Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal
Ladysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It lies north-west of Durban and south-east of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textiles, and tyre production. Ladysmith is the seat for both the Alfred Duma Local Municipality and Uthukela District Municipality. In 1900, the unincorporated town of Oyster Harbour (established c. 1898) on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, was renamed Ladysmith by James Dunsmuir, in honour of the British lifting the siege of Ladysmith in South Africa (28 February 1900) during the Second  Boer War. History. 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. On 11 October 1850, the name was changed to Ladysmith after Juana María de los Dolores de León Smith, also known as "Lady Smith," the Spanish wife of Sir Harry Smith, the Governor of the Cape Colony and high commissioner in South Africa  from 1847 to 1852. A fort was built in 1860 to protect the villagers from the Zulu. The Second Boer War. Battle of Ladysmith. During the Second Boer War, British commander Lieutenant General Sir George White made Ladysmith his centre of operations for the protection of Natal against the Boer forces. Starting on 29 October 1899, a number of short-lived battles were fought for control of the town, but after suffering heavy casualties the British forces retreated to Ladysmith and the Boer forces did not make use of the opportunity to follow up the attack and take control of  the town. Siege of Ladysmith. Following the Battle of Ladysmith, while British forces under White regrouped in the town, Boer forces surrounded Ladysmith. The siege lasted 118 days, from 2 November 1899 to 28 February 1900, during the most crucial stage of the war. Approximately 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 the British could launch another attempt to break the siege. This led to the battle of Platrand (or 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. Winston Churchill, then a young war correspondent for "The Morning Post" of London, was present at the relief of Ladysmith after having been taken prisoner (between Ladysmith and Colenso) and escaping earlier during the war. Mohandas Gandhi, along with the stretcher-bearing corps that he had established earlier during  the war, was involved in a number of actions that took place in and around Ladysmith during the relief. Geography. Ladysmith is located on the banks of the Klip River ("stone river"), with the central business district and a large part of the residential areas located within the flood basin of the river. It is on the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains, about 26 km from the Van Reenen's Pass. Flooding. Since it was established the town has suffered severely from flooding of the Klip River. During the 110 years up to 1997 with the completion of the Qedusizi  Dam, 29 serious floods occurred. Minor flooding occurred almost every year. The worst flooding in 30 years occurred in 1996 leading to R500 million in damages and the evacuation of 400 families. Efforts to control the flooding date back to the 1940s. In 1949 the Windsor Dam was completed, but this dam silted up very quickly and was not an effective means of flood control. Climate. Ladysmith has a subtropical highland climate ("Cwb", according to the Köppen climate classification), with warm summers and cool, dry winters. It borders on a humid subtropical climate ("Cwa"). The average annual precipitation is , with  most rainfall occurring during summer. Cityscape. Architecture. The Soofi Mosque on the banks of the Klip River was built some time between 1895 and 1910, but it was greatly extended in the 1960s. Other buildings of interest are the Siege Museum, built in 1884 as a marketplace and the Town Hall, damaged by Boer artillery during the Second Boer War. Transport. Air. Ladysmith is served by a small airport, is located on the outskirts of town just below Platrand at . The Aerodrome is managed and operated by JetVision Holdings Pty Ltd. Rail. The Danskraal Yard is located on the Free  State main line and the Glencoe–Vryheid line and acts as a depot for train marshalling and maintenance as well as rail maintenance. The passenger station is located some distance away from Danskraal close to the Central Business District. Road. The N11 links Ladysmith with Bergville and Newcastle, while the R103 provides access to Colenso, KwaZulu-Natal and the N3. Traffic traveling between Durban and Johannesburg used to pass through Ladysmith up until the late 1980s, but the completion of the N3, bypassing Ladysmith to the west, has caused a dramatic drop in traffic volumes through this town as well  as others that are now bypassed. Society and culture. Media. The only sold local newspaper in Ladysmith is the "Ladysmith Gazette". The "Ladysmith Gazette" is believed to have been established in 1902. The "Ladysmith Gazette" is part of the Caxton Group of newspapers. One of two free local newspapers is the "Ladysmith Herald". The other free newspaper is the "Times of Ladysmith". Museums, monuments and memorials. The Second Boer War. 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. Siege museum. Located next to the town hall there is a small museum detailing the battles and history at the time of the Siege. The museum was opened in 1985 and holds around 60,000 documents related to the Siege and Boer War. 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 there are memorials to the Imperial Light Horse, the Devonshire Regiment, the Earl  of Ava and a number of others. Castor and Pollux. Two RML 6.3 inch Howitzers used by the British during the Siege stand in front of the Town Hall. Mohandas Gandhi statue. A statue of Mohandas Gandhi can be seen at the Lord Vishnu Temple. Music. Ladysmith is the hometown of Joseph Shabalala, founder of the group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Sport. Thulani "Sugar Boy" Malinga, a champion boxer, was born in Ladysmith. Elmer Symons, Dakar Rally rider, was killed in the 2007 edition while leading the Marathon class. Diyo Sibisi, soccer player, was born in Sahlumbe, under Uthukela district in  KwaZulu Natal. Thamsanqa Gabuza, soccer player, plays for Orlando Pirates, was born in Ladysmith. Religion. Christianity has a strong presence in and around Ladysmith. It can be seen through the beautiful places of worship built around the time of the Anglo Boer wars. One such structure includes the Anglican All Saints Church, built in 1902 from cut flagstones from a quarry in the area. Islam also has a strong presence in the town, which is well known for the Soofie Mosque and its astounding architecture. Built in 1969, it is regarded as one of the finest in the country. The  origins of the marvellous structure date back to 1895 when Hazrath Soofie Saheb arrived in South Africa. He made it his mission to build as many as 12 mosques along the east coast of Durban. Ladysmith was also the home of a revered saint known as Hazrath Soofie Sayed Mahomed Abed Mia Osmani, who is buried in the Ladysmith Muslim Cemetery. Hinduism. In 1902, Sanathan Dharma Sabha was inaugurated to promote religious, social, cultural and education activities in Ladysmith. The oldest Hindu temple resulted from the amalgamation of Hindu Thirukootam (1910) with the Shree Ganaser Temple and hall erected in  1916. It was declared a national monument in November 1990. The present site of the SDS temple (Sanathan Dharma Sabha aka Lord Vishnu Temple) also housed Mahatma Gandhi who established a non-White Stretcher-bearer service in the Ambulance Corps in the Ladysmith and Spioenkop during the Anglo-Boer War. There are also Rastafarian devotees within the areas surrounding Ladysmith, residing in Waters Meet, Peace Town, eZakheni, Steadville, Saint Chads, Acaciaville and Roosbom. They are spiritual people, scholars of black consciousness and African liberation. They run businesses, and are musicians, poets, artists and writers. They are the keepers of different  African philosophies. Military. 5 South African Infantry Battalion is based in Ladysmith. A military shooting range is located on the outskirts of the town between the Aerodrome and Platrand.