1887 THE LIONS HEAD GOLD RUSH

 

1887 THE LIONS HEAD GOLD RUSH

 

 

 

During 1886 claims of gold fines came from Noordhoek and Glencairn, and a Lion’s Head Gold Syndicate was searching for gold on a farm owned by a Jan Hofmeyer (not “Onze Jan”) on the slopes of Lion’s Head. In 1887 they struck gold and the Cape Argus of 23^rd November printed a Supplement of the mine and its workings, which was situated about 100 m below today’s start of the Lion’s Head hiking trail on Signal Hill Road. A gold rush stared with seekers climbing all over the mountain and a Mr Jacobus Vlok falling to his death. The Argus of 2^nd December announced the formation of a new company to be called the Lion’s Head (Cape Town) Gold Mining Company that offered shares. A shaft of 45 m was sunk and from a ton of quartz containing pyrite, two ounces of gold was obtained at Wilkinson’s Mill in Kloof Street. Dr Paul Hahn of the south African College did an assay that looked promising, and believed gold could be found anywhere in a zone between the contact of granite and slate on the Sea Point seashore to the saddle between Devil’s Peak and Table Mountain. Under the watchful eye of the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Friedrich Schermbrucker, 7 ½ tons of ore were despatched to Britain and Germany, but only 10 pounds were tested, and the assay was not done by a requested chlorination process, so the results showed no gold. This was a great blow to the Mining Company who could now attract no more investors. By 1893 the Company had disbanded because in that year the City Council bought their property. The shaft remained open until 1951 when a fire fighter battling a mountain fire nearly fell in, so the entrance was bulldozed over and the lid was literally put on Cape Town’s gold mining hopes. It is unlikely that there were payable amounts of gold, but as the overseas assays were botched, nobody can say for sure. Anyway, the mountain was saved from the eyesore of mining operations, and today is a protected area.

 

Lion Battery was built from 1889 to 1890 and was armed with two 9 inch rifled muzzle loading guns. The Battery was remodelled in 1911, with new emplacements being constructed on top of the old works, and rearmed with two 9.2 inch Mk X breech loading guns. These guns could fire a 170kg shell to a maximum range of 28km. The firing of these guns ceased in 1935 due to blast damage caused in Green Point below the Battery.

The daily noon gun is now Cape Town’s oldest living tradition and the two guns used are the oldest guns in daily use in the world.

Signal Hill was the first Radar station in May 1941.
Radar could normally only see large ships not further than the horizon, but it was very helpful at night and poor weather conditions.

Comment: Easy educational historic Tour with a sneaky Underground Tunnel & Bunker Network. Gold was never found but who knows where the VOC treasure hides. Operating on most days. Maximum 25 participants.