The Cullinan Diamond.

Waikato Argus, Volume XXIV, Issue 3675, 7 January 1908, Page 2

The Cullinan Diamond.

An amusing story is told of the way the Cullinan diamond—the birthday gift of the Transvaal—was sent to England. It was felt that there was a certain amount of danger in the railroad journey from Johannesburg to Cape Town. Two stalwart railway detectives, an hour or two before the Home mail started from the gold reef city, were ordered to travel with it on special duty. They were notified to be well armed, and at the last moment they were handed a small sealed package, which they were ordered not to lose sight of until they deposited it in the strong room of the Union Castle liner. Learning that it was the great diamond, the two men had an anxious journey. Some months later the truth became known, by the Transvaal Postmaster-General's report,that the diamond had really gone in the mail as an ordinary registered package. The detective's miasion was simply an elaborate piece of deception.