Ladysmith

Ladysmith, town, eastern South Africa, in KwaZulu-Natal province. Ladysmith is located on the Klip River, near the Royal Natal National Park in the Drakensberg. It is an important road and railway junction and its industries include railway engineering, and the production of prefabricated housing, furniture, footwear, textiles, tyres, and food. It is the centre for the distribution of agricultural goods from the surrounding area and coal from the nearby coalfields. A local game reserve features white rhinoceroses, eland, kudu, wildebeest, giraffes, and zebras. A memorial to Mohandas Gandhi is found in the town gardens.

Ladysmith was founded by the British in 1850 after they annexed the area. It was named after the wife of Sir Harry Smith, the then governor of the Cape Colony (see Cape Province). In October 1899, during the early months of the South African War, the British forces at Ladysmith were surrounded by the Boers (see Afrikaners) for 115 days until they were relieved by Sir Redvers Buller on February 28, 1900. During this siege 3,200 people died, both in the defence of the town and from lack of food and medical supplies. They are commemorated in stained-glass windows and marble tablets in the All Saints Anglican Church. To the south-west of the town lies Spioenkop, the hill where the Battle of Spioenkop was fought in January 1900. Population (1991) 11,121.