Laing's Nek, or Lang's Nek is a
pass through the
Drakensberg
The Drakensberg (Zulu language, Zulu: uKhahlamba, Sotho language, Sotho: Maloti, Afrikaans: Drakensberge) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, Southern Africa, Great Escarpment, which encloses the central South Africa#Geography, Sout ...
mountain range in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, south of
Charlestown, at at an elevation of 5400 to . It is the lowest part of a ridge that slopes from
Majuba Hill east to the
Buffalo River. Before the opening of the railway in 1891, the road over the nek was the main artery of communication between
Durban
Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Situated on the east coast of South ...
and
Pretoria
Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country.
Pretoria strad ...
. The railway crosses the pass via a tunnel.
History
There are two possible explanations for its name. It could be named after Henry Laing, owner of a farm at its foot, or after William Timothy Lang, who bought a farm in 1874 at its base.
When the
Boers
Boers ( ; ; ) are the descendants of the proto Afrikaans-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled the Dutch ...
rose in revolt in December 1880, they occupied Laing's Nek to oppose the entry of British reinforcements into the
Transvaal. On 28 January 1881, a small British force endeavoured to drive the Boers from the pass but was forced to retire after the
Battle of Laing's Nek.
During the
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...
, the Boers once again fortified this position in order to prevent
General Buller from crossing into Transvaal. At
Battle of Laing’s Nek, the British fought the Boers from 2–10 June, eventually forcing the Boers from the position.
References
*{{EB1911 , wstitle=Laing's Nek , volume=16 , page=84
Mountain passes of KwaZulu-Natal