Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal

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official_name = Ladysmith
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map_caption = Location of Ladysmith


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = South Africa
subdivision_type1 = Province
subdivision_name1 = KwaZulu-Natal
subdivision_type2 = District Municipality
subdivision_name2 = Uthukela
subdivision_type3 = Local Municipality
subdivision_name3 = Emnambithi-Ladysmith
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established_title = Established
established_date = 1850
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population_as_of = 2001
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population_total = 225452
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timezone = SAST
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latd=28.5 |latNS=S
longd=29.78 |longEW=E
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website = [http://ladysmith.kzn.org.za ladysmith.kzn.org.za]
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Ladysmith (2001: pop. 225,452) is a town on the banks of the Klip River, "(stone river)", in the uThukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is convert|230|km|mi north-west of Durban and convert|365|km|mi south of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textile and tyre production. Tyres are produced by Dunlop near to Steadville. Dunlop employs many skilled and unskilled labourers, contributing to Ladysmith's economy.

History

[
Juana Maria de los Delores de Leon Smith] In 1847 after buying land from the Zulu king Mpande, a number of Boers settled in the area and called it the Republic of Klip River with Andries Spies as their commandant. The republic was annexed by the British in the same year and on 20 June 1850 was proclaimed a township called Windsor.cite web|url=http://www.ladysmithhistory.com/town/thetown.html|title=Ladysmith History & The Boer War|accessdate=2008-09-08] On 11 October 1950 the name was changed to Ladysmith after Juana Maria de los Delores de Leon Smith also known as "Lady Smith", the Spanish wife of Sir Harry Smith, the Governor of the Cape Colony. Sir Harry Smith was the British general governor of Cape Colony and high commissioner in South Africa from 1847 to 1852.

A fort was built in 1860 to protect the villagers from the Zulus.

Siege of Ladysmith

During the Second Boer War British commander Lieutenant General Sir George White made Ladysmith his center of operations for the protection of Natal against the Boer forces. Starting on 29 October 1899 a number of short lived battles were fought in the area around the town, but after suffering heavy casualties the British forces retreated to Ladysmith and the Boer forces promptly surrounded the town. The siege lasted 118 days, from 2 November 1899 to 28 February 1900, during the most crucial stage of the war. A total of around 3,000 British soldiers died during the siege.

Relief of Ladysmith

Three attempts by General Sir Redvers Buller to break the siege resulted in defeat for the British forces at the battles of Colenso, Spion Kop and Vaal Krantz.

On 6 January 1900 the Boer forces of Commandant-General Piet Joubert attempted to end the siege by taking the town before British could launch another attemt to break the siege. This lead to a battle at Platrand and Wagon Hill south of the town.

Buller finally broke the siege on 28 February 1900 after defeating the Boers by using close cooperation between his infantry and artillery.

Sir Winston Churchill, then a young war corespondent for the "The Morning Post" (London), was present at the Relief of Ladysmith after having been taken prisoner ("between Ladysmith and Colenso") and escaping earlier during the war. [cite web|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26198/26198-8.txt|title=From the Commencement of the War to the Battle of Colenso, 15th Dec. 1899|last=Creswicke|first=Louis|work=South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 2 (of 6)|publisher=Project Gutenberg|accessdate=2008-09-08] [citeweb |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/churchill_winston.shtml|title= Winston Churchill|accessdaymonth= 3 February|accessyear= 2008|publisher= bbc.co.uk] [citeweb|url= http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9108565|title= Churchill, Sir Winston|accessdaymonth= 3 February|accessyear= 2008|publisher= Encyclopædia Britannica Online]

Boer War memorials

A large number of the Second Boer War Battlefields around Ladysmith have been preserved as memorial sites. Monuments and memorials to those who died during the battles have been erected at most of them.

Platrand/Wagon Hill

Located just south of the town, this area saw action during the Relief of Ladysmith. The Burgher Memorial on Wagon Hill was erected in honour of Boer forces killed during the siege and relief of Ladysmith.

On Platrand these is a memorial to the Imperial Light Horse, the Devonshire Regiment, the Earl of Ava and a number of others.

Spion Kop

This large battlefield located some 30km outside Ladysmith contains the mass graves of British soldiers, individual graves as well as a number of memorials, including a Boer memorial, British memorial,, South Lancashire memorial and Imperial Light Infantry memorial.

Flooding

Since it was established the town has suffered severly from flooding of the Klip River. During the 110 years up to 1997 with the completion of the Qedusizi Dam [cite web|url=http://www.info.gov.za/otherdocs/1998/gov-rep.htm|title=Water resource management|date=1998|publisher=South African Government Information|accessdate=2008-09-08] , 29 serious floods have occurred.cite web|url=http://egsp.lyellcollection.org/cgi/content/abstract/15/1/3|title=The problem of flooding in Ladysmith, Natal, South Africa|date=1998|work=Engineering Geology Special Publications|publisher=Geological Society, London|accessdate=2008-09-08] Minor flooding occurred almost every year.

Efforts to control the flooding date back to the 1940s. In 1949 the Windsor Dam was completed, but this dam silted up very fast and was not an effective means of flood control.

Natural or wildlife attractions

Ladysmith is not only ideally situated between two major cities (Johannesburg and Durban), it is also ideally set at the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains.

pioenkop Nature Reserve

convert|25|km|mi from Ladysmith is one of South Africa’s popular wildlife sanctuaries, Spioenkop Nature Reserve. This convert|60|km2|sqmi reserve is home to animals such as the rhino, giraffe and zebra. The sporting activities that Spioenkop offers include hiking, horse riding, angling, yachting, water-skiing and power boating. Spioenkop is also supplies other parts of Gauteng with water because in Gauteng there is a shortage of water.

Trivia

* During the Boer War Mohandas Gandhi established a stretcher-bearing corps. His statue can be seen at the Lord Vishnu Temple in Ladysmith.
* It is the hometown of Joseph Shabalala, founder of the singing group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
* It is the birthplace of Thulane "Sugar Boy" Malinga, champion boxer.
* Its is the hometown of Aman Singh

ee also

* Siege of Ladysmith
* Relief of Ladysmith
* Ladysmith Black Mambazo

References

External links

* [http://battlefields.kzn.org.za/battlefields/about/191.xml Ladysmith Battlefields]
* [http://ladysmith.kzn.org.za/ls/23.xml Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal]
* [http://wikitravel.org/en/Ladysmith Ladysmith on WikiTravel]