TransNamib: Dimensions of a Desert. Gabi Christa

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СКАЧАТЬ of Africa. Before anyone had thought of diamonds, the “White Gold” was discovered, guano, at that time an extraordinary fertiliser made from bird droppings, on the isles outside the Angra Pequena. This triggered a first assault by fortune seekers and the isles were freed of their “white gold”. At this time, Adolf Lüderitz, born in Bremen in 1834, was still a boy, with no idea that, on 10 April 1883, he would lay the foundation for the German colonial adventure in Namibia.

      On this significant date, 10 April 1883, the two-mast barque Tilly entered Angra Pequena, carrying Heinrich Vogelsang. The said Vogelsang, in the name of Adolf Lüderitz, had acquired the bay and the adjacent five miles of land for 100 Pound Sterling and 200 rifles. An additional treaty followed with the representative of the Nama, Captain Hendrik Witbooi. Hence, the strip of land extending twenty miles parallel to the coast belonged to Mr Lüderitz, beginning at the northern bank of the Orange River and stretching up to the 26th latitude.

      Lüderitz first arrived at his property in October 1883 to get properly started. His activities on his lawfully acquired land were subject to permanent threats, so he approached the Chancellor of the Reich, Bismarck. He sent a note to the consul in Cape Town with far-reaching consequences. The territory acquired by Lüderitz came under the protection of the German Reich. Already in August 1884, the men-of-war SMS Leipzig and SMS Elisabeth arrived in German South-West Africa, shortly thereafter followed by the gunboat SMS Wolf. Lüderitz was fully aware of his possibilities. He went on expeditions, researched, drilled and discovered all sorts of things, but no diamonds. His tireless activities cost the pioneer a lot of money and, already in 1885, he was worried about his finances. A research trip led him via Bethanie to Nabasdrif. Here, the boats were launched and the travellers followed the Orange River downstream to its mouth. They had to master a total of 50 rapids on the way to the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, in 1886, the pioneer Lüderitz did not return from this expedition. While their companions returned by land, Lüderitz and his Bremen-born tiller man, Steingröver, steered a boat into the rough Atlantic Ocean. They were last seen alive on 22 October 1886, then, their tracks were lost. The vessel might have been too ill-equipped to safely return the travellers across the rough seas from the Orange River Mouth to Angra Pequena. Lüderitz had had all the opportunities. He dared, but the diamonds were to slumber on for a while yet. The German Colonial Society honoured him by renaming Angra Pequena Lüderitzbucht.

      What was the settlement of Lüderitz like before the diamond rush? How to imagine life in this little oasis in the desert during the time that it was broken in by the Germans? The place was busy and changing. The basis for its revival was its population, first of all the resident German Schutztruppe forces. Lüderitz was living off the goods that were landed and it grew into a small German outpost. This wasn’t easy, though; Lüderitz was sheltered in a capsule. On the one side the angry endless sea was raging; on the other side stretched the barren expanses of the Namib Desert. It was conquered in spite of heat, sand and wind and humans invaded the interior. This led to existential fear among the local Herero and Nama peoples and conflicts broke out. In 1904, the uprising of the Herero and the Nama started, which was suppressed under the leadership of lieutenant-general Lothar von Trotha and turned into genocide.

      Meanwhile, in 1905, they had begun laying railroad tracks to Aus. This construction work again attracted lots of people to Lüderitz. Soon, however, the funds were running short for financing the railroad and the Schutztruppe forces. On 13 December, 1906, this led to a dissent in the German Reichstag and the Emperor William II dissolved the Reichstag. But already, on 12 March, 1907, the new Reichstag had allocated the required funds to the young colony.

      When, in 1907, it became clear that talk of relocations back home had not been just conjecture and the withdrawal of the forces actually began, many a venture was put on hold.

      The Damocles sword of decline was hanging above Lüderitz. But, luckily, the above-mentioned Stauch and his resourceful and trustful assistant, Lewala, in 1908 had found the first diamond. Not only the foundation for Kolmanskop lay in Stauch’s hand; he also opened up the diamond areas south of Lüderitz, in the Namib Desert, the present Sperrgebiet I Diamond area.

      Diamond Area Sperrgebiet 1

      This territory may only be entered in the company of a concession holder, not even in one’s own car. Here, they play it safe.

      The tour operator obtains the concession from the state. Punctually, the tour minibus pulls up and we settle ourselves in the soft seats. An insignificant turn-off leads to the control post under the video surveillance of Rotkopf. Beyond this point, whoever gets caught without a guide and permit is liable to spend two years in prison and pay a strict fine. The reason is soon explained: this track not only leads to the tourist sites but also serves as access to the active mining areas. There, uninvited guests are not welcome.

      Entering Without a Permit May Lead to Jail Terms and Stiff Fines

      The Swartberg is visible even from this distance. At this black basalt monster, you branch off to the Pomona Area; there is no signpost. The tiny track runs between the hills and, all of a sudden, the high buildings of the pump station in the Grillenthal valley emerge from the sand. It was erected in 1910 to 1912 and was worked until 1935. They had to drill down for 30 to 60 metres in order to access fresh water. This well water had to be transported by electrical railway to Pomona and Bogenfels. The electrical power was provided by Lüderitz power station. Pomona mine had an extremely high demand for water to wash the diamonds. The drinking water from Grillenthal was too precious to be used for this purpose. So the mine was provided with brackish water from another nearby well. This legendary diamond paradise was discovered by the brave Stauch together with his friend Dr. Robert Scheibe.

      Within a short period of time, Stauch and the brilliant geologist, on New Year’s Eve 1908, on an area of 50 m², discovered 600 carats of diamonds, whilst presumably the others were dancing in the New Year. In 1909, Scheibe writes to his parents-in-law: ”… when, after two days of sand storms and other adverse incidents… I entered the Pomona area, lying there, all virgin… we felt like we were in paradise… as if sown out, the marvellous stones…”

      You can’t see much in the ruins of Stauch’s camp. But the remains indicate how the diggers might have lived to begin with. I still recall the pictures from the museum at Kolmanskop. So I can easily imagine the harsh conditions the first diggers here in the desert had to cope with, before the settlement of Pomona developed. Concrete sleeping bunks, almost like XL stone coffins, served as night shelters to the diggers and there was a very basic common kitchen. But during the euphoria of the diamond rush, the standard of accommodation might have been of no concern.

      While Ramon is driving us between the mine dumps, he tells us about many an incident. One reminds me very much of Lüderitz, who failed to discover the diamonds. Originally, the company De Pas, Spence & Co was exploring the area for copper ore. In the absence of relevant expertise, at that time, diamonds were shovelled aside in order to access the desired copper ore, albeit poor in quality. Not much time went by before diamond mining flourished in the Pomona area; but the harvest had to be delivered. This was the task of ambulance man Muhlack. Twice a month, escorted by policemen, he delivered the diamonds to Lüderitz. On each of his rides he transported diamonds at a value of one million Euro in saddle bags through the Namib Desert. At the police post at Elizabeth Bay, the men slept over and usually played a game of skat. One morning, Muhlack’s horse shied from a sheet of paper that was being blown about in the desert and threw Muhlack off. The horse disappeared towards the horizon with the diamond bags. The two mounted policemen tried to retrieve the fleeing horse, but did not succeed. In despair, they loaded their rifles and shot and killed the totally innocent horse. Muhlack, however, СКАЧАТЬ