Rorke's Drift
| Rorke's Drift | |||
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| Coordinates | 28 ° 22 ′ S , 30 ° 32 ′ E | ||
| Basic data | |||
| Country | South Africa | ||
| KwaZulu-Natal | |||
| District | Umzinyathi | ||
| ISO 3166-2 | ZA-KZN | ||
| local community | Msinga | ||
| height | 1120 m | ||
| founding | 1849 | ||
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Special features: 1879 site of a battle |
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 Rorke's Drift (2008)
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Rorke's Drift (German: "Rorkes Furt") is a place in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa . This is where the Battle of Rorke's Drift took place in 1879 .
geography
Rorke's Drift is located about 45 kilometers southeast of Dundee and about 20 kilometers southwest of Nquthu . It belongs to the Msinga community in the UMzinyathi district . Rorke's Drift is located at a ford of the Buffalo River . To the east of the village is the 1285 meter high Oskarberg , named after the Swedish King Oskar II , or Shiyane .
history
The place was established near the border of the then colony Natal to the Kingdom of the Zulu , after the Irish-born merchant James Rorke bought land there in 1849 in order to conduct trade with the Zulu. In 1875 the place became a mission station of the Evangelical Swedish Church . It was the largest Swedish mission in southern Africa and consisted of a church, a theological seminary and a small hospital. On the evening of January 22nd, 1879, the battle named after him took place north of the village and in the village itself , during which British troops defeated the numerically superior Zulu army. The Zulu had previously defeated the British a few kilometers east in the Battle of Isandhlwana on the same day .
The mission station existed until the late 1950s; the seminar was moved in 1963. In 1962, at the time of apartheid , the ELC Art and Craft Center was founded with Swedish support in Mapumolo (German: "Arts and Crafts Center of the Evangelical Lutheran Church"). In 1963 it moved to Rorke's Drift. There, young blacks were trained as visual artists by Swedish, US and South African teachers . Many of the 80 graduates from Rorke's Drift shaped the “black” art scene in South Africa from then on. Teaching at the ELC Art and Craft Center ended in 1982. Today the complex includes a hand-weaving mill , a pottery and a printing shop . In 2010 a new exhibition center with German development aid was completed. A village was established nearby, depicting the Zulu culture around 1860.
Economy and Transport
The place benefits from tourism, especially through the nearby battlefields and the arts and crafts on offer. The nearest highways are the R33, which runs from Dundee via Helpmekaar to Greytown , and the R68 (Dundee– KwaGingindlovu ), which runs north past Rorke's Drift.
Web links
- Website about Rorke's Drift and the Battle of Rorke's Drift (English)
- Website of the ELC Art and Craft Center (English)
- Information on the history and importance of the ELC Art and Craft Center ( Memento from January 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
- Rorke's Drift at places.co.za (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Rorke's Drift and Battle of Rorke's Drift website , accessed September 30, 2010
- ↑ Website of the ELC Art and Craft Center ( Memento from January 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) (English), accessed on October 2, 2010
- ↑ Information on the history and significance of the ELC Art and Craft Center ( Memento from January 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on October 2, 2010
- ^ Report on the Art School in Rorke's Drift (English), accessed on October 3, 2010
- ^ Website of the ELC Arts and Craft Center (English), accessed on October 2, 2010