Postcard showing groups gambling in close proximity to mine dumps

Updated: 24 Jul 2019

Postcard showing groups gambling in close proximity to mine dumps; note the description given to the Chinese miners as “Rand slaves”, suggesting public sympathy for their lot

Since many miners lost money gambling, and sometimes even their lives as a result of gambling, they were forced to work for longer contract periods to achieve their income targets or simply to redeem their debt. Other redemption routes were suicide, theft and absconding from the workplace.

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 28). Postcard showing groups gambling in close proximity to mine dumps. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/I-0050729

South African History Online (2011) 'Postcard showing groups gambling in close proximity to mine dumps', South African History Online, 28 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/I-0050729 (Accessed: 6 September 2026).

South African History Online, Postcard showing groups gambling in close proximity to mine dumps [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/I-0050729, (accessed 6 September 2026).

"Postcard showing groups gambling in close proximity to mine dumps." South African History Online, 28 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/I-0050729. Accessed 6 Sept. 2026.

South African History Online. "Postcard showing groups gambling in close proximity to mine dumps." South African History Online. March 28, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/I-0050729.