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Klipdrift Republic (South Africa)

Klipdrift Republic flag

[Digger's Republic (1870) in South Africa - alternate]

by Bruce Berry, 10 June 1998

Klipdrift Republic flag
Klipdrift Republic

See also :

Klipdrift Republic

According to the author McNish, Parker's Presidency was at first only a galvanised iron building in the veld but later a more substantial place in the main street of Klipdrift was used. He writes, "A flag was designed showing "the Union Jack in the top right hand corner with a large rearing horse as the central item". This flag was hoisted daily on a flagstaff in front of the Presidency building.
When one considers that the majority of the diamond diggers were British subjects (from Natal and the Cape) and that the Union Jack and British Ensigns were widely flown on the diggings and the fact that the flag described by Theodore Doms contained a Union Jack, it is well within the bounds of possibility that the Red Ensign could have formed the basis of this flag of the Diggers' Republic.
With his naval background Stafford Parker would have been well acquainted with the British Red Ensign - which with the addition of a distinctive badge was later to form the basis of many colonial ensigns. In addition he had a great love for horses.
Since Parker had made a living as a painter for a while before moving to the diggings, it seems more than likely that he might have painted the horse onto an existing Red Ensign himself. A white horse would undoubtedly have shown up better on the red field, but as it happens, it seems that black paint was