Malay Camp, Kimberley, Historical district in Kimberley, South Africa.
Malay Camp was a neighborhood in central Kimberley containing residences, religious centers, and commercial establishments for the local Muslim and mixed communities until the 1940s. The area consisted of closely built streets with individual houses, mosques, and shops that formed the economic and social base for its residents.
De Beers Consolidated Mines donated the land to Kimberley Municipality in 1939, leading to forced removals and demolitions before the Group Areas Act was passed. Residents were systematically displaced and the neighborhood disappeared in the following years.
The neighborhood was home to residents from different backgrounds who used mosques, shops, and schools that shaped daily life. Solomon T Plaatje, an important South African writer and activist, lived here and his house is now a museum.
The McGregor Museum displays permanent exhibits about this neighborhood and offers detailed information through photographs, documents, and personal accounts from former residents. Visitors can learn more about the history and daily life there without needing to visit the original site.
This area represents one of South Africa's earliest cases of forced community displacement, happening before similar removals in District Six and Sophiatown. It demonstrates how systematic relocations were already being carried out long before the formal apartheid era.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
