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Information about Ladysmith, South Africa

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 230 km north-west of Durban and 365 km south of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textile and tire production. Tires are produced by Dunlop near to Steadville. Dunlop employs many skilled and unskilled labourers, contributing to Ladysmith's economy.

Many people in Ladysmith use their hands to make a living: they are involved in crafts, hunting animals, fishing in rivers and so on.

Eskom is present in Ladysmith and are providing poor people with electricity in areas such as Driefontein, Gudlintaba, Tatane, Nkuthu and many more. Iskor have a plant in the neighbouring town of Newcastle, and they too are employing many people from the area.

Ladysmith's Natural or Wildlife Attractions or Experiences

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.

Qedusizi Dam

For many years Ladysmith has suffered from perennial flooding. It is only after the construction of the Qedusizi Dam that Ladysmith was safe from one of the violent effects of nature. The Qedusizi Dam brought an end to suffering in Ladysmith thus living up to its Zulu name which means “end of suffering”. There is another dam which is being built in Driefontein. It is believed that it will also bring changes because floods are not yet over in some parts of Ladysmith.

Spioenkop Nature Reserve

25 km from Ladysmith is one of South Africa’s popular wildlife sanctuaries, Spioenkop Nature Reserve. This 60 square kilometre 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 supplying other parts of Gauteng with water because in Gauteng there is a shortage of water.

History

In 1847 a number of Voortrekkers settled in the area and the town was founded in 1850 by Boers as the capital of the Republic of Klip River with Andries Spies as their commandant. The republic was annexed by the British in the same year. It was named 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 1879 to protect the villagers from the Zulus.

Ladysmith made world headlines at the turn of the century when it was besieged in what became known as the Siege of Ladysmith, for 118 days, from 2 November 1899 to 28 February 1900, during the most crucial stage of the Anglo-Boer War. 3,000 British soldiers died during the siege.

Trivia


Province of KwaZulu-Natal
Provincial Capital: Pietermaritzburg
Major Metros: eThekwini (includes Durban)
District Municipalities: Ugu | Umgungundlovu | Uthukela | Umzinyathi | Amajuba | Zululand | Umkhanyakude | uThungulu | iLembe | Sisonke
Local Municipalities: Amajuba | Zululand | Umkhanyakude | uThungulu | Umzinyathi | Uthukela | Umgungundlovu | iLembe | eThekwini | Ugu | Sisonke |
Smaller Cities: Empangeni | Kokstad | Ladysmith | Newcastle | Port Shepstone | Richards Bay | KwaDukuza | Tongaat | Vryheid
 •  • [ e]
50 largest cities in South Africa by population
Coordinates:
KwaZulu-Natal

Area 92,100 km²
Population (2001) 9,426,019
Languages Zulu (80.6%)
English (13.6%)
Xhosa (2.3%)
Afrikaans (1.5%)
Races Black (85.3%)
Asian (8.5%)
White (4.7%)
Coloured (1.
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Durban
eThekwini

Flag
Map of South Africa showing Durban's location.
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Johannesburg
Johannesburg skyline from Gold Reef City
Motto: Unity in Development
Location of Johannesburg
Map of South Africa showing Johannesburg's location
Coordinates:
Country South Africa
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Eskom

Public utility
Founded 1 March 1923
Headquarters Sandton, South Africa

Revenue ZAR R36 billion (2006)
Employees 32'000

Eskom is a South African electricity public utility, established in 1923 as the
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1810s  1820s  1830s  - 1840s -  1850s  1860s  1870s
1844 1845 1846 - 1847 - 1848 1849 1850

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Voortrekkers (Afrikaans and Dutch for pioneers, literally "those who trek ahead") were emigrants during the 1840s and 1850s from the British Cape Colony into the interior of what is now South Africa.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1820s  1830s  1840s  - 1850s -  1860s  1870s  1880s
1847 1848 1849 - 1850 - 1851 1852 1853

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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Boer (IPA: /bur/) is the Dutch word for farmer which came to denote the descendants of the Dutch-speaking pastoralists of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 1700s as well as those who left the Cape Colony during the 1800s to settle in the Orange Free State,
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Motto
"Dieu et mon droit" [2]   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
"God Save the Queen" [3]
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Juana Maria de los Delores de Leon Smith (March 27 1798 - d. October 12 1872). Wife of General Sir Harry Smith, Governor of the Cape Colony.

Born into an old Spanish noble family, she was a great-granddaughter of Juan Ponce de León.
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Sir Henry George Wakelyn Smith, 1st Baronet of Aliwal KCB (28 June 1787-12 October 1860), known as Sir Harry Smith, was a notable English soldier and military commander in the British Army of the early 19th century.
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The Cape Colony of the future South Africa was established by the Dutch East India Company (not by the Netherlands, as is often mistakenly presumed) in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town.
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The Cape Colony of the future South Africa was established by the Dutch East India Company (not by the Netherlands, as is often mistakenly presumed) in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town.
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1810s  1820s  1830s  - 1840s -  1850s  1860s  1870s
1844 1845 1846 - 1847 - 1848 1849 1850

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1820s  1830s  1840s  - 1850s -  1860s  1870s  1880s
1849 1850 1851 - 1852 - 1853 1854 1855

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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8th century - 9th century - 10th century
850s  860s  870s  - 880s -  890s  900s  910s
885 886 887 - 888 - 889 890 891

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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10,659,309 (2001 census)[1]
Regions with significant populations  South Africa
KwaZulu-Natal
Gauteng
Mpumalanga
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Siege of Ladysmith was a protracted engagement in the Second Boer War, taking place between 30 October 1899 and 28 February 1900 at Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal.

The outbreak of war


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November 2 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 676 - Donus became Pope.

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18th century - 19th century - 20th century
1860s  1870s  1880s  - 1890s -  1900s  1910s  1920s
1896 1897 1898 - 1899 - 1900 1901 1902

:
Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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February 28 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events

  • 364 - Valentinian I is elevated as Roman Emperor.

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19th century - 20th century
1870s  1880s  1890s  - 1900s -  1910s  1920s  1930s
1897 1898 1899 - 1900 - 1901 1902 1903

Year 1900 (MCM
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Civilians killed [mainly Boers] : 24,000+

The Second Boer War (Dutch: Tweede Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans: Tweede Vryheidsoorlog) , commonly referred to as The Boer War and also known as the South African War
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Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Gujarati: મોહનદાસ કરમચંદ ગાંધી, IAST: mohandās karamcand gāndhī
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For other meanings, see Vishnu (disambiguation).


Vishnu (IAST
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Ladysmith Black Mambazo member

Joseph Shabalala
Duration 1960 -
Date of birth August 28, 1941
Date of death
Marital status Married
Voice role Founder, lead singer and musical director
Joseph Shabalala
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Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a male choral group from South Africa that sings in the vocal style of isicathamiya and mbube. They rose to worldwide prominence as a result of singing with Paul Simon on his album, Graceland.
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Thulani "Sugarboy" Malinga

Statistics
Real name Thulani Malinga
Nickname Sugarboy
Rated at Middleweight
Light Heavyweight
Super Middleweight
Nationality South African
Birth date November 11 1955
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Delfzijl

Country Netherlands
Province Groningen
Area (2006)
 - Municipality 227.48 km  (0 sq mi)
 - Land 132.
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