1902 in South Africa

Decades:	1880s; 1890s; 1900s; 1910s; 1920s;
See also:	; List of years in South Africa;

The following lists events that happened during 1902 in South Africa.

Incumbents

Cape Colony

Natal

Orange Free State / Orange River Colony

State President of the Orange Free State: Martinus Theunis Steyn (until 31 May).
Governor of the Orange River Colony and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner.
Lieutenant-Governor of the Orange River Colony: Hamilton Goold-Adams.

South African Republic / Transvaal

State President of the South African Republic: Paul Kruger (until 31 May) (in exile); Schalk Willem Burger (acting until 31 May).
Governor of the Transvaal and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner.
Lieutenant-Governor of the Transvaal: Sir Arthur Lawley.

Events

February

27 – Breaker Morant and Peter Handcock are executed in Pretoria for the murder of Boer prisoners of war near Louis Trichardt.

March

7 – The Burghers win their last battle over British forces, with the capture of a British general and 200 of his men.

April

4 – The town Concordia in Namaqualand surrenders to Boer forces.^[1]
8 – O'okiep is besieged by Boer forces under General Jan Smuts.^[1]^[2]

May

1 – Boer commandos use the locomotive Pioneer to propel a truck-load of dynamite into the besieged O'okiep.^[1]
4 – Boer General Jan Smuts meets with the British General Herbert Kitchener at Kroonstad.
6 – Qulusi-Zulu chief Sikhobobo with a 300-strong impi attacks Field-cornet Potgieter and 70 Boers while sleeping, leaving 56 Burghers and 52 Zulus dead in the Battle of Holkrans.
31 – The Second Boer War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging at Melrose House in Pretoria.

December

Mahatma Gandhi arrives in Durban from Bombay.

Unknown date

James Stevenson-Hamilton is appointed the first warden of the Sabie Game Reserve.

Births

1 January – Buster Nupen, South African cricketer. (d. 1977)

Deaths

26 March – Cecil John Rhodes, businessman, mining magnate, imperialist and politician.
2 May – Jan Stephanus de Villiers, composer and organist, dies in Paarl.

Railways

Zululand Railway Co. 2-6-0

IMR 8th Class

Railway lines opened

1 May – Free State – Bloemfontein to Sannaspos, 21 miles 41 chains (34.6 kilometres).^[3]
18 July – Natal – Tugela to Mhlatuze, 44 miles 22 chains (71.3 kilometres).^[3]
1 August – Cape Midland – Cookhouse to Somerset East, 19 miles 35 chains (31.3 kilometres).^[4]
1 August – Cape Midland – Klipplaat to Willowmore, 62 miles (99.8 kilometres).^[4]
1 August – Cape Western – Sir Lowry's Pass Village to Caledon, 51 miles 75 chains (83.6 kilometres).^[4]
15 November – Cape Western – Moorreesburg to Eendekuil, 49 miles 43 chains (79.7 kilometres).^[4]

Locomotives

Cape

Four new Cape gauge and three narrow gauge locomotive types enter service on the Cape Government Railways (CGR):
- Fourteen 6th Class bar framed 4-6-0 passenger steam locomotives. In 1912 they will be designated Class 6J on the South African Railways (SAR).^[5]^[6]
- The last ten 7th Class 4-8-0 Mastodon type locomotives on the Eastern System. In 1912 they will be designated Class 7C on the SAR.^[5]^[6]
- The first thirteen of twenty-three 8th Class 4-8-0 Mastodon locomotives on the Western, Midland and Eastern Systems. In 1912 they will be designated Class 8 on the SAR.^[5]^[6]
- A single experimental 2-8-0 "Consolidation" type tandem compound steam locomotive, in 1912 designated Class Experimental 2 on the SAR.^[6]^[7]
- Three Type A 2-6-0 Mogul type steam locomotives, later to become Class NG7 on the SAR, on the Hopefield narrow gauge branchline that is being constructed from Kalbaskraal.^[6]
- Two Type A 2-6-4T Adriatic type narrow gauge locomotives on construction service on the new Avontuur branch that is being built out of Port Elizabeth through the Langkloof.^[6]
- A single Type C 0-4-0 narrow gauge tank steam locomotive named Midget on the Avontuur branch.^[6]^[8]
Two new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service with the East London and Table Bay Harbour Boards:
- Two 0-6-0 saddle-tank locomotives enter shunting service at the East London Harbour.^[6]^[7]
- Eleven 2-6-0 saddle-tank locomotives enter harbour shunting service in Table Bay Harbour.^[6]^[7]

Natal

The Natal Government Railways places ten Class F 4-6-4 Baltic type tank steam locomotives in service, the first known locomotive in the world to be designed and built as a Baltic. In 1912 they will be designated Class E on the SAR.^[5]
The Natal Harbours Department places a single saddle-tank locomotive named Congella in service as harbour shunter in Durban Harbour.^[7]
The Zululand Railway Company, contractors for the construction of the North Coast line from Verulam to the Tugela River, acquires two 2-6-0 Mogul type tender locomotives as construction engines, later to be designated Class I on the NGR.^[5]

Transvaal

The Imperial Military Railways places forty Cape 8th Class 4-8-0 Mastodon type steam locomotives in service. In 1912 they will be designated Class 8A on the SAR.^[5]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Bagshawe, Peter (2012). Locomotives of the Namaqualand Railway and Copper Mines (1st ed.). Stenvalls. pp. 35–39. ISBN 978-91-7266-179-0.
^ "South African History Online : O'okiep". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.
^ ^a ^b Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway, Statement No. 19, p. 184, ref. no. 200954-13
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d 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.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 1: 1859–1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. pp. 43–44, 49–50, 56, 61–63, 96–98, 124–126. ISBN 978-0-7153-5382-0.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 24–26, 41–44, 46–49, 82, 104, 111–112, 156–157. ISBN 0869772112.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Holland, D. F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. pp. 124–126, 129, 140. ISBN 978-0-7153-5427-8.
^ Dulez, Jean A. (2012). Railways of Southern Africa 150 Years (Commemorating One Hundred and Fifty Years of Railways on the Sub-Continent – Complete Motive Power Classifications and Famous Trains – 1860–2011) (1st ed.). Garden View, Johannesburg, South Africa: Vidrail Productions. p. 231. ISBN 9 780620 512282.

[Bagshawe-1] Bagshawe, Peter (2012). Locomotives of the Namaqualand Railway and Copper Mines (1st ed.). Stenvalls. pp. 35–39. ISBN 978-91-7266-179-0.

[SAHO-2] "South African History Online : O'okiep". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 23 October 2016.

[SAR_Line_Dates_184-3] Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway, Statement No. 19, p. 184, ref. no. 200954-13

[CGR_Annual_1909-4] 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.

[Holland_1-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 1: 1859–1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. pp. 43–44, 49–50, 56, 61–63, 96–98, 124–126. ISBN 978-0-7153-5382-0.

[Paxton-Bourne-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. pp. 24–26, 41–44, 46–49, 82, 104, 111–112, 156–157. ISBN 0869772112.

[Holland_2-7] Holland, D. F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. Vol. 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, England: David & Charles. pp. 124–126, 129, 140. ISBN 978-0-7153-5427-8.

[Dulez_150-8] Dulez, Jean A. (2012). Railways of Southern Africa 150 Years (Commemorating One Hundred and Fifty Years of Railways on the Sub-Continent – Complete Motive Power Classifications and Famous Trains – 1860–2011) (1st ed.). Garden View, Johannesburg, South Africa: Vidrail Productions. p. 231. ISBN 9 780620 512282.

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