Contact Artefacts
please if you have any comments or more information regarding this record.
Menu
HomeUpfront
Now Up
Books
Towns
Structures
People
Firms
Lexicon
Fort Amiel
Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal
 |  |  |  |  |
Contact Artefacts | MenuHomeUpfront Now Up Books Towns Structures People Firms Lexicon | Fort Amiel | | ||||||
| |||||||||
Click to view large map Coordinates: | The fort was named after Major Amiel. The monument was moved here from its original position at Ngogo where a new granite monument was erected on the 60th anniversary of the encounter. Wording on monument: THIS MONUMENT In 1876 Maj. Amiel and some 200 men of the 80th Staffordshire Volunteers encamped on the knoll overlooking the town of Newcastle in the Colony of Natal, South Africa, where they set about building a fortification now known as Fort Amiel. Newcastle had been identified as a strategic junction on the road from Natal into the Transvaal to the North and the Orange Free State to the east. The encampment at Fort Amiel was a prelude to the British annexation of the Transvaal in 1877 and Maj. Amiel and his men were held in reserve in case of trouble. There is ample evidence that the Fort was an important base for military operations from 1876 until the end of the Anglo Boer War in 1902. During the Anglo Zulu War in 1879 and the Transvaal War of Independence in 1881, (1st Boer War) it was used as a transit camp, hospital and commissariat depot. Maj. Gen. Sir George Pomeroy-Colley reported that “he found everything in readiness” when he reached the Fort in January 1881 on his ill fated march to Laing’s Nek, Majuba and the Transvaal. The Fort and the surrounding area were once again put to use in the Anglo Boer War of 1899-1902 when a large British garrison was established here after the British had re-occupied the town, after Boer forces had occupied it for 7 months. The defensive fortifications comprised a surrounding ditch, a rampart and a stone wall. The foundations of a portion of the surrounding wall can still be seen on the boundary of the knoll overlooking the Ncandu River. Following the Anglo Boer War the Fort fell into disuse and was eventually auctioned off and became a farm. Rebuilding the past Following the declaration of Fort Amiel as a national monument in 1979, the Newcastle Town Council, in conjunction with the then Natal Museum Services, commenced restoration work at the site. The discovery of the original plans of the Fort in the United Kingdom in 1981 was a major breakthrough as they contained valuable, detailed information, which made the restoration work much easier. The first stages of the restoration work were completed in August 1985. Excavations on the site revealed the foundations of the canteen building, Shell store, Magazine and R.E stores and these buildings were reconstructed during 1986. The cemetery, which dates back to the Transvaal War of Independence (1st Boer War) 1881 is situated to the north west of the Fort at the bottom of the knoll and permission for access can be obtained from the Museum. Many of the British and Colonial soldiers who died while on service at the Fort or at the military hospital between 1877 and 1883 are buried here. Most of them were in their twenties and many of them died of enteric fever (typhoid) that was prevalent at the time. Their graves are mostly marked by metal crosses, while a few have headstones have survived. There is also a monument to the officers and men of the 41st Welch Regiment who died while on service in Natal from 1881-1882. An extensive Military cemetery is located at the Town cemetery consisting of monuments and graves from the various wars. (Submitted by Dave Sutcliffe, a registered tour Guide for KwaZulu-Natal, KZN 0537 now retired, May 2026) See also Fort Amiel Museum. References:
|
|
