1882 in South Africa
# 1882 in South Africa

The following lists events that happened during 1882 in South Africa.

## Incumbents

* Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: Hercules Robinson.
* Governor of the Colony of Natal: Henry Ernest Gascoyne Bulwer.
* State President of the Orange Free State: Jan Brand.
* State President of the South African Republic: Triumviate of Paul Kruger, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius and Piet Joubert.
* Prime Minister of the Cape of Good Hope: Thomas Charles Scanlen.

## Events

### May

* 9 – Paul Kruger becomes President of the South African Republic.
* 28 – Two ships, the Agnes (94 tonne) and the Christina (196 tonne), run ashore at Plettenberg Bay.

### July

* 26 – The Stellaland Republic is declared, founding Vryburg as capital.

### September

* 2 – Kimberley becomes the first town in the southern hemisphere to install electric street lighting.
* 7 – W.H. Finlay of Cape Town's Royal Observatory is first to record observations of the Great Comet of 1882.
* 29 – 229 Norwegians settle at the mouth of the Umzimkulu River, founding Port Shepstone.

### November

* 21 – The Goshen Republic is established with its capital Rooigrond near Mafeking.

### Unknown date

* Zulu king Cetshwayo returns to South Africa.
* In the Cape Colony, the Dutch language is once again admitted as an official language alongside English.

## Births

* 24 February – Jan Gysbert Hugo Bosman aka Bosman de Ravelli, concert pianist and composer, is born in Piketberg.

## Railways

### Railway lines opened

* 15 December – Cape Western – Wynberg to Muizenberg, 7 miles 31 chains (11.9 kilometres).

### Locomotives

* Three new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the Cape Government Railways (CGR):
   * Six 2nd Class 4-4-0 Wynberg Tank locomotives on suburban passenger trains out of Cape Town.
   * The first of 33 4th Class 4-6-0 tank-and-tender locomotives with Stephenson valve gear on the mainlines of all three systems.
   * The first of 35 4th Class 4-6-0 tank-and-tender locomotives with Joy valve gear on the mainlines of all three systems.
* Two new 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the private Kowie Railway which is under construction from Port Alfred to Grahamstown:
   * Two 0-6-0 tank locomotives in goods service.
   * Two 4-4-0 tank locomotives in passenger service.
