AlexanderHotel

ALEXANDERS FONTEIN HOTEL

1 Shilling Token - Kimberley (Hern 10b)

"The farm, Alexandersfontein, 9 kilometers from Kimberley, at one time Belonged to the" London and South Africa Exploration Company. "

This Company's assets including a hotel which was already mentioned in 1885, was taken over by the De Beers Consolidated Mines.

Alexandersfontein Hotel and Kimberley were linked by an electric tram route run by the "Kimberley and Alexandersfontein Electric Railway Company." This was completed in 1904. The usual return fare from Kimberley to the hotel was 1 / -, but on Saturdays it was a 6 d only.

Known Issued tokens :

Denominations: 2 / -, 1 / -, 6d, and 3d

Material: Brass

Size: Approx. 28 mm diameter, 1.3 mm thick (all pieces)

Edge: Reeded

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There was a plentiful supply of water at Alexandersfontein, and the locality provided suitable campgrounds for a fairly large force—at least an infantry division.

The Boers did not intend to let the Kimberley troops have undisputed possession of Alexandersfontein; they turned their guns on Wimbledon Ridge on to the new arrivals and peppered them with segment shell, and also brought a field-gun into action in a new position to the eastward of Alexandersfontein.

Apart from the hotel complex, Alexandersfontein has a rightful claim to being the cradle of aviation in South Africa.

In 1910 Rear-Admiral Dr John Weston, gave a flying display close to the ‘Alex’, as the hotel was called, in his Weston-Farman biplane, on the Kimberley Race Course. He succeeded in remaining aloft for over 8 minutes at an altitude of sixteen meters.

AND MORE ....

Accidental disturbance of human remains at Alexandersfontein : Press Release (April 2004)

Development work for sewerage at Alexandersfontein has accidentally disturbed 20 unmarked graves that lay beneath a trackway adjacent to housing near the Jack Hindon Officers' Mess. Nearby there is a small un-demarcated burial ground. There are no headstones. At this point it is not known who was buried there and when. As the graves appear to be older than 60 years and lie outside a demarcated cemetery, they are subject to the provisions of the National Heritage Resources Act.

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