Pilgrim's Rest, South Africa

Some claim the name Pilgrim's Rest comes from Alec 'Wheelbarrow' Patterson who welcomed every new digger with the words, 'Here comes another pilgrim to his rest'. Others say that it was William Trafford who exclaimed, 'The pilgrim is at rest'. Patterson left the diggings at Mac-Mac in 1873 because it became too crowded for him. Patterson's nickname derives from the fact that he always conveyed his worldly possessions in a wheelbarrow. 'Cheaper than a horse' he said, 'and it won't die of horse-sickness'.

Gold

Patterson discovered the first significant gold strike in South Africa at Ponieskrantz in 1873. This proved to be the richest alluvial gold deposit at that time. William Trafford, who spread the news wildly and attracted diggers to the Valley, joined him. Within two years there were 1500 diggers. In 1875 Pilgrim's Rest was declared a public diggings and MV Phelan, an Irishman, even started the camp's own newspaper, Gold News, which was later renamed the Gold Fields Mercury.

Some extraordinary nuggets were found in the first few years. Among them were 'Lilley' which weighed in at 119 ounces ($45 000 at today's prices) and 'Breda' (214 ounces, $82 000). Henry Glynn from Sabie bought a whopper of 276 ounces for 750 pounds ($100 000 at today's prices)!

The historical village of Pilgrim's Rest is a National monument, which celebrated its centenary in 1973. Some of the historical buildings were restored and the Village is now a living open-air museum of the hectic gold rush days.