Richmond is a town situated on the banks of the upper

Lovu River The iLovu River, alternatively rendered the Illovo River is a river in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. It rises in the upper Illovo area in the Richmond vicinity near the Drakensberg, and empties into the Indian Ocean near Winklesp ...

in the

Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal The KwaZulu-Natal midlands is an inland area of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa that starts from Pietermaritzburg and ends before the Drakensberg mountain range; between Pietermaritzburg, Estcourt and Greytown, South Africa, Greytown. Area The la ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Geography

The town is located within the Richmond Local Municipality, forming part of the

Umgungundlovu District Municipality uMgungundlovu is one of the 11 district municipalities ("districts") of KwaZulu-Natal province. The seat of uMgungundlovu is Pietermaritzburg. The majority of its 1 million+ residents speak Zulu (2001 Census). The district code is DC22. Geogr ...

and incorporates the former township of Ndaleni on the opposite bank of the Illovo River.

Timber Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

citrus fruit ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Mandarin orange, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, ...

and

dairy A dairy is a place where milk is stored and where butter, cheese, and other dairy products are made, or a place where those products are sold. It may be a room, a building, or a larger establishment. In the United States, the word may also des ...

goods are produced here. It is approximately 38 km south-west of

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

on the R56 road.

History

Richmond was established in 1850 as Beaulieu-on-Illovo by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Byrne Settlers who were originally from New Forest/Beaulieu, in Hampshire. Passages were obtained on J.C. Byrne and Co.’s Lady Bruce, and ‘the Duke’s people’, as they came to be known, were located on the Illovo river, not far from the Wesleyans’ Indaleni Mission Station This year The expenses for wagon-hire to their allotments and survey fees were charges to the Duke's account by Moreland, and the Duke also met the costs of flour, tents, and seed. He even donated L100 to Pietermaritzburg's Anglican minister, the Revd James Green, to be used towards the construction of a church in their new settlement. Their rural allotments were on land which was given the name Beaulieu Estate, and Beaulieu was the name given to the village. Because of the similarity of the names of the two entities, confusion arose with land titles, and before 1850 was out, the nearby village had been renamed Richmond, after the Duke's seat in Richmond, Surrey. The arrival of the settlers brought about a slow return of various remnants of African people who fled the raiding Zulu armies. The Zulus called these refugees "amaBhaca", ''(people who hide)''. Although composed of elements of many different groups, the Bhaca have developed their own identity. In February 1906 two British officers were killed at Byrne, near Richmond while involved in enforcing the collection of the hated

Poll Tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

from "recalcitrant districts". This incident, known as the Trewirgie Incident, precipitated the imposition of martial law and set off the

Bambatha Rebellion The Bambatha Rebellion (or the Zulu Rebellion) of 1906 was led by Bambatha kaMancinza (c. 1860–1906?), leader of the Zondi clan of the Zulu people, who lived in the Mpanza Valley (now a district near Greytown, KwaZulu-Natal) against Britis ...

. One of Natal's greatest tycoons, Joseph Baynes, a

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

man by birth, was a pioneer of the

industry. His Baynesfield Estate was bequeathed in his will to the nation of South Africa. A good history of Richmond has been written by Coulson 1986. The town is controlled by the Dlamini family which have enormous wealth followed by the Mckenzies.

Notable people

Ebrahim Desai Ebrahim Desai (16 January 1963 – 15 July 2021) was a South African Muslim scholar and jurist who established the Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah, the Askimam fatawa portal and served as the senior professor of hadith at Madrasah In'aamiyyah. He was ...

* Harold Kitson * Mhleli Dlamini

References

Populated places in the Richmond Local Municipality Populated places established in 1850 {{KwaZuluNatal-geo-stub