Himeville is a small village/town situated in the foothills of the picturesque Southern

Drakensberg The Drakensberg (Afrikaans: Drakensberge, Zulu: uKhahlambha, Sotho: Maluti) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – within t ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is loca ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

, approx 130 km from

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

. It is a landmark en route to the world-famous

Sani Pass Sani Pass is a mountain pass located in the West of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa on the road between Underberg, KwaZulu-Natal and Mokhotlong, Lesotho. The pass traverses the Great Escarpment of southern Africa in its highest region, the Drakensb ...

and the

uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park The uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park is a protected area in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa, covering , and is part of a world heritage site. The park includes Royal Natal National Park, a provincial park, and covers part of the Drakensber ...

(UNESCO World Heritage Sit

Himeville is the closest town to the

which links the town with

Mokhotlong Mokhotlong is a city and seat of Mokhotlong District in the mountainous northeastern part of Lesotho. It is the first major city with an airport along the road from South Africa across the Sani Pass, near the Maloti (Drakensberg in South Africa) ...

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked as an enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the highest mountains in Southern Africa. It has an area of over and has a population ...

. Himeville was named in 1902 after the then Prime Minister of Natal, Sir Albert Henry Hime, a road engineer elected as Prime Minister of Natal in 1889. The town was first established as a

police The police are a Law enforcement organization, constituted body of Law enforcement officer, persons empowered by a State (polity), state, with the aim to law enforcement, enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citize ...

outpost and a branch of the Border Mounted Rifles in 1890 following a spate of gun-running and

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ...

rustling in the area.

Himeville Museum

The stone buildings which now comprise the Himeville Museum were built from 1896 to 1899 as the last of Natal's loop-holed forts. It was converted to a prison in 1902 and continued housing prisoners until 1972. An open-air exhibition of settler and agricultural history is surrounded by many display rooms housing themed exhibits. The prison warders house is decorated in the style of the early 20th century. Covering the Bulwer, Underberg and Himeville communities, it commemorates the way of life of all the erstwhile inhabitants of the last frontier of Natal and has fairly extensive archives. The Himeville Museum is one of the top rural museums in the country due to its wide range of exhibits. From fossils and stone age artifacts to a comprehensive display on the Bushmen, the early settlers as well as African beadwork and artifacts. The display also cover the Anglo Boer War and the two World Wars. There is an old post office and a school room, wild life display and many farming implements and machinery including a blacksmiths forge and a workshop. The museum is housed in the old stone fort or laager started in 1896 by the Border Mounted Rifles sent to police the area after the LeFleur Rebellio

of 1895. Completed in 1899 it was only used once on the strength of a rumour and no fighting took place nearby. It was taken over by the Natal Mounted Police after the Anglo Boer War and turned into a prison by the addition of the warders house and magistrates court along with a number of cells. Abandoned as a prison in 1972 it became a museum in 1976 and was declared a National Monument in 1981. It is now affiliated to the KZN Provincial Museum Service.

Himeville Old Residency

Located on the corner of Arbuckle and Clayton streets, Himeville, built in 1898 and until recently in constant use as the Magistrate's residence since construction.

Himeville Nature Reserve

The reserve stretches along the eastern boundary of Himeville Village and was proclaimed to its present size of 104 ha in 1973. There are a couple of species of antelopes to be seen and birds on the small dams; you can stroll round most of it in about 30 minutes, which makes a pleasant evening walk if you are staying at one of several pleasant accommodation establishments or hotel nearby.

References

External links

uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park - UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Southern Drakensberg Tourism
{{Harry Gwala District Municipality Populated places in the Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Local Municipality