, went on to the farm Langlaagte to help build a small house. This led the way to the finding of the Main Reef at Langlaagte in 1886 by George Harrison.

The Strubens put claims on the main reef on the Eastern side of Langlaagte and dug test-shafts, to prove the gold content. They named their claims “Crown Reef”. In 1888 they sold...