He came to the South African diamond- and goldfields in 1882, and soon acquired a reputation as the resourceful manager of the Phoenix Diamond Mining Company at Du Toit's Pan near Kimberley.

[1]: 315 In 1885 Beit arranged for Hermann Eckstein and Jim Taylor to report on the firm's interests in the Barberton and De Kaap goldfields, in which they had invested heavily.

Taylor wrote a gloomy report on the extent and quality of the ore lode that brought Porgès hurrying back to South Africa.

[1]: 315  Eckstein put the infrastructure of the mines on a solid footing by using competent engineers, thus turning mere diggings into established industry.

Ten years after his death, and in his memory, his former partners made a gift to Johannesburg of the Sachsenwald, later named the Hermann Eckstein Park.

[1]: 315  This Deed of Gift read: "Whereas the late Hermann Eckstein was in his lifetime a resident in the town of Johannesburg and always took a deep interest in its advancement and prosperity, and played an active part in many schemes and undertakings for its improvement and whereas it has appeared to us that the dedication of a suitable area of land for the use of the public of Johannesburg, as a public park, would have met with the cordial approval of our late friend and will be acceptable to fellow townsmen."