Umzimkhulu is a town in

Harry Gwala District Municipality Harry Gwala is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The seat of Harry Gwala is Ixopo. The majority of its 298 392 people speak IsiZulu (2011 Census). The district code is DC43. In November 2015, Sisonke District's nam ...

in the

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

province of

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 ...

. The town lies 243 km north-east of

Mthatha Mthatha , formerly Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known as the K. D. Matanzi ...

and 18 km south-west of

Ixopo Ixopo is a town situated on a tributary of the Mkhomazi River along the R56 highway in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Background Ixopo was formerly known as Stuartstown, was laid out in 1878 and named after M Stuart, Resident Magi ...

. It developed from a trading-post and was laid out in 1884. Takes its name from the

Mzimkulu River The Mzimkulu River is a river in South Africa. In the past, the Mzimkulu formed part of the border between Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. Presently this river is part of the Mvoti to Umzimkulu Water Management Area. In late February ...

on which it is situated; Zulu and

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

for 'big place', 'large home' of the waters. Until 1 March 2006, the town was part of an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

of the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

, before being transferred to

as part of the

Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa The Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution of South Africa (formally the Constitution Twelfth Amendment Act of 2005) altered the boundaries of seven of South Africa's nine provinces. It also redefined all of the provinces' geographical areas in term ...

. During the KwaZulu-Natal riots of July, 2021, more than 50 people died in a furniture store in the town that was set alight while looters were robbing it.

References

Populated places in the Umzimkhulu Local Municipality Populated places established in 1884 1884 establishments in the British Empire {{EasternCape-geo-stub