Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal

'''Ladysmith''' (2001: pop. 225,452) is a city in the [[Uthukela District Municipality|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 [[Apollo Tyres|Dunlop]] in the nearby town of Steadville. Ladysmith is the seat for both the [[Emnambithi-Ladysmith Local Municipality]] and the Uthukela District Municipality. == History == [[Image:Juana Ponce De Leon Smith.gif|thumb|[[Juana Maria de los Dolores de Leon Smith]]]] In 1847 after buying land from the [[Zulu Kingdom|Zulu]] king [[Mpande]], a number of [[Boer]]s 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 Maria de los Dolores de Leon Smith]] also known as "Lady Smith", the Spanish wife of [[Harry Smith (army)|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 [[Zulu Kingdom|Zulus]]. === The Second Boer War === [[Image:Ladysmith Town Hall 1900 - Project Gutenberg eText 15972.png|thumb|The town hall during the siege in 1900, with Boer artillery damage to the bell tower.]] ==== Battle of Ladysmith ==== {{main|Battle of Ladysmith}} During the [[Second Boer War]] British commander Lieutenant General Sir [[George White (British Army officer)|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 ==== {{main|Siege of Ladysmith}} Following the [[Battle of Ladysmith]], whilst British forces under Lieutenant General Sir George 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 [[Second Boer War|war]]. Approximately 3,000 British soldiers died during the siege. ==== Relief of Ladysmith ==== {{main|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 [[Battle of Colenso|Colenso]], [[Battle of Spion Kop|Spion Kop]] and [[Battle of Vaal Krantz|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 a battle at Platrand and Wagon Hill south of the town. [[Redvers Buller|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 correspondent for ''[[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. [[Gandhi|Mohandas Gandhi]] and the stretcher-bearing corps that he established earlier during the war was involved in a number of actions that took place in and around Ladysmith during the Relief. ==Geography== [[Image:South Africa-Ladysmith-Windsor Dam-001.jpg|thumb|Windsor Dam]] 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 on the foothills of the [[Drakensberg]] mountains, about 26 km from the [[Van Reenen, KwaZulu-Natal|Van Reenen]] 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 have 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 fast and was not an effective means of flood control. ===Climate=== Ladysmith has a [[Oceanic climate|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 {{convert|639|mm|0|abbr=on}}, with most rainfall occurring mainly during summer. {{climate chart|Ladysmith |15|28|122 |15|28|106 |13|27|86 |10|25|34 |6|22|7 |3|20|1 |3|20|1 |5|22|6 |9|24|20 |11|25|58 |13|26|90 |14|28|108 |float=left |source=[http://www.saexplorer.co.za/south-africa/climate/ladysmith_climate.asp SA Explorer]}} === Architecture === [[Image:South Africa-Ladysmith-Sufi Mosque-01.jpg|thumb|Soofi Mosque]] Possibly the most notable structure in Ladysmith is the Soofi [[Mosque]] on the banks of the [[Klip River]]. The original mosque was built sometime between 1895 and 1910, but it was greatly extended in the 1960s. Other building of interest are the Siege Museum, originally built in 1884 as a marketplace and the Town Hall, damaged by Boer artillery during the [[Second Boer War]]. === Air === {{main|Ladysmith Airport}} Ladysmith is served by a small airport, {{airport codes|LAY|FALY}} is located on the outskirts of town just below Platrand at {{coord|28|34|48|S|29|45|10|E |region:ZA_type:airport |name=Ladysmith Aerodrome}}. === Rail === The Danskraal Yard is located on the [[Free State]] main line and the [[Glencoe, KwaZulu-Natal|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 road (South Africa)|N11]] links Ladysmith with [[Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal|Bergville]] and [[Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal|Newcastle]], while the [[R103 road (South Africa)|R103]] provides access to [[Colenso, KwaZulu-Natal]] and the [[N3 road (South Africa)|N3]]. Traffic traveling between [[Durban]] and [[Johannesburg]] used to pass through Ladysmith up until the late 1980s, but the completion of the [[N3 road (South Africa)|N3]], bypassing Ladysmith {{convert|15|km|mi}} to the west, has caused a dramatic drop in traffic volumes through this town as well as others that are now bypassed. === Media === The only sold local newspaper in Ladysmith is the ''Ladysmith Gazette''. The ''Ladysmith Gazette'' is just over a century old, and 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''. ==== 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. [[Image:Platrand-Imperial Light Horse Memorial-001.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Imperial Light Horse]] Memorial on Platrand]] ===== Platrand/Wagon Hill ===== [[Image:Wagon Hill-Burgher Memorial-001.jpg|thumb|right|The Burgher Memorial]] :{{commonscat-inline|bullet=none|Platrand Memorials}} 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. ===== Castor and Pollux ===== [[Image:South Africa-Ladysmith-002.jpg|thumb|Castor and Pollox in front of the Town Hall]] Two [[RML 6.3 inch Howitzer]]s used by the British during the Siege stand in front of the Town Hall. ===== Mohandas Gandhi statue ===== A statue of [[Gandhi|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 Malinga|Thulani "Sugar Boy" Malinga]], a champion boxer was born in Ladysmith. == Military == [[South African Infantry Corps|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. == Famous people == *[[André Joubert]] - Rugby union player *[[David John Terbrugge]] - Cricketer *[[Thulani Malinga|Thulani "Sugarboy" Malinga]] - Boxer and WBC middleweight champion ==See also== {{commons category}} {{Wikipedia-Books|Ladysmith and the Second Boer War}} * [[Battle of Ladysmith]] * [[Siege of Ladysmith]] * [[Relief of Ladysmith]] * [[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in South Africa]] * [[Ladysmith Black Mambazo]] * [[Juana María de los Dolores de León Smith]] === Military units involved in the Siege and Relief of Ladysmith === {{div col|cols=3}} * [[Light Horse Regiment]] * [[Manchester Regiment]] * [[Devonshire Regiment]] * [[Gordon Highlanders]] * [[Royal Leicestershire Regiment]] * [[King's Regiment (Liverpool)]] * [[Royal Dublin Fusiliers]] * [[5th Royal Irish Lancers]] * [[5th Dragoon Guards]] * [[18th Royal Hussars]] * [[19th Royal Hussars]] * [[Natal Carbineers]] {{div col end}} ==External links== * [http://battlefields.kzn.org.za/battlefields/about/191.xml Ladysmith Battlefields] * [http://ladysmith.kzn.org.za Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal] * [http://wikitravel.org/en/Ladysmith Ladysmith on WikiTravel] {{KwaZulu-Natal Province}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Ladysmith, Kwazulu-Natal}}