it the time, it is only one of several "Diggers Towns", developed in Wild West style. Bakerville was the biggest and most famous of the towns. Bigger than Cape Town at the time, the Lichtenburg district made many men rich but broke thousands of hearts. By 1928 the rush was over. Today a smattering of "bitter-einders" remain, optimists all, still digging through tonnes of gravel heaps in the never-ending search for the 'Big One'. Public Library A modern public library and an art gallery which is one of the biggest in the country, housing a valuable collection of paintings by well-known South African artists are situated in a wing of the Civic centre. Paintings of Gregoire Boonzaier, Irmin Henkel, Irma Stern, Louis Steyn, Walter Battiss, Dirk Meerkotter, F. Claerhout, Bettie Cilliers-Barnard, Johannes Meintjes and the sculptor Hennie Potgieter form part of the collection. Burning Vlei The vlei which separates Lichtenburg from its biggest suburb, Kieserville, is unique in as much as the thick layers of peat (which is the product of millions of years of marsh vegetation and the forerunner of coal) had for decades been burning subterraneously, creating a great hazard for man and beast. Very few such phenomena occur worldwide. Presently, due to the stemming of the flow of vlei water, the burning has ceased and water sport is being practised on the two resulting dams. During the 1984 drought the vlei again started burning in places. The Dauth-Roode and Centenary dams provide opportunity for water sport. A nine-hole golfcourse is kept in excellent condition and is quite a challenge for the keen golfer. Hoërskool Lichtenburg Hoërskool Lichtenburg is well known throughout the North West province and even in the Gauteng province for sports and academics. It is an Afrikaans medium school of over a thousand learners from all over the district, even from Botswana. The school has always prided itself in top performance, tradition and culture. There are two large boarding houses. These are mainly populated by teens from the surrounding farms. Hoërskool Lichtenburg excels at sport, especially when it comes to rugby and hockey. Its greatest rivals are schools in the Potchefstroom area and schools in Rustenburg. In academics it also excels. For the last few years it has seen a 100% matric pass rate. Notable people who went to Hoërskool Lichtenburg include Hestrie Cloete (Olympic silver medallist) and Kieka Mynhardt (mathematician). Notable Athletes Lichtenburg has