 facilities and housing.
Peter Smith with his son, William Craighead Smith, son-in-law Dugald MacPhail (reputed to be among the last men to escape alive from Isandlwana, a major battle of the Anglo-Zulu War), and Charles Wilson, a close family friend, named the new township Dundee in 1882, after the town near to his home village in Scotland.
Smith floated the Dundee Coal Company on the London Stock Exchange in 1899, and Dundee soon emerged as a boomtown graced with stately homes and the first theatre north of Port Durban, Natal. Pioneer traders from the Indian sub-continent settled here during the following decade, when Dundee became the meeting place of seven roads into the hinterland and coast of Africa. It remains a convenient central base for exploration of this corner of KwaZulu-Natal.
On the 20th October 1899, the first shots of the Boer War were fired at Talana, just outside the town. It was the scene of the first battle between the British and Boers during the Anglo-Boer war of 1899 to 1902 and also the first time that British soldiers wore khaki instead of the usual red uniforms.
Thornley Farm, on the other side of Talana Hill, was the Boer forces headquarters, hospital and mortuary during the Battle of Talana. Restored buildings are on a private farm, but visitors are welcome.
British troops drove the Boers off Talana Hill suffering heavy losses and General Penn Symons, their commanding officer, was mortally wounded. As more Boers gathered around Dundee, General Symons’ successor, General Yule, and the British Forces retreated to Ladysmith.
Boer forces occupied the town for seven months, renaming it Meyersdorp. Dundee was restored after the Battle of Helpmekaar in May 1900.
Today, Dundee, of Natal, South Africa, has a population of around 30,000 with a mild climate of warm summers but bracing winters. It is surrounded by a number of coalmines, which once earned it the title of Coalopolis. One pit is still open nowadays, although there is an interesting coal museum. Mining areas are not always attractive, but this one at least has a green and pleasant environment.
However, much of the surrounding farmland is centred on dairy farming. Many local farmers have encouraged wildlife to return to the area and promote tourism by providing hiking trails, accommodation and working farm holidays.
The information above relating to South Africa was gleaned from the following websites :-
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Bob Douglas unless otherwise stated.