Barkley West

Barkley West began as a convenient crossing place of the Vaal River, and had a very lively beginning. The diamond prospectors had no sooner pitched their tents by the side of the river than a squabble began concerning ownership of the diamond fields and the right to levy rates.

Faced with competition from the British, the Boers and the Griquas for ownership of Barkley West's diamond-rich soil, the militant miners declared the short-lived Klipdrif Diggers' Republic, with Stafford Parker as its elected president. His inauguration speech was, "If you have confidence in me, support me loyally, and for heaven's sake don't let any tipsy fool say 'pitch him in the river'?.

Today the banks of the river are still worked for diamonds, and Saturday morning Diamond Markets are the order of the commercial week in Barkley West, a run-down town where it would be ill-advised to poke around on your own. A tour of the alluvial digging sites is the best way to investigate the workings of this modern-day relic of the heady old diamond days.

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