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Monument/Statue/Memorial Rhodes Memorial

ID: w130896 View large map

Located in South Africa :: Western Cape (Peninsula)
Category: Attraction :: Monument/Statue/Memorial

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Description [ correction ]

The famous Rhodes Memorial is a national landmark. Cecil John Rhodes was born the sickly younger son of a minister in England in 1853. At the age of seventeen he was sent to Africa after his older brother in an attempt to better his health. After cotton fields in Natal and the Gold Rush in the Northern Cape, Rhodes became successful in the diamond business and then went to study Classics at Oriel College in Oxford till 1881. Back to Kimberley, Rhodes used his intelligence to make him one of the most powerful mining magnates of his time at age 34. Thus because of CJ Rhodes, most diamond dealings still travel to some measure through England. Rhodes then took over and exploited Mashonaland (later called Rhodesia) for its mineral and agricultural resources, before becoming the Prime Minister of the Cape Colony. He resided in a home in Groote Schuur and engaged in the development of the fruit industry in and around Stellenbosch, still serving Parliament and directing De Beers. The Kirstenbosch Gardens was donated by him to the Botanical Society. In March 1902, at the age of 49, he passed away after a very full life-time. The memorial was built in 1912 on the spot where Rhodes used to sit and think, on the slopes of Devil's Peak and dedicated by Sir Earl Grey. The citizens of Cape Town paid the money themselves to have the memorial designed and built by Sir Francis Macey and Sir Herbert Baker, complete with Doric columns, inscriptions by Rudyard Kipling, eight lions, 49 steps, a 'Statue of Energy'. An identical statue stands in London.

Contact [ correction ]
Address : Cape Town Tourism, Pinnacle Building, Cnr Burg and Castle Street, Cape Town, 8001, Western Cape, South Africa
Contact : City Centre Visitor Information Centre
Contact 2 : Western Cape Tourism Board
Tel : +27(0)21 487 6800
Tel2 : +27(0)21 426 5639
Fax : +27(0)21 487 6859
Fax2 : +27(0)21 426 5640
Email : Click Here
Website : Click Here
Host Website : Click Here

Opening Times : [ correction ]

Winter (May-Sept) 08:00-18:00; Summer (Oct-Apr) 07:30-19:00.

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