1873 in South Africa
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The following lists events that happened during 1873 in South Africa.
Incumbents[edit]
- Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: Sir Henry Barkly.
- Lieutenant-governor of the Colony of Natal:
- Sir Anthony Musgrave (until 29 April).
- Thomas Milles (acting from 30 April to 21 July).
- Sir Benjamin Pine (from 22 July).
- State President of the Orange Free State: Jan Brand.[1]
- State President of the South African Republic: Thomas François Burgers.[2]
- Lieutenant-Governor of Griqualand West: Sir Richard Southey (from 17 July).[3]
- Prime Minister of the Cape of Good Hope: Sir John Molteno.
Events[edit]
- April
- 30 – Thomas Milles becomes acting Lieutenant-governor of the Colony of Natal.
May[edit]
- 1 – The use of Dutch is officially allowed in the Cape of Good Hope's parliament.
- 14 – The Ohrigstad area is proclaimed a public gold field after gold is discovered in the Selati River.
July[edit]
- 5 – New Rush in Griqualand West is renamed Kimberley after John Wodehouse, 1st Earl of Kimberley.[4]
- 17 – Sir Richard Southey becomes the first Lieutenant-Governor of Griqualand West.[3]
- 22 – Sir Benjamin Pine becomes Lieutenant-governor of the Colony of Natal.
August[edit]
- 20 – Prime Minister John Molteno authorises construction of the new Cape Eastern railway line from East London.
December[edit]
- 4 – HMS Challenger, on its worldwide marine research expedition, is officially welcomed in Cape Town.
- 26 – HMS Challenger arrives at Prince Edward Islands and contacts survey and charts the islands[5]
Unknown date[edit]
- The University of South Africa is founded in Cape Town as the University of the Cape of Good Hope.
- The Cape Government establishes the first district boarding schools to educate children from rural areas while education is standardised at the Cape.[6]
- The town of East London is officially established through the proclaimed merger of the three settlements of Panmure, East London and East London East.
- Warmbad is established as Hartingsburg at the hot springs north of Pretoria.
Births[edit]
- 13 August – C.J. Langenhoven, playwright, poet, journalist, politician and author of Die Stem van Suid-Afrika. (d. 1932)
- 20 August – William Henry Bell, musician, composer and first director of the South African College of Music. (d. 1946)
Deaths[edit]
- 1 May – David Livingstone is found dead on his knees beside his bed at Lake Bangweolo. (b. 1813)
Railways[edit]
Railway lines opened[edit]
- Namaqualand – Muishondfontein to Kookfontein, 15 miles (24.1 kilometres).[7]
Locomotives[edit]
- Two Cape gauge 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotives enter service at Port Elizabeth on the Midland System of the Cape Government Railways. They are the first Cape gauge locomotives to enter service in South Africa.[8]: 117–118 [9][10]: 6
- East London's first steam locomotive is landed at East London Harbour, a 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) Brunel gauge 0-4-0 vertical boiler engine acquired for work on breakwater construction.[11]
References[edit]
- ^ Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices, Orange Free State: Heads of State: 1854-1902 (Accessed on 14 April 2017)
- ^ Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices, South African Republic (Transvaal): Heads of State: 1857-1877 (Accessed on 14 April 2017)
- ^ a b The British Empire: Griqualand West Administrators (Accessed on 16 April 2017)
- ^ Roberts, Brian. 1976. Kimberley, turbulent city. Cape Town: David Philip, p 115
- ^ Exploring Polar Frontiers: A Historical Encyclopedia
- ^ Amersfoort Legacy Timeline 1658-present
- ^ Bagshawe, Peter (2012). Locomotives of the Namaqualand Railway and Copper Mines (1st ed.). Stenvalls. ISBN 978-91-7266-179-0.
- ^ Holland, D. F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-5427-8.
- ^ C.G.R. Numbering Revised, Article by Dave Littley, SA Rail May–June 1993, pp. 94-95.
- ^ Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. ISBN 0869772112.
- ^ Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 1: 1859–1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. p. 19. ISBN 978-0-7153-5382-0.