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Natal Government Railways
The Natal Government Railways (NGR) was formed in January 1877 in the Colony of Natal. In 1877, the Natal Government Railways acquired the Natal Railway Company for the sum of £40,000, gaining the line from the Point to Durban and from Durban to Umgeni. This move, inspired in part by the neighbouring Cape Prime Minister John Molteno's 1873 establishment of the Cape Government Railways, was intended to drive the extension of Natal's railways inland, towards the Drakensberg and eventually the Orange Free State. The Natal Government Railways also adopted the Cape gauge. The core line went from Durban to Volksrust, but reached Charlestown ( from the border of the South African Republic) in 1891 and was linked to the Witwatersrand in 1895. Other important lines were the one linking with the Orange Free State reaching Harrismith in 1892, as well as the North Coast and South Coast lines. In 1910, the Union of South Africa was formed and in 1912 the NGR combined with the other colonies ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Government-owned Corporation
A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn profit for the government, control monopoly of the private sector entities, provide products and services to citizens at a lower price and for the achievement of overall financial goals & developmental objectives in a particular country. The national government or provincial government has majority ownership over these ''state owned enterprises''. These ''state owned enterprises'' are also known as public sector undertakings in some countries. Defining characteristics of SOEs are their distinct legal form and possession of financial goals & developmental objectives (e.g., a state railway company may aim to make transportation more accessible and earn profit for the government), SOEs are government entities established to pursue financial objectives and devel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harrismith
Harrismith is a large town in the Free State province of South Africa. It was named for Sir Harry Smith, a 19th-century British governor and high commissioner of the Cape Colony. It is situated by the Wilge River, alongside the N3 highway, about midway between Johannesburg, about 300 km to the north-west, and Durban to the southeast. The town is located at the junction of the N5 highway, which continues westward towards the provincial capital Bloemfontein, some 340 km to the south-west. This important crossroads in South Africa's land trade routes is surrounded by mesas and buttes. It is located at the base of one of these called Platberg (i.e. "flat / flat-topped mountain" in Afrikaans). The municipality was placed under administration in 2018 after then-mayor Vusi Tshabalala was removed from office on the basis of corruption allegations. History The town was founded in 1849 and named after British Governor Harry Smith, who tried to persuade the Voortrekkers not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal
Verulam () is a town 24 kilometres north of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and part of the eThekwini Metropolitan area. History In 1850 a party of 400 Methodists settled here and formed the town. The town was then named after the Earl of Verulam, patron of the British who settled here. Demography Verulam is inhabited mainly by people of Indian descent. The population is over 63,000. There are several primary and secondary schools catering for all races and all areas of the town. The town contains densely populated residential and industrial areas, which include a multitude of shopping centres, mosques, temples & churches. At the outskirts are large farming areas, several built-up townships, and rural townships. There has been slow but steady progress in modernising the town by providing adequate infrastructure to the rural areas. Geography Verulam is situated on the banks of the uMdloti River and on a gentle hilly terrain surrounded by sugarcane plantations to the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Isipingo
Isipingo is a town situated south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and currently forms part of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. The town is named after the Siphingo River, which in turn is thought to be named (in the Zulu language) for the intertwining cat-thorn shrubs ''( Scutia myrtina)'' present in the area, or the river's winding course. History Dick King went to Natal in 1828 and was awarded a large stretch of land between the Umlaas/uMlaza and Mbokodweni rivers at present-day Isipingo Rail, an area where he had already acquired some farmland and built himself a house. King managed a sugar mill in Isipingo until his death in 1871 and was buried in the town. In May 1853, the Natal Mercury reported that Mr Jeffels of Isipingo ventured into sugarcane cultivation and is erecting buildings for sugar manufacturing. The indenture system was used from 1860 to supply cheap Indian labour to the sugar cane farms in Isipingo and the surrounding areas. In 1880, the railw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
KwaZulu-Natal South Coast
KwaZulu-Natal South Coast (better known as the KZN South Coast or just the South Coast) is a region on the southern coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It stretches from Scottburgh in the north to Port Edward in the south and Harding in the west. The coast is governed by the Ugu District Municipality. Its main towns are Scottburgh, Pennington, Hibberdene, Port Shepstone, Margate, Southbroom and Port Edward however Port Shepstone is the municipal seat and the primary town as it is the powerhouse of the South Coast. As of 2016 the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast has a population of 753 336 (Ugu District Municipality). Demographics As of 2016, the Ugu District Municipality (KZN South Coast) has a population of 753 336 people compared to 2011 where it had a population of 689 051 which indicates that between 2011 and 2016 the population grew at about 8.5%. The annual population growth was 2.03% and the number of men per 100 females decreased from 91.8% in 2011 to 88.4% in 2016. G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Point Waterfront
Point Waterfront is a harbour-side town located at the entrance to the Port of Durban. During the last 50 years the town suffered decay and was left mostly abandoned. The uShaka Marine World is located here. History The Point Waterfront was the home of Mahatma Gandhi during the 1900s. Mahatma Gandhi Road (Formerly Point Road) was the site of the first public toilets in South Africa, which still function today. Events The South African Navy Open Day 2017 was hosted here as part of the South African Armed Forces Day Celebrations 2017 Development After a long wait, eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and UEM Sunrise Group Malaysia partnered to form the Point Development Company. The plans include the development of a 55-storey tower. A number of residents objected to this, stating that the development would "obstruct their sea-view". However, due to the minimal number of objections, the project will go ahead. In June 2017, the developers gave three watersport clubs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pietermaritzburg
Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu is the name used for the district municipality. Pietermaritzburg is popularly called Maritzburg in Afrikaans, English and Zulu alike, and often informally abbreviated to PMB. It is a regionally important industrial hub, producing aluminium, timber and dairy products, as well as the main economic hub of Umgungundlovu District Municipality. The public sector is a major employer in the city due to local, district and provincial governments located here. The city has many schools and tertiary education institutions, including a campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal. It had a population of 228,549 in 1991; the current population is estimated at over 600,000 residents (including neighbouring townships) and has one of the largest populatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dundee, KwaZulu-Natal
The coal mining town of Dundee is situated in a valley of the Biggarsberg mountains in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (). It is part of the Endumeni Municipality, Umzinyathi District. It is very rich in coal deposits. More populous than the town of Dundee is its adjacent township named Sibongile. This township is now being extended with many residing zones, e.g. Lindelani. Dundee was established by Peter Smith, with land contributed by his son in-law, in 1882 after the realisation that the valley was a natural way for travellers into the interior of Africa. Traders, hunters explorers, missionaries and soldiers all made their way through here. A large fort, Fort Jones, housed British troops in the area during the Anglo Zulu War of 1879. The discovery of coal in the area dates from early Voortrekker records of 1838 and later geological surveys in the 1860s. It is named after the hometown of a pioneering Scottish settler, Peter Smith. At first, Dundee was a farm (Dundee farm), the pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coal Mine
Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United Kingdom and South Africa, a coal mine and its structures are a colliery, a coal mine is called a 'pit', and the above-ground structures are a 'pit head'. In Australia, "colliery" generally refers to an underground coal mine. Coal mining has had many developments in recent years, from the early days of men tunneling, digging and manually extracting the coal on carts to large open-cut and longwall mines. Mining at this scale requires the use of draglines, trucks, conveyors, hydraulic jacks and shearers. The coal mining industry has a long history of significant negative environmental impacts on local ecosystems, health impacts on local communities and workers, and contributes heavily to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glencoe, KwaZulu-Natal
Glencoe is situated in the Umzinyathi District, District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The main economic activity in the area is coal mining while sheep and cattle ranching are also practiced. History With coal discovered at Dundee not even 8 km away an efficient way was needed to transport the coal to the factories other than ox wagons. The railway from Durban to Johannesburg reached this point on 4 September 1889. A new village sprung up where a branch line was built from the Durban-Johannesburg line to the eastern Transvaal in 1903. The village was renamed Glencoe, after a mountain valley in Lochaber, Scotland, when it became a town in 1934. Trivia * General French was periodically stationed here during the Second Boer War. * Boer President Paul Kruger twice stayed overnight during the Siege of Ladysmith, South Africa. * The house of Carl Landman - second in command at the Battle of Blood River can - be found on a farm close to Glencoe. * Fort Mistake, a fort desi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kroonstad
Kroonstad (Afrikaans directly translated "Crown City") is the third largest city in the Free State (after Bloemfontein and Welkom) and lies two hours' drive on the N1 from Gauteng. Maokeng is an area within Kroonstad, and is occasionally used as a synonym of the town itself. It is the second-largest commercial and urban centre in the Northern Free State (after Welkom), and an important railway junction on the main line from Cape Town to Johannesburg. ''Maokeng'' is Sesotho and means "place of the thorn trees (mimosa trees)". History Kroonstad was established in 1855 by the Irish pioneer Joseph Orpen, and was the first founded after the independence of the Orange Free State. While ' means "crown", this was in fact the name of a horse that had drowned in the nearby ford. A lover of animals, Orpen had witnessed the incident, and named the infant settlement in honour of the unfortunate creature. Similarly, the ford in question came to be known as ''Kroondrift''. During the Seco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 Ladysmi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
