Piet Retief eMkhondo | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 27°0′S30°48′E / 27.000°S 30.800°E Coordinates: 27°0′S30°48′E / 27.000°S 30.800°E | |
Country | South Africa |
Province | Mpumalanga |
District | Gert Sibande |
Municipality | Mkhondo |
Established | 1882 |
Area | |
• Total | 66.00 km2 (25.48 sq mi) |
Elevation | 1,251 m (4,104 ft) |
Population (2011) [1] | |
• Total | 57,428 |
• Density | 870/km2 (2,300/sq mi) |
Racial makeup (2011) | |
• Black African | 88.2% |
• Coloured | 1.3% |
• Indian/Asian | 2.1% |
• White | 8.0% |
• Other | 0.4% |
First languages (2011) | |
• Zulu | 82.8% |
• Afrikaans | 7.8% |
• English | 5.0% |
• Other | 4.4% |
Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
Postal code (street) | 2380 |
PO box | 2380 |
Area code | 017 |
Piet Retief, officially eMkhondo, is a town situated in a timber-growing region in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. It is the seat of the Mkhondo Local Municipality. It is located not far from the Eswatini border.
The town was founded by the Voortrekkers in 1883 and named it after the Voortrekker leader, Piet Retief, who was killed by the Zulus under their King Dingane's orders, after a negotiation for land failed.
In 1886, the inhabitants of the town declared the Klein Vrystaat (Little Free State), which contained a population of only 72. This republic existed until 1891, when it was incorporated into the South African Republic.
The town became a municipality in 1932. Its main tourist attraction is the Dutch Reformed Church that was designed by the architect Gerard Moerdijk and built in 1921.
The area has an annual rainfall of 1000 mm. Its main economic activities are timber, paper and wattle bark production as well as mica, kaolin and iron mining.
On 2 February 2010, South African Arts and Culture minister Lulu Xingwana approved a state decision for Piet Retief to be renamed to eMkhondo. [2] Like many other post-apartheid name changes in South Africa, the incident remains controversial. Most residents are uncertain what the new name means. Unlike some place names, such as Verwoerdburg, the name was never considered offensive. Prominent Afrikaner groups, including the Freedom Front Plus, wish to restore the original name.
Mafikeng, officially known as Mahikeng and alternatively known as Mafeking, is the capital city of the North West province of South Africa.
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The following lists events that happened during 1838 in South Africa.
Pieter Mauritz Retief was a Voortrekker leader. Settling in 1814 in the frontier region of the Cape Colony, he later assumed command of punitive expeditions during the sixth Xhosa War. He became a spokesperson for the frontier farmers who voiced their discontent, and wrote the Voortrekkers' declaration at their departure from the colony.
The Battle of Italeni was a battle that took place at 28°29′6″S31°16′27″E in what is now KwaZulu Natal province, South Africa, between the Voortrekkers and the Zulus during the period of the Great Trek.
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or the Kingdom of Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa. During the 1810s, Shaka established a modern standing army that consolidated rival clans and built a large following which ruled a wide expanse of Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to the Pongola River in the north.
Mkhondo Local Municipality, is a South African local municipality situated in the Gert Sibande District Municipality, of Mpumalanga. Piet Retief is the seat of the municipality.
Piet Retief Commando was a light infantry regiment of the South African Army. It formed part of the South African Army Infantry Formation as well as the South African Territorial Reserve.
The Piet Retief Delegation massacre was the 1838 killing of 100 Voortrekkers by the Zulu king Dingane in what is now KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The Voortrekkers, led by Piet Retief, migrated into Natal in 1837 and negotiated a land treaty in February 1838 with Dingane. Upon realizing the ramifications of the imposed contract, Dingane betrayed the Voortrekkers, killing the delegation including Retief on 6 February 1838. The land treaty was later found in Retief's possession. It gave the Voortrekkers the land between the Tugela River and Port St. Johns. This event eventually led to the Battle of Blood River and the eventual defeat of Dingane.
Mzikayifani Andries Gamede is a South African politician who served in the Mpumalanga Executive Council from February 2013 until May 2019, when he declined to stand for re-election to the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature. A member of the African National Congress (ANC), he served as a Member of the Executive Council (MEC) for Human Settlements from 2013 to 2014 and as MEC for Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs from 2014 to 2019. He is also a former mayor of Mkhondo Local Municipality and of Gert Sibande District Municipality, and he founded the Independent Community Movement Association, which is active in that region.