Silverstar hosted a four day festival which aimed to celebrate the area’s rich mining history of the late 1880’s.

The Wild West Country Fest, ran from 30 April to 3 May with thousands of festival goers encapsulating the festival’s founding history through replicating food from the era, gold panning sites, whiskey saloons and grand beer halls.

When gold was first discovered on Marthinus Pretorius’ farm in 1886, little did anyone know the wealth of minerals that would be found in the years to come.  Men and women from afar afield as Canada, Australia, Cornwell and Holland as well as Kimberley and Pilgrims Rest, pitched their tents in a bid to stake their claim to the lands riches.

Shortly after the discovery of gold, in 1887, the town of Krugersdorp was established and today it is the industrial hub of Western Gauteng with a population of more than 350 000.

It is the area’s rich mining industry which formed an integral part in the development of the town, as well as molded its colourful cultural and historical background.

Shane Collinson, Director of Operations and Complex General Manager at Silverstar said, “There were be four main sections dedicated to this history at the Wild West Country Fest, namely; The Duiwelsdorp Beer Hall, The Molly Malone Whiskey Saloon, Joe’s Gambling Joint and the Diggins.”

The history and insight into each of these establishments are:

The Duiwelsdorp Beer Hall

This is where men used to spend time after a hard day on the diggings and where their stories were told – some of good fortune, some of bad, but intriguing nevertheless. Beer drinking and arm wrestling for gold nuggets was a legendary and keenly contested activity.

 The Molly Malone Whiskey Saloon

A classy establishment, in the harsh and often brutal environment that these early fortune seekers had to endure, where men could be mesmerised by the charm and flirtations of Can Can girls while sipping fine whiskey.

The owner of this establishment, Molly Malone, was a women who hailed from Ireland. She was a voluptuous beauty who ensured that customers behaved respectably in her upmarket establishment.

Joe’s Gambling Joint

Joe Jackson, who spent his youth as a lumberjack in the Cossacks of Upper Canada before setting off to seek his fortunes abroad, was the first to open up a gambling joint on the outskirts of the West Rand diggings which was commonly referred to as ‘Duiwelsdorp’.

Under his watchful eye, and massive frame, the roulette wheels and poker tables were never short of patrons eager to wager.

The Diggins

The diggings were the very life and blood of these early days where men would toil tirelessly under the African skies in search for gold. Some struck it rich, but the majority only managed to eke out a living.

One of these early day pioneers was Fred Struben who, together with this brother, had bought a farm on the western front in the hopes of striking it lucky.

On one early October morning he observed a disturbance that had taken place on a southern ridge of his property and as he recalled later in the Rand Daily Mail, “I clambered over the ridge, broke off a piece of disturbed strata rock and crushed and panned it. I could not believe my eyes when a teaspoon of gold appeared in the pan.”

It was shortly after that that he and his brother named the area the Confidence Reef Mine, the remains of which are still visible inside the Kloofendal Nature Reserve in Roodepoort on the western flank of Johannesburg.

To view more photos of the festival, click here.

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