 |
Mpumalanga - Volksrust |
 |
|
South-eastern Mpumalanga, on the KwaZulu-Natal provincial border. A pleasant town on the edge of the high Drakensberg escarpment and a major communications centre: it lies on the main road and rail routes that link the Johannesburg-Pretoria conurbation with the great port city of Durban on the east coast. Prosperity, though, is also derived from the rich farmlands of the surrounding countryside (maize, cattle, sheep, sorghum, sunflower oil). The Volksrust ('people's rest') area has a prominent place in the military annals: it was here that the Transvaal republican forces gathered for their battle with the British redcoats in 1880, and went on the fight successful engagements at nearby Laing's Nek and Schuinshoogte, and, in February 1881, to inflict final and devastating defeat on the British at the bloody battle of Majuba Hill. Military Sites Plenty of these in the area; most prominent is Majuba Hill itself, a towering feature on which the British army, under Sir George Pomeroy Colley, deployed, but without artillery support, and which the Boer burghers stormed. Colley died in the action (it's rumoured he committed suicide) together with hundreds of his troops. The war was the only major confrontation the British lost during the whole of Queen Victoria's long reign. Also of interest are the other battle sites (Laing's Nek and Schuinhoogte), as are O'Neill's Cottage, where the peace treaty was signed, the Sand River, where the Boers gathered in preparation for hostilities, and the grave of Commandent-general Piet Joubert, leading figure in the conflict. Joubert, who died in 1900, went on to command the republican armies in the first phase of the Anglo-Boer war. Newcastle lies on the N11 highway to the south; Standerton to the north-west. |
NOTE!
VOLKSRUST Western Cape
|
|||||||
