Harrismith, on the banks of the Wilge River, is dominated by 600-m-high Platberg to the northeast of town. Horse-drawn carts are still a common mode of transport among the local rural people. Established in 1849, Harrismith was named after the British Governor of the Cape, Sir Harry Smith. In addition to its central location midway between Gauteng and the KwaZulu-Natal coast, the town is also an important agricultural centre. The 5 000-ha Platberg Nature Reserve, extending from the edge of the town to the summit of the flat-topped mountain, is stocked with a variety of game including blesbok, black wildebeest, eland, springbok and red hartebeest. The blockhouse on the slopes of Platberg was built by the British in 1901 as part of their strategy to isolate and capture the Boer forces during the South African War. Also of interest is a 150-million-year-old, 33-m-long petrified tree trunk in the Harrismith Town Hall garden. The imposing light-brown sandstone building, with its towered façade, was completed in 1908.
...lies in the upper reaches of the Nuwejaarspruit and forms part of the Drakensberg Pumped Storage Scheme, which supplements the water supply of the Vaal Dam. Commissioned in 1977, the 2 290-m-long earthfill embankment was extended to 3 060 m in 1980, while the height was increased from 69 m to 93 m. Up to 630 million m3 of water a year is pumped from the Woodstock Dam on the Thukela River up the Escarpment to the Sterkfontein Dam. The water is stored here and is released into the Wilge River, a tributary of the Vaal, only when there is a need to augment the water level in the Vaal Dam. The rationale for this is that, being very deep, the Sterkfontein Dam loses much less water through evaporation than the much shallower Vaal Dam. The dam wall contains 17 million m3 of material, making it the largest dam wall in South Africa in terms of volume. With a surface area of nearly 70 km2 when full and a capacity of 2 656 million m3, Sterkfontein is the third-largest reservoir in South Africa. It is popular with anglers, and windsurfing and boating enthusiasts. The dam is the focal point of the 18 000-ha Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve, which is dominated by grasslands and cream-coloured sandstone outcrops.
THE RETIEF ROCK
...is one of the best-known landmarks on the routes followed by the Voortrekkers. Here, Voortrekker leader Piet Retief made camp at the foot of the Kerkenberg on 2 October 1837. Three days later, Retief set off with 14 men to visit the Zulu king, Dingane. A fortnight later, when Retief had not returned, the chief laager under Abraham Greyling was moved to a spring higher up the slopes of the Kerkenberg. When Retief had not returned from Dingane’s camp by his birthday, his daughter Deborah wrote ‘P Retief Den 12 Novr. 1837’ in green paint on the overhanging rock. The following day, Greyling broke up camp and descended into Natal along the Retief Pass. Around Retief’s name can be seen the names of several members of the Bethlehem Commando, who occupied the Oliviershoek Pass on 10 October 1899, on the eve of the Boer invasion of Natal at the outbreak of the South African War.
On 30 October 1899 (a day that became known as Mournful Monday), British forces were humiliated at the Battle of Modderspruit. The battle, conceived by General Sir George White as a knock-out blow to the Boer forces, turned into a rout after the Boers changed position during the night and forced the British to retreat into Ladysmith. The town came under siege on 2 November 1899 when Boer forces occupied all the encircling hills, except Platrand which formed part of the British forward defence line. Situated 5 km southwest of the town, Platrand (also known as Wagon Hill) was the key to the capture of Ladysmith, but two Boer attacks on the flat-topped hill were beaten back. On 27 February 1900, General Buller’s forces crossed the Tukhela River and advanced on Ladysmith, causing the Boers to abandon their positions. The siege was relieved the following day, 118 days after it began. British casualties were high; 563 soldiers died of disease, 211 were killed in action, 59 died of wounds and 10 were reported missing. It is not known how many Boers were killed in action, but an estimated 60 died of wounds. The story of the siege is depicted in the town’s Siege Museum.