1857 in South Africa
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Incumbents
- Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: Sir George Grey.[1][2]
- Lieutenant-governor of the Colony of Natal: John Scott.
- State President of the Orange Free State: Jacobus Nicolaas Boshoff.[3]
- President of the Executive Council of the South African Republic: Marthinus Wessel Pretorius (from 6 January).[4]
Events
- January
- 6 – Marthinus Wessel Pretorius becomes the first President of the Executive Council of the South African Republic (Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek).[4]
- June
- 29 – Act no. 10 of 29 June 1857 grants the Cape Town Railway and Dock Company approval to construct a 57-mile long (92-kilometre) railway between Cape Town and Wellington.[5]
- Unknown date
- Robert Moffat completes Old Testament Bible translation into Setswana.
- About 157 Irish women arrive on the ship Lady Kennaway and settle in British Kaffraria.
- The first Legislative Council is selected in the Natal Colony.
- The Union Steam Ship Company wins the first mail contract for regular mail service between Great Britain and South Africa.
- The Cape Point Lighthouse at Cape Point is built.
- Building of the Roman Rock Lighthouse at the entrance to Simon's Town starts and only completed in 1861.
Births
- 2 October – Martinus Theunis Steyn, lawyer, politician and statesman, last president of the independent Orange Free State. (d. 1916)
Deaths
- 15 December – Anna Maria Truter, Cape Colony botanical artist and wife of Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet. (b. 1777)
References
- ^ "Grey, Sir George (1812–1898)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. Retrieved 23 March 2016.
- ^ World Statesmen: Botswana (Accessed on 14 April 2017)
- ^ Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices, Orange Free State: Heads of State: 1854-1902 (Accessed on 14 April 2017)
- ^ a b Archontology.org: A Guide for Study of Historical Offices, South African Republic (Transvaal): Heads of State: 1857-1877 (Accessed on 14 April 2017)
- ^ Espitalier, T.J.; Day, W.A.J. (1943). The Locomotive in South Africa - A Brief History of Railway Development. Chapter I - The Period of the 4 ft. 8½ in. Gauge. South African Railways and Harbours Magazine, June 1943. pp. 437-440.