Anglo-Boer War Battlefields Guide

The Anglo-Boer War began in 1899 with the British retaliation against President Paul Kruger’s refusal to grant political rights to the mainly English outsiders in the gold- and diamond-rich Transvaal. In 1902, after three years of bitter fighting, the British claimed victory, having destroyed Boer farms and sent their occupants to concentration camps where 20,000 people perished. Today, various museums and memorial sites remember those bloody events. The main museum is the Anglo-Boer War Museum in Bloemfontein (website: www.anglo-boer.co.za), which displays artwork and artefacts and provides an insight into the horrors of the concentration camps. Talana Museum (website: www.talana.ca.za), is located at Talana Hill, near Dundee, the site of the first battle of the Anglo-Boer War on October 20 1899; it is now an eight-hectare (20-acre) heritage park with a cemetery dedicated to those who fought and lost their lives there, and also features displays on local bush traditions.

KwaZulu Natal Tourism Authority, PO Box 2516, Durban 400, South Africa
Tel: (031) 304 7144
Website: www.zulu.org.za/kzn

Air: Johannesburg International Airport, Durban International Airport, Cape Town International Airport, Pretoria Airport. Rail: Train: Johannesburg Park Station, Durban Station, Cape Town Station, Dundee Station or Pretoria Station.

South African Tourism Board (SATOUR)
Private Bag X10012, Sandton 2146, South Africa
Tel: (011) 778 8000. Fax: (011) 778 8001. E-mail: info@southafricantourism.com
Website: www.southafrica.net
South African Tourism Board (SATOUR)
5-6 Alt Grove, London SW19 4DZ, UK
Tel: (0870) 155 0044 (tourism enquiry and brochure request line). Fax: (020) 8944 6705.
E-mail: info@south-african-tourism.org
Website: www.south-african-tourism.org

South Africa