(2001: pop. 225,452) is a town on the banks of the
Klip River , ''(stone river)'', in the uThukela District of
KwaZulu-Natal ,
South Africa . It is 230 km north-west of
Durban and 365 km south of
Johannesburg . Important industries in the area include food processing, textiles, and tires.Tires are produced by the company next to Steadville called Dunlope.That company is employing many skilled and unskilled people which in turn increasing the economy in Ladysmith.Many people in Ladysmith do things with their own hands inorder to get money, e.g they make crafts and sell them,hunting animals,fish in rivers and so on.Eskom is present in Ladysmith and providing poor people with electricity in areas like Driefontein,Gudlintaba, Tatane,Nkuthu and many more. Next to Ladysmith there is a town called Newcastle.In Newcastle there is Escor processing iron,and they are also employing many people.
Ladysmith is not only ideally situated between two major cities(Johannesburg and Durban), it is also ideally set at the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains.
For many years Ladysmith has suffered from perennial flooding. It is only after the construction of the Qedusizi Dam that Ladysmith was safe from one of the violent effects of nature. The Qedusizi Dam brought an end to suffering in Ladysmith thus living up to its Zulu name which means “end of suffering”.There is another dam which is being built in Driefontein.I believe that it will also bring changes because floods are not yet over in some parts of Ladysmith.
25 km from Ladysmith is one of South Africa’s popular wildlife sanctuaries, Spioenkop Nature Reserve. This 6000 ha reserve is home to animals such as the rhino, giraffe and zebra. The sporting activities that Spioenkop offers include hiking, horse riding, angling, yachting, water-skiing and power boating.Spioenkop is also supplying other parts of Gauteng with water because in Gauteng there is a shortage of water.
In
1847 a number of
Voortrekker s settled in the area and the town was founded in
1850 by
Boers as the capital of the Republic of Klip River with
Andries Spies as their commandant. The republic was annexed by the
British in the same year. It was named after the Spanish wife of Sir
Harry Smith , Lady
Juana Maria Smith . Sir Harry Smith was the British general governor of
Cape Colony and high commissioner in South Africa from
1847 to
1852 . A fort was built in
1879 to protect the villagers from the
Zulu s.
Ladysmith made world headlines at the turn of the century when it was besieged for 118 days, from
2 November 1899 to
28 February 1900 , during the most crucial stage of the
Anglo-Boer War . 3,000 British soldiers died during the siege.
Ladysmith's Natural or Wildlife Attractions or Experiences
Ladysmith is not only ideally situated between two major cities(Johannesburg and Durban), it is also ideally set at the foothills of the Drakensberg mountains.
Qedusizi Dam:
For many years Ladysmith has suffered from perennial flooding. It is only after the construction of the Qedusizi Dam that Ladysmith was safe from one of the violent effects of nature. The Qedusizi Dam brought an end to suffering in Ladysmith thus living up to its Zulu name which means “end of suffering”.
Spioenkop Nature Reserve:
25 km from Ladysmith is one of South Africa’s popular wildlife sanctuaries, Spioenkop Nature Reserve. This 6000 ha reserve is home to animals such as the rhino, giraffe and zebra. The sporting activities that Spioenkop offers include hiking, horse riding, angling, yachting, water-skiing and power boating.
