Ixopo

Ixopo
Ixopo
Coordinates	30 ° 9 ′  S , 30 ° 3 ′  E Coordinates: 30 ° 9 ′  S , 30 ° 3 ′  E
Basic data
Country	South Africa
province	KwaZulu-Natal
District	Harry Gwala
local community	Ubuhlebezwe
height	900 m
Residents	12,461 (2011)
NG G11 No. 55 of the South African Class NG G11 2-6-0 + 0-6-2 with a mixed freight and passenger train at Ixopo, KwaZulu-Natal .

Ixopo , formerly Stuartstown , is a town in the municipality of Ubuhlebezwe in South Africa and the seat of the local government. It is located at an altitude of 900 meters on the bank of the Mkhomazi River . In 2011 it had 12,461 inhabitants. The nearest towns are Scottburgh (96 kilometers away) and Pietermaritzburg (86 kilometers away). The city was founded in 1878 as Stuartstown, named after J. Stuart, a well-known magistrate.

The current name Ixopo originated from the isiZulu word eXopo . This describes the smacking sound that cows, which are driven through the river in the evening, make with their hooves in the mud.

The city became known through the book Cry the Beloved Country (German title: Because they should be comforted ) by the writer Alan Stewart Paton . This book also mentions the Umzinto – Donnybrook narrow-gauge railway , which runs from Umzinto via Ixopo to Donnybrook. It describes the view from Carisbrooke station on the branch line to Madonela, which is operated by the Patons Country Narrow Gauge Railway as a museum railway.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 2011 census , accessed November 17, 2013
2. ^ Meaning of the name parishes in South Africa