Did You Know?
The site referred to is the Battle of Majuba Hill, fought on 27 February 1881 near Volksrust, which lies on the border of the then Transvaal and Natal. Although Volksrust is today in Mpumalanga, the battlefield itself is located on the Natal side of the border, within what is now KwaZulu-Natal. This was the final and decisive engagement of the First Boer War (1880-1881). British forces under Major-General Sir George Pomeroy Colley occupied the summit of Majuba Hill overnight, but on the morning of the battle, Boer forces, led by Commandant-General Piet Joubert and others, launched a determined assault up the slopes. The Boers, using superior marksmanship and cover, overwhelmed the British position, inflicting heavy casualties. British losses were about 92 killed, including Colley, and 134 wounded, while Boer casualties were minimal, with only one killed and five wounded. The British defeat at Majuba led directly to the signing of the Pretoria Convention on 3 August 1881, which restored self-government to the Transvaal under British suzerainty, effectively ending the war. The site is now a national heritage site and a provincial heritage site in KwaZulu-Natal, marked by a monument and graves of the fallen. The battle became a symbol of Boer resilience and is often cited as a factor in the later Second Boer War (1899-1902), as British military prestige was severely dented.
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