Ixopo is a town situated on a tributary of the Mkhomazi River along the R56 highway in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal,

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

Background

Ixopo was formerly known as Stuartstown, was laid out in 1878 and named after M Stuart, Resident Magistrate of the Ixopo district, who was killed at the

Battle of Ingogo Battle of Schuinshoogte, also known as Battle of Ingogo, was fought north of Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, on 8 February 1881 during the First Boer War. General Sir George Pomeroy Colley's communications with Newcastle were under constant harassment b ...

in 1881. Its name is derived from the Zulu onomatopoeic word, ''eXobo'', describing the sound made as

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 ma ...

squelch through mud. The 'x', in Zulu, is pronounced as a lateral click). Ixopo is most famously described by Alan Paton in the opening lines of

Cry, The Beloved Country ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' is a 1948 novel by South African writer Alan Paton. Set in the prelude to apartheid in South Africa, it follows a black village priest and a white farmer who must deal with news of a murder. American publisher Benn ...

: "There is a lovely road which runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it." Until the mid-1980s, Ixopo was served by a railway station on the narrow gauge Umzinto - Donnybrook narrow gauge railway.

Notable people

* Thabo Nodada (Footballer) * Purity Nomthandazo Malinga (Bishop) *

Ray Zondo Raymond Mnyamezeli Mlungisi "Ray" Zondo (born 4 May 1960) is a South African judge who is currently serving as Chief Justice of South Africa since 2022. President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Zondo as South Africa's new chief justice with effect ...

(Chief Justice, Constitutional Court of South Africa)

References

3
R56 information
Route 56 - Ixopo Populated places in the Ubuhlebezwe Local Municipality {{KwaZuluNatal-geo-stub