Kimberley, South Africa

1950s: A ‘Liquor Pageant’ of some sort in the Communal Hall

Delia Benn sent this tantalising picture of a communal even in the early 1950s. At the head of the ‘march’, is carried aloft a tray of tiny sample drinks and the people are marching behind with bottles in their hands. The clothing seems to be advertising Gin and Sullivan’s Cream Soda. Maybe the banner held aloft of saying ‘Elixir of Life’. But what they were up to – nobody seems to know.

Delia says: This is a function in the communal hall. That's all I know. I was a little girl at the time, somewhere between 8 - 10, I think. I don't know who the front man is, he is followed by Joe and Pearl Tuch, Ikky and Helen Brown, Mossie and Sadie Shapiro, Hymie and Nina Tockar. 

Solly Jacobson, Ikky Brown and Joe Tooch

As a very interesting aside, Delia says: The couple right at the back are Solly and Rose Kantor. Solly was the engineer in charge of building the Rustfontein and Allemanskraal dams in the Free State near Kimberley. Their eldest son, Ian Kantor, was one of the founders of Investec Bank in SA and the second son, Bernie Kantor (who is my parent's godson) was in charge of the London branch. I think he's retired now. There is a third son, David Kantor, who also lives in the UK. They never lived in Kimberley, but on site at the dams, but Bernie was born in Kimberley.

Rustfontein and Allemanskraal Dams

Here is some more information about these dams which I knew nothing about. Although built for agriculture and water supply, they are now surrounded by nature reserves and game reserves. (A recent study has shown an alarming growth of health-threatening cyanobacteria in South African dams.) 

Rustfontein Dam is a gravity type dam located on the Modder River in the Free Sate near Thaba 'Nchu, It was established in 1955 and serves mainly for domestic supply and industrial purposes.   The surrounding countryside, is now the Rustfontein Dam Nature Reserve. There are tree-studded koppies and grassy hillsides providing an attractive backdrop to this dam which water-sport enthusiasts and anglers enjoy. It is on the Cheetah tourism route in the Free State. 

Allemanskraal Dam is on the Sand River in the Free State. It was established in 1960. The reservoir has a gross capacity of 174,500 cubic metres (6,160,000 cu ft), and a surface area of 26.481 square kilometres (10.224 sq mi), the dam wall is 38 metres (125 ft) high. It is now completely surrounded by the Willem Pretorius Game Reserve. Water is released from the system into a canal approximately 115 km in length, in order to supply the Sand–Vet (rivers) government Water scheme downstream

Here are pictures of the construction of Rustfontein (left) and Allemanskraal (right) 

And how they look more recently