1882 in South Africa

The following lists events that happened during 1882 in South Africa.

← 1881 1880 1879 1882 in South Africa → 1883 1884 1885
Decades:	1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s
See also:	List of years in South Africa

Incumbents

• Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: Hercules Robinson.
• Governor of the Colony of Natal: Henry Ernest Gascoyne Bulwer.
• State President of the Orange Free State: Jan Brand.
• State President of the South African Republic: Triumviate of Paul Kruger, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius and Piet Joubert.
• Prime Minister of the Cape of Good Hope: Thomas Charles Scanlen.

Events

May

• 9 – Paul Kruger becomes President of the South African Republic.
• 28 – Two ships, the Agnes (94 tonne) and the Christina (196 tonne), run ashore at Plettenberg Bay.

July

• 26 – The Stellaland Republic is declared, founding Vryburg as capital.

September

• 2 – Kimberley becomes the first town in the southern hemisphere to install electric street lighting.
• 7 – W.H. Finlay of Cape Town's Royal Observatory is first to record observations of the Great Comet of 1882.[1][2]
• 29 – 229 Norwegians settle at the mouth of the Umzimkulu River, founding Port Shepstone.

November

• 21 – The Goshen Republic is established with its capital Rooigrond near Mafeking.

Unknown date

• Zulu king Cetshwayo returns to South Africa.
• In the Cape Colony, the Dutch language is once again admitted as an official language alongside English.

Births

• 24 February – Jan Gysbert Hugo Bosman aka Bosman de Ravelli, concert pianist and composer, is born in Piketberg.

Railways

Railway lines opened

CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT (Stephenson)

Kowie Railway 4-4-0T

• 15 December – Cape Western – Wynberg to Muizenberg, 7 miles 31 chains (11.9 kilometres).[3]

Locomotives

• Three new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the Cape Government Railways (CGR):
  • Six 2nd Class 4-4-0 Wynberg Tank locomotives on suburban passenger trains out of Cape Town.[4]
  • The first of 33 4th Class 4-6-0 tank-and-tender locomotives with Stephenson valve gear on the mainlines of all three systems.[4][5]
  • The first of 35 4th Class 4-6-0 tank-and-tender locomotives with Joy valve gear on the mainlines of all three systems.[4][5]
• Two new 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the private Kowie Railway which is under construction from Port Alfred to Grahamstown:
  • Two 0-6-0 tank locomotives in goods service.[4]
  • Two 4-4-0 tank locomotives in passenger service.[4]

References

1. Gill, David (1883a), "On Mr. Finlay's pre-perihelion observations of the Great Comet 1882 II", Astronomische Nachrichten, 105 (5): 71, Bibcode:1883AN....105...71G, doi:10.1002/asna.18831050505
2. Tebbutt, John (March 1904), "The great comet of 1882", The Observatory, 27: 133–134, Bibcode:1904Obs....27..133T
3. Report for year ending 31 December 1909, Cape Government Railways, Section VIII - "Dates of Opening and the Length of the different Sections in the Cape Colony, from the Year 1873 to 31st December, 1909."
4. Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. 1: 1859–1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. pp. 32–37, 80–83, 108. ISBN 978-0-7153-5382-0.
5. C.G.R. Numbering Revised, Article by Dave Littley, SA Rail May–June 1993, pp. 94–95.