Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal
Ladysmith
Emnambithi | |
|---|---|
| uMnambithi | |
Ladysmith central business district | |
| Coordinates: 28°33′35″S 29°46′50″E / 28.55972°S 29.78056°E | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | KwaZulu-Natal |
| District | Uthukela |
| Municipality | Alfred Duma |
| Established | 1850 |
| Area | |
• Total | 84.13 km2 (32.48 sq mi) |
| Population (2011) | |
• Total | 64,855 |
| • Density | 770/km2 (2,000/sq mi) |
| Racial makeup (2011) | |
| • Black African | 73.3% |
| • Indian/Asian | 15.0% |
| • White | 8.3% |
| • Coloured | 2.9% |
| • Other | 0.5% |
| First languages (2011) | |
| • Zulu | 64.3% |
| • English | 22.8% |
| • Afrikaans | 6.3% |
| • Sotho | 2.2% |
| • Other | 4.5% |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 3370 |
| PO box | 3370 |
| Area code | 036 |
| Website | ladysmith.kzn.org.za |
uMnambithi (formerly Ladysmith until 2024) is a town in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It lies 230 kilometres (140 mi) north-west of Durban and 365 kilometres (227 mi) south-east of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textiles, and tyre production. uMnambithi is the seat for both the Alfred Duma Local Municipality and Uthukela District Municipality.
The town was named after Juana María de los Dolores de León Smith, also known as "Lady Smith," the Spanish wife of Sir Harry Smith, the Governor of the Cape Colony from 1847–1852. It held strategic importance during the Second Boer War when, after numerous small skirmishes, it was besieged by Boer forces on 2 November 1899. After three British attempts to relieve the defenders and one Boer attempt to take the town all failed, the siege was eventually broken on 28 February 1900. Both Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi were present at the siege, the former as a war correspondent and the latter as a stretcher-bearer.
In 1900, the unincorporated town of Oyster Harbour on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, was renamed Ladysmith by James Dunsmuir in honour of the lifting of the siege of Ladysmith.
In 2023, it was proposed for Ladysmith to be renamed to uMnambithi. The name change officially took place in March 2024.