The following lists events that happened during 1872 in South Africa.

Incumbents

High Commissioner for Southern Africa The British office of high commissioner for Southern Africa was responsible for governing British possessions in Southern Africa, latterly the protectorates of Basutoland (now Lesotho), the Bechuanaland Protectorate (now Botswana) and Swaziland ...

Sir Henry Barkly Sir Henry Barkly (24 February 1815 – 20 October 1898) was a British politician, colonial governor and patron of the sciences. Early life and education Born on 24 February 1815 at Highbury, Middlesex (now London), he was the eldest son of ...

. * Lieutenant-governor of the Colony of Natal: **

Robert William Keate Robert William Keate (16 June 1814 – 17 March 1873) was a career British colonial governor, serving as Commissioner of the Seychelles from 1850 to 1852, Governor of Trinidad from 1857 to 1864, Lieutenant-governor of the Colony of Natal from ...

(until 18 July). ** Sir Anthony Musgrave (from 19 July). * State President of the Orange Free State: Jan Brand.Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices, Orange Free State: Heads of State: 1854-1902
(Accessed on 14 April 2017) * State President of the South African Republic: ** Daniel Jacobus Erasmus (acting until 30 June).Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices, South African Republic (Transvaal): Heads of State: 1857-1877
(Accessed on 14 April 2017) **

Thomas François Burgers Thomas François Burgers (15 April 18349 December 1881) was a South African politician and minister who served as the 4th president of the South African Republic from 1872 to 1877. He was the youngest child of Barend and Elizabeth Burger of the ...

(from 1 July). * Prime Minister of the Cape of Good Hope: Sir John Molteno (from 1 December).First Cape Cabinet Formed - John Molteno Premier
(Accessed on 16 April 2017)

Events

;July * 1 –

becomes State President of the South African Republic. * 19 – Sir Anthony Musgrave becomes Lieutenant-governor of the Colony of Natal. ;December * 1 – Responsible government is granted to the Cape of Good Hope and the British Governor's powers are significantly curtailed. * 1 – Sir John Molteno, first Prime Minister of the Cape of Good Hope, forms the first Cape Cabinet. ;Unknown date * The

Cape Government Railways The Cape Government Railways (CGR) was the government-owned railway operator in the Cape Colony from 1874 until the creation of the South African Railways (SAR) in 1910. History Private railways The first railways at the Cape were privately own ...

is established under Cape Act 10 and takes over the operation of all private railways in the Colony, consisting of altogether of track from Cape Town via Stellenbosch to Wellington and from Salt River to Wynberg.''Report for year ending 31 December 1909'', Cape Government Railways, Section VIII - Dates of Opening and the Length of the different Sections in the Cape Colony, from the Year 1873 to 31 December 1909. * The Cape Colony Government protests against the British annexation of

Griqualand West Griqualand West is an area of central South Africa with an area of 40,000 km2 that now forms part of the Northern Cape Province. It was inhabited by the Griqua people – a semi-nomadic, Afrikaans-speaking nation of mixed-race origin, wh ...

, which is incorporated as a separate British colony. * The Voluntary Bill is passed in the Cape, abolishing state subsidies for the Anglican Church.

Births

Deaths

* 1 September – Robert Gray, first

Bishop of Cape Town The Diocese of Cape Town is a diocese of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa (ACSA) which presently covers central Cape Town, some of its suburbs and the island of Tristan da Cunha, though in the past it has covered a much larger territory. T ...

. (b. 1809)

Railways

New lines

* Construction begins on the Port Elizabeth-

Uitenhage Uitenhage ( ; ), officially renamed Kariega, is a South African town in the Eastern Cape Province. It is well known for the Volkswagen factory located there, which is the biggest car factory on the African continent. Along with the city of Port E ...

line. Pioneer, Little Bess & Mliss

References

{{Africa topic, 1872 in, state=collapsed

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

1870s in South Africa Years of the 19th century in South Africa