August Stauch
Encyclopedia
August Stauch is considered the discoverer of the diamond
deposits near the settlement of Lüderitz
in the then colony of German South-West Africa
, now Namibia
.
August Stauch was the third of seven children of a railway worker's family in Ettenhausen. He was a railway employee in Thuringia
, Germany
. Stauch arrived in Lüderitz in 1907. He suffered from asthma
and received medical advice that the drier desert climate may be suitable for his health. He took up mineralogy
as a hobby in his spare time but later worked as a Bahnmeister (chief railway foreman) on the Lüderitzbucht-Aus
railway line.
August developed a fascination for diamonds, after listening to the tales about Adolf Lüderitz
, who believed there lay diamonds in the desert and obtained a prospecting license from Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft fur Südwest Afrika
. He consequently informed his workers, who had been brought in from South Africa
because of their experience in railroad workings, to look out for unusually shiny stones. On 10th April 1908 Zacharias Lewala, one of his aides who had previously worked at a diamond mine in Kimberley
, picked up a diamond near Grasplatz
and dutifully took brought it to him.
Stauch quietly resigned from his job after confirming his suspicion that this may be a diamond, by scratching his glass watch with the stone. He found more pretty stones after a systematic
search of the area and took them to his friend, mining engineer Sönke Nissen who lived in Lüderitz, where they were confirmed to be diamonds in June 1908.
These diamonds had flushed through the Orange River
into the sea millions of years ago where the wind and waves washed it back in the sand of the Namib. The south-west diamonds are usually not very large, but clear like water and thus very popular on the market.
Stauch and Nissen initially kept the knowledge of the find to themselves, and only announced it after securing a 75-acre claim at Kolmanskop
in order to continue to do diamond searching. Both were declared very wealthy men at the time.
The German government
took immediate interest in the activities at Lüderitz, and dispatched the Secretary For The Colonies to investigate the situation and bring order and control to the industry. A diamond taxation system was introduced and the issuing of licenses was limited which brought about some order to the industry. The town of Lüderitz observed an economic boom between 1908 and 1914 and was temporarily known as Africa’s richest town.
Stauch tried to increase his wealth further and invested in many companies - both in the colony and in Germany. However in 1931, he lost most of his wealth through various misfortunes and the Great Depression
.
He returned and lived in his native town Ettenhausen and died in April 1947 as a poor man. His family remained in South West Africa (now Namibia) to farm on the family ranch. It exists and is managed by his grandson.
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
deposits near the settlement of Lüderitz
Lüderitz
Lüderitz is a harbour town in south-west Namibia, lying on one of the least hospitable coasts in Africa. It is a port developed around Robert Harbour and Shark Island.- Overview :...
in the then colony of German South-West Africa
German South-West Africa
German South West Africa was a colony of Germany from 1884 until 1915, when it was taken over by South Africa and administered as South West Africa, finally becoming Namibia in 1990...
, now Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
.
August Stauch was the third of seven children of a railway worker's family in Ettenhausen. He was a railway employee in Thuringia
Thuringia
The Free State of Thuringia is a state of Germany, located in the central part of the country.It has an area of and 2.29 million inhabitants, making it the sixth smallest by area and the fifth smallest by population of Germany's sixteen states....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Stauch arrived in Lüderitz in 1907. He suffered from asthma
Asthma
Asthma is the common chronic inflammatory disease of the airways characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and bronchospasm. Symptoms include wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath...
and received medical advice that the drier desert climate may be suitable for his health. He took up mineralogy
Mineralogy
Mineralogy is the study of chemistry, crystal structure, and physical properties of minerals. Specific studies within mineralogy include the processes of mineral origin and formation, classification of minerals, their geographical distribution, as well as their utilization.-History:Early writing...
as a hobby in his spare time but later worked as a Bahnmeister (chief railway foreman) on the Lüderitzbucht-Aus
Aus, Namibia
Aus is a village in Karas Region in southern Namibia. It lies on a railway line and the B4 national road, 230 km west of Keetmanshoop and about 125 km east of Lüderitz. Trains from Keetmanshoop now terminate at the village but formerly continued on to Lüderitz. The village is small but...
railway line.
August developed a fascination for diamonds, after listening to the tales about Adolf Lüderitz
Adolf Lüderitz
Franz Adolf Eduard Lüderitz was a German merchant and founder of the first German colony in Southwest Africa....
, who believed there lay diamonds in the desert and obtained a prospecting license from Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft fur Südwest Afrika
German South-West Africa
German South West Africa was a colony of Germany from 1884 until 1915, when it was taken over by South Africa and administered as South West Africa, finally becoming Namibia in 1990...
. He consequently informed his workers, who had been brought in from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
because of their experience in railroad workings, to look out for unusually shiny stones. On 10th April 1908 Zacharias Lewala, one of his aides who had previously worked at a diamond mine in Kimberley
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
, picked up a diamond near Grasplatz
Grasplatz
Grasplatz is a defunct railway station in the south of Namibia on the decommissioned Aus - Lüderitz line. It is the place where in 1908 railway worker Zacharias Lewalwa found the first diamond in German South-West Africa and handed it over to his foreman August Stauch...
and dutifully took brought it to him.
Stauch quietly resigned from his job after confirming his suspicion that this may be a diamond, by scratching his glass watch with the stone. He found more pretty stones after a systematic
Systematic
Systematic is an American hard rock band from Oakland, California. They were one of the first signings to Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich's record label, The Music Company, via Elektra Records. The band released two studio albums before disbanding in 2004....
search of the area and took them to his friend, mining engineer Sönke Nissen who lived in Lüderitz, where they were confirmed to be diamonds in June 1908.
These diamonds had flushed through the Orange River
Orange River
The Orange River , Gariep River, Groote River or Senqu River is the longest river in South Africa. It rises in the Drakensberg mountains in Lesotho, flowing westwards through South Africa to the Atlantic Ocean...
into the sea millions of years ago where the wind and waves washed it back in the sand of the Namib. The south-west diamonds are usually not very large, but clear like water and thus very popular on the market.
Stauch and Nissen initially kept the knowledge of the find to themselves, and only announced it after securing a 75-acre claim at Kolmanskop
Kolmanskop
Kolmanskop is a ghost town in the Namib desert in southern Namibia, a few kilometres inland from the port town of Lüderitz. It was named after a transport driver named Johnny Coleman who, during a sand storm, abandoned his ox wagon on a small incline opposite the settlement...
in order to continue to do diamond searching. Both were declared very wealthy men at the time.
The German government
German colonial empire
The German colonial empire was an overseas domain formed in the late 19th century as part of the German Empire. Short-lived colonial efforts by individual German states had occurred in preceding centuries, but Imperial Germany's colonial efforts began in 1884...
took immediate interest in the activities at Lüderitz, and dispatched the Secretary For The Colonies to investigate the situation and bring order and control to the industry. A diamond taxation system was introduced and the issuing of licenses was limited which brought about some order to the industry. The town of Lüderitz observed an economic boom between 1908 and 1914 and was temporarily known as Africa’s richest town.
Stauch tried to increase his wealth further and invested in many companies - both in the colony and in Germany. However in 1931, he lost most of his wealth through various misfortunes and the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
.
He returned and lived in his native town Ettenhausen and died in April 1947 as a poor man. His family remained in South West Africa (now Namibia) to farm on the family ranch. It exists and is managed by his grandson.
Literature
- Olga Levinson: Diamonds in the sand. The eventful life of August Stauch, 2007, ISBN 978-3-936858-02-0
- W. Bredow, H. Lotz, A. Stauch:The German diamonds and their recovery. A Reminder writing to the Provincial Exhibition Windhoek in 1914 published by the sponsors, Berlin 1914
- Bernd Längin "German colonies" 2005