The following lists events that happened during

1897 Events January–March * January 2 – The International Alpha Omicron Pi sorority is founded, in New York City. * January 4 – A British force is ambushed by Chief Ologbosere, son-in-law of the ruler. This leads to a puniti ...

in South Africa.

Incumbents

* Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: Hercules Robinson then Alfred Milner. * Governor of the Colony of Natal:

Charles Bullen Hugh Mitchell Sir Charles Bullen Hugh Mitchell (1836 – 7 December 1899) was a lieutenant-colonel in the Royal Marines, before joining the Colonial Service, in which he served in British Honduras, British Guiana, Natal. He then served as Governor of Fij ...

. *

State President of the Orange Free State This is a list of State Presidents of the Orange Free State. List Last election See also *State President of the South African Republic External links Archontology.org: Orange Free State: Heads of State: 1854–1902 {{DEFAULTSORT:Stat ...

: Martinus Theunis Steyn. *

State President of the South African Republic This is a list of State Presidents of the South African Republic (Before 1866 nl, President van de Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek and after 1866 nl, Staatspresident der Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek). The country was referred as the ''Transvaal R ...

: Paul Kruger. * Prime Minister of the Cape of Good Hope: John Gordon Sprigg. * Prime Minister of the Colony of Natal: ** until 14 February:

John Robinson John Robinson may refer to: Academics *John Thomas Romney Robinson (1792–1882), Irish astronomer and physicist * John J. Robinson (1918–1996), historian and author of ''Born in Blood'' *John Talbot Robinson (1923–2001), paleontologist *John ...

. ** 15 February – 4 October: Harry Escombe. ** starting 4 October: Henry Binns.

Events

;April * 21 – Sir Alfred Milner becomes High Commissioner of South Africa and Governor of the Cape Colony. ;May * 5 –

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

is flooded. ;December * 30 – The Colony of Natal annexes Zululand. ;Unknown date * Bergville is established in the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains in Natal. * " Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika" ("God Bless Africa") is composed as a Xhosa hymn by South African teacher Enoch Sontonga.

Births

* 3 July – Ludwig Wybren Hiemstra, Afrikaans linguist and

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of the Bilingual Dictionary, is born in Lydenburg. * 26 October – James Leonard Brierley Smith,

ichthyologist Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...

, is born in Graaff Reinet.

Deaths

Railways

Railway lines opened

* 13 March – Cape Western –

Mafeking Mafikeng, officially known as Mahikeng and previously Mafeking (, ), is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa. Close to South Africa's border with Botswana, Mafikeng is northeast of Cape Town and west of Johannesburg. In ...

to Ramatlabama at the Bechuanaland border, .''Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway'', Statement No. 19, p. 183, ref. no. 200954-13 * 3 August – Transvaal –

Frederikstad Frederikstad is a hamlet in South Africa some 34 km south-west of Carletonville Carletonville is a town in Gauteng and the seat of the Merafong City Local Municipality in the West Rand District Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, just ...

to Klerksdorp, . * 1 October – Cape Midland – Rosmead Junction to Middelburg, .''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 31st December, 1909. * 1 December – Natal – Isipingo to Park Rynie, . * 3 December – Natal – Verulam to Tongaat, . * 15 December – Natal – Thornville Junction to

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, .

Locomotives

;Cape Two new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the Cape Government Railways (CGR): * Six 4th Class 4-4-2 Atlantic type tender locomotives on the section from Kimberley southwards. * A third batch of fifty-five 6th Class

4-6-0 A 4-6-0 steam locomotive, under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives by wheel arrangement, has four leading wheels on two axles in a leading bogie and six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles with the abse ...

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

s. In 1912 they would become Class 6B on the South African Railways.Classification of S.A.R. Engines with Renumbering Lists, issued by the Chief Mechanical Engineer’s Office, Pretoria, January 1912, pp. 8, 12, 14, 30-31 (Reprinted in April 1987 by SATS Museum, R.3125-6/9/11-1000) ;Transvaal * The independent Pretoria-Pietersburg Railway in the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (Transvaal Republic) purchases a tank locomotive named ''Portuguese'' from the Lourenco Marques, Delagoa Bay and East Africa Railway in Mozambique. *

Arthur Koppel Arthur is a common male given name of Brittonic languages, Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. An ...

, acting as agent, imports a number of Dickson-built

0-4-2ST Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement with no leading wheels, four powered and coupled driving wheels on two axles and two trailing wheels on one axle. While the first locomotives ...

narrow gauge saddle tank steam locomotives to mines on the Witwatersrand.

References

{{Africa topic, 1897 in, state=collapsed South Africa Years in South Africa