8th February 1881 Having repulsed the British forces at Laing’s Nek the Transvaal Burghers then started to harass the British lines of communication between Newcastle and their camp at Mt. Prospect. Expecting a re-supply convoy from Newcastle on the 8th…
Mkupe Pass on the N11. British signalling post built during the war. On east side of N11 overlooking the Mkupe Pass between Newcastle and Ladysmith. Original known as Fort One Tree Hill it eventually became known as Fort Mistake but…
Sunday 27th February 1881 On the night of Saturday 26th February the British Gen. Sir George Pomeroy Colley occupied the top of Majuba with some 400 men. In the early hours of Sunday 27th when the Burghers realised the British…
During the Transvaal War of Independence 1880-81 the cottage, home of Eugene O’Neill, which lay in “no mans land” between the British and Burgher forces became a makeshift hospital for British after their defeat at Majuba and there are graves…
Fort Amiel was opened as the Cultural History Museum of Newcastle in 1990 at the restored British military base built in 1876 by the 80th Regiment or Staffordshire Regiment. It was used during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and Anglo-Boer…
This is the site of the British camp and Military Cemetery during the Transvaal War of Independence 1880-81 and was occupied by the British from January 24th to the end of March 1881. Many of the British soldiers who died…
After his defeat by Zibhebhu kaMapitha at the Battle of Ondini on 21st July 1883 Cetshwayo fled and was later offered the protection of the British Resident, Sir Melmoth Osborne at Eshowe where he died on 8th February 1884. The…
5 June 1884 A major battle of the war where the uSuthu, supported by the Boers under Lukas Meyer, defeated Chief Zibhebhu and the Mandlakazi.
At the beginning of 1883, Cetshwayo returned to Zululand, rebuilding his Ondini home close by the previous one. The King’s return saw the entire region in a state of chaos, but because he had been stripped of his powers, he…
20 October 1899 Talana Museum, situated three kilometres outside Dundee on the Vryheid road, is no repository of old and dusty relics, ancient tomes and yellowing photographs. Established in 1982 to coincide with the centenary of Dundee, the name Talana…
21 October 1899 The Boers occupied the railway Station on the 20th October and early the following morning a British mounted patrol with artillery shelled them. The Boers withdrew, took up a position on high ground overlooking the railway line…
Acclaimed as one of the best Anglo Boer War museums in South Africa, its displays on the famous Siege and Relief of Ladysmith have thrilled countless Boer War enthusiasts. Built in 1884 as a market house, it served as a…
Battle of Wagon Hill 6th January 1900 The Battle of Wagon Hill and Caesar’s Camp was fought on 6th January 1900 when the Boers attacked the position at around 02h00 in the morning and went on all day until the…
“The Platrand is a long hill on the south side of the town. It was a critical section in the town’s defences. The soldiers christened the east end Caesar’s Camp and the West end Wagon Hill after features at Aldershot….
On the 15th November 1899 Winston Churchill, a war correspondent for the Morning Post persuaded his friend Capt Haldane to let him accompany him on an armoured train on a reconnaissance along the rail line between Estcourt and Colenso. The…
