Dundee

Places of Interest - South Africa

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introduction

In 1860, coal was first used by a peasant family called Smith. He had named his farm Dundee because he came from a small village near that city in Scotland. Very quickly a small village came into being all because of mining. At the beginning of 1879 the city grew rapidly because the English army had chosen the town as their headquarters during the second invasion of Zululand.

There was a fort pine tree with supplies and soldiers in the city. The town grew and there soon came a town hall, church, new stone (public) buildings and electricity. Now you can still see the old houses in full glory and the battlefield with authentic houses built against the Talan hill.

highlights

Talana museum (see also museums):

At exactly the same site as where the battle was taken place are now a complex of museums telling the story. Talana literally means the shelf where important things are stored. It is the only museum in South Africa where the original buildings (from the time of the battle) are still standing and you can visit them all.

For example, the porch of the Smith family and the Talana house (where the actual war museum is now housed) was used during the battle by the British as temporary shelter (hospital) to take care of the wounded. Also the orchard was planted again after the battle - these were used as a cover during the fighting by the English. You can walk up the hill and besides enjoying the beautiful view (including Dundee) you can also see parts of the English fort and there are a number of memorials where soldiers have fallen.

The Battle of Talana Hill or the battle of Glencoe was fought on 20 October 1899 and is seen as the first major battle between the Peasants and Britons during the 2nd Boer War. While the British Commander-in-Chief demanded a strategic withdrawal from the troops in Dundee (he proposed an advance from Ladysmith where the largest group of British soldiers was stationed), the senator of Natal ordered otherwise. For economic reasons (Dundee had an important coal mine) and political reasons, he did not want to retire, and Lieutenant General Sir "William Penn Symons" ordered his troops in Dundee to prepare for a blow.

A week after the declaration of war, on the 19th of October two Peasant Groups of soldiers gathered around the city on the hills (including on Talana Hill). The British began to shoot at the hill and decided to make a frontal attack on the hill. Soon they were pinned down by targeted fire from the Farmers on the surrounding hills. Just because they had a lot of manpower there they managed to scare away the Boers but had many victims to regret. The soldiers who made it were also fired at by their own artillery.

The English were not powerful enough to capture the important Impati hill that served as the water supply for Dundee. After unsuccessful attempts to scare the Boer away and many victims by the English they gave up. When the stock lines were cut off by the Boer troops, the British decided to withdraw to Ladysmith under cover of complete darkness.

See also Tour of the battlefields.

Dundee-Monument-Wagon-Kraal-Boeren-Zulu-South-Africa

tips & advice (2015)

In the middle of the town of Dundee is the chaotic taxi stand park.

Dundee - Ladysmith - Winterton: Between 10 and 11 o'clock the "combi" appears to depart from Dundee to Ladysmith. Price is 55R and the ride takes about an hour. From Ladysmith you can also drive to Winterton in an hour and strangely enough this price was 24R (probably due to the less qualitative van).

Name: Talana park and battlefield museum

Address: Victoria str.

Price: 25R (excluding 8R for traditional village)

Time: 034-2122654

Website: www.talana.co.za

Content:

About 1.5 km north of the town Dundee is the former battlefield of Talana. It was here that the Boers and Britons struck on 20 October 1899. The complex has not only set up a museum on the battlefield (the Talana house) but a variety of buildings and other interesting things.

It has a building as a museum for WWI, it has an old farmer's garage with antique carriages where once the milk was stored, an old original house where the family Smith lived, a carriage garage, storagehouses, a museum focused on the passive resistance (led by Mahatma Ghandi) and finally a museum about mining in the region. There is a wonderful restaurant (with a beautiful view and authentic atmosphere) and a museum shop.

Talana-Museum-Hill-Boeren-South-Africa-Bed

The only real nice place to have something to eat and drink is the museum restaurant at Talana. And a lot of locals come here. It seems that time stood still here for over a hundred years.

Name: Kwa-Rie caravan park

Address: Tandystreet

Price: 130R (camping)

Phone nr. : 034-2122333

Email: kwarie@kznatal.co.za

Content:

On the outskirts of the city, this beautiful complex is built just next the golf course. The name is derived from the first three letters of the province and the last three of it has ever been a quarry. It has a lake in the middle of the campsite (there has been the quarry) and some good sheltered places.

The whole complex is surrounded by fences with camera surveillance and you get a transmitter to open the gate. A number of people live "permanently" at the campsite. There is a small "romantic" swimming pool with large stones and plants. The laundry room is one to be framed - African decorated - everything is clean and tidy.

Dundee-Monument-Zulu-Boeren-War-South-Africa

You can book a tour to the battlefields in and around Dundee in various ways:

Through the information office
Directly via a tour guide
Through a hotel
Individually

There are numerous guides who can take you on a one or multi-day tour to the battlefields depending on how much time you have, how much budget and what you are interested in. The number of battlefields, museums and memorials is enormous so a good tip would be to do a lot of "homework” yourself and write your wishes down.

The biggest problem is if you have a limited budget and do not have your own transport. You will then pay between 1000 and 2000R for a full day tour. Take into account an hour or 3 at a site; In other words you can view a maximum of 2 or 3 sites per day that also need to be close together.

See TOUR "Battlefields KwaZulu - Natal" for more information

In addition, you can rent a car for the day and go on your own. Costs for a car for the day are 500R for the first day and 450R for the second day. You get 200km for free (after that you pay 0.2R per km) and have to pay a guarantee of 2000R. The petrol costs are for you as a customer. You can pick up the car at 08:00 and return it at 08:00 the next day.

Car rental company: Truck engine (Dundee car hire)

Address: 49 Dundee street

Phone nr. : 0342124950/2125256

Email address: truckmotorzone@telkomsa.net

Kwa-Rie-Campsite-Lodge-South-Africa-Dundee

Dundee

Places of Interest - South Africa

introduction

highlights

tips & advice (2015)

see also:

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