Pietermaritzburg - Capital of the Zulu Kingdom
$7.78 | £14.36 | €11.48 | | Time: 8:13 |  |
Greytown
Voortrekkers laid out this picturesque country town in the 1850s...using the neat grid system first employed at Pietermaritzburg. Centre of an early magisterial district and therefore a seat of power - albeit a lesser one - Greytown played 'Little Elephant' - in Zulu cultural reference - to Pietermaritzburg's 'Place of the Elephant'.
zoom The Greytown Town Hall Photo: uMgungundlovu District Municipality |
Many political analysts believe that the modern Liberation
Struggle
for a democratic South Africa began in the Greytown
district almost a
century ago with the Bambatha Rebellion. Named after a
local chief
and instigator, this 1906 uprising against white authority
was the
culmination of political and economic grievances. Unrest
spread
throughout the area, forcing white residents to shelter in
the town
hall, and the British to dispatch a relief column of 170
armed
police. On the night of 4 April 1906, Bambatha and 150
warriors
ambushed the colonial force, killing four and putting the
remainder
to flight. The rebellious leader headed north into
Zululand, but was
pursued and killed two months later with 25 co-
conspirators
deported
to the island of St Helena. Ironically, the Greytown
district was
also birthplace of Boer leader and first Prime Minister of
the Union
of South Africa - General Louis Botha - who held office
from 1910 to
1919.
Historical & Cultural
Assets
Accommodation
Conservation Areas
For more information contact
Greytown Publicity
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