Kakamega gold rush
Encyclopedia
The Kakamega gold rush occurred at Kakamega
, Kenya
in the early 1930's, fueled partly by the reports of the geologist Albert Ernest Kitson
..In his report for the Colonial Office Kitson suggested that possibly as much as half of the gold being prospected was wasted by amateur techniques. In an article for the magazine The Spectator, Kitson compared the influx of amateur gold-prospectors to the Klondike Gold Rush
in Canada in 1897-8 : "The road to Kakamega now resembles a miniature 'trail of 98' without the snow. Old mining men, from ex-Klondyke Pioneers to Australian backwoodsmen, are hurrying to the spot". But it seems that Kitson's initial report had helped create the rush in the first place by highlighting the rich pickings available.. As The Spectator noted "Since the publication of Sir Albert Kitson's report, the population of the Kakamega goldfields had doubled". Kitson's article in this magazine merely fueled the rush still further.
The European settlers, who had been hard hit by the great depression, responded eagerly to news that there might be gold in the Kakamega
region. Even today the region is honeycombed with abandoned miners' huts.
The largest nugget discovered was called the Elbon Nugget named by reversing the surname of its discoverer Dan Noble.
Kakamega
Kakamega is a town in western Kenya lying about 30 km north of the Equator. It is the headquarters of . The town has a population of 73,607 ....
, Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
in the early 1930's, fueled partly by the reports of the geologist Albert Ernest Kitson
Albert Ernest Kitson
Sir Albert Ernest Kitson KBE, CMG was a British/Australian geologist and naturalist, winner of the Lyell Medal in 1927.-Early life:...
..In his report for the Colonial Office Kitson suggested that possibly as much as half of the gold being prospected was wasted by amateur techniques. In an article for the magazine The Spectator, Kitson compared the influx of amateur gold-prospectors to the Klondike Gold Rush
Klondike Gold Rush
The Klondike Gold Rush, also called the Yukon Gold Rush, the Alaska Gold Rush and the Last Great Gold Rush, was an attempt by an estimated 100,000 people to travel to the Klondike region the Yukon in north-western Canada between 1897 and 1899 in the hope of successfully prospecting for gold...
in Canada in 1897-8 : "The road to Kakamega now resembles a miniature 'trail of 98' without the snow. Old mining men, from ex-Klondyke Pioneers to Australian backwoodsmen, are hurrying to the spot". But it seems that Kitson's initial report had helped create the rush in the first place by highlighting the rich pickings available.. As The Spectator noted "Since the publication of Sir Albert Kitson's report, the population of the Kakamega goldfields had doubled". Kitson's article in this magazine merely fueled the rush still further.
The European settlers, who had been hard hit by the great depression, responded eagerly to news that there might be gold in the Kakamega
Kakamega
Kakamega is a town in western Kenya lying about 30 km north of the Equator. It is the headquarters of . The town has a population of 73,607 ....
region. Even today the region is honeycombed with abandoned miners' huts.
The largest nugget discovered was called the Elbon Nugget named by reversing the surname of its discoverer Dan Noble.