Thaba Tshwane is a

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

(or military area) in

Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...

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

Units and facilities

The oldest building in the complex is the South African Garrison Institute, what is now known as the Army College. Lord Kitchener laid the cornerstone on 12 June 1902. Today the installation is home to: * the

South African Army College The South African Army College is a training unit of the South African Army. History Origin of military training in South Africa South African military training can be traced back to 1786 when the Militere Kweekskool was established by the ...

, * the

South African National Defence College South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...

under Rear-Admiral

Laura Janse van Vuuren Rear Admiral (Junior Grade) Laura Janse van Vuuren is a South African Navy officer and the second woman to reach flag rank. Biography She completed her schooling at Zwaanswyk High School in 1976 and joined the Navy in 1977. She initially entere ...

, * the

National Ceremonial Guard The National Ceremonial Guard (NCG) is an honor guard battalion of the South African National Defence Force serving during ceremonies involving the President of South Africa, Deputy President of South Africa, Minister of Defence and Military Vetera ...

and Band, * the

Military Police School A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, *

1 Military Hospital 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, *

Bagaka Regiment The Bagaka Regiment (formerly 2 Parachute Battalion) is a reserve airborne infantry regiment of the South African Army. History Origins With the implementation of one year National Service in South Africa in 1968, 1 Parachute Battalion struggled ...

, *

Ukhosi Parachute Engineer Regiment 44 Parachute Brigade was a parachute infantry brigade of the South African Army. It was founded on 20 April 1978, by Colonel Jan Breytenbach, following the disbandment of 1 SA Corps and the battle of Cassinga. Upon formation, the brigade was co ...

, *

Madzhakandila Anti-Aircraft Regiment The Madzhakandila Anti-Aircraft Regiment (MAAR), formerly 44 Light Anti-Aircraft Regiment, is an air defence regiment of the South African Army. History 44 Anti-Aircraft Regiment was appointed and designated as a unit of the Citizen Force in Ja ...

, * 1 Military Printing Regiment, *

Tshwane Regiment Tshwane Regiment is an infantry regiment of the South African Army. As a reserve unit, it has a status roughly equivalent to that of a British Army Reserve or United States Army National Guard unit. History This Regiment was originally establ ...

(Motorised Infantry), * Steve Biko Artillery Regiment (Artillery Formation) and * 4 Survey and Map Regiment.

Names and history

Founded around 1905 by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, and called Roberts Heights after

Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...

Lord Roberts. The area was subsequently renamed Voortrekkerhoogte ("

Voortrekker The Great Trek ( af, Die Groot Trek; nl, De Grote Trek) was a Northward migration of Dutch-speaking settlers who travelled by wagon trains from the Cape Colony into the interior of modern South Africa from 1836 onwards, seeking to live beyon ...

Heights") in 1939 by the government of the

Union of South Africa The Union of South Africa ( nl, Unie van Zuid-Afrika; af, Unie van Suid-Afrika; ) was the historical predecessor to the present-day Republic of South Africa. It came into existence on 31 May 1910 with the unification of the Cape, Natal, Trans ...

, following the beginning of the building of the nearby

Voortrekker Monument The Voortrekker Monument is located just south of Pretoria in South Africa. The granite structure is located on a hilltop, and was raised to commemorate the Voortrekkers who left the Cape Colony between 1835 and 1854. It was designed by the a ...

, at a time of growing

Afrikaner nationalism Afrikaner nationalism ( af, Afrikanernasionalisme) is a nationalistic political ideology which created by Afrikaners residing in Southern Africa during the Victorian era. The ideology was developed in response to the significant events in Afrik ...

. On 19 May 1998, following the end of

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

, it was renamed again, as Thaba Tshwane. Thaba Tshwane should not be confused with the much larger

City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality The City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality (also known as the City of Tshwane) () is the metropolitan municipality that forms the local government of northern Gauteng Province, South Africa. The Metropolitan area is centred on the city of Pr ...

, created in 2000, which includes Pretoria and the Thaba Tshwane military base.

References

External links

The 1998 speech by South Africa's Minister of Defence on the renaming of Voortrekkerhoogte to Thaba TshwaneExperiences at Voortrekkerhoogte Military base in 1984

Thaba Tshwane Thaba Tshwane is a military base (or military area) in Pretoria, South Africa. Units and facilities The oldest building in the complex is the South African Garrison Institute, what is now known as the Army College. Lord Kitchener laid the corn ...

Military installations of South Africa {{SouthAfrica-mil-stub