The Voortrekkers had a good eye for town sites. After their defeat of the Zulus at the end of 1838 the trekkers selected farms and settled down to enjoy life in their dreamland of Natal. To serve as capital of their republic they created the town named Pietermaritzburg after their two leaders, Piet Retief and Gert Maritz. The site was in a fertile hollow at the foot of a tree-covered escarpment where the midlands of Natal rise 400 metres above the surrounding landscape.
The soil was rich and there was ample water for irrigation from the river known as the Msunduzi (‘the pusher’) from the surging power of its floods. The town was planned with wide streets, water furrows along each side, and large gardens for each home. Thatched cottages lined the streets and there was a church and a small hall for the quarterly sittings of the volksraad (‘people’s council’). The British took over Pietermaritzburg in 1843 and it became the seat of their administration for Natal. The first lieutenant-governor, Martin West, made his home here, and Fort Napier, named after the governor of the Cape, Sir George Napier, was built to house a garrison. The first newspaper in Natal, the Natal Witness, was published in Pietermaritzburg in 1846. This was a lively little sheet which in some of its earlier issues had as its editorial address the Pietermaritzburg gaol, owing to the imprisonment there of the editor for offending the governor. The town had shops, inns and a large central square used as a market and as an outspan area for wagons travelling between the coast and the interior of Southern Africa. Hunters, explorers and traders passed through the town in vehicles laden with skins, horns and tusks, and often accompanied by tame animals such as zebras and ostriches. In 1893 Natal received responsible government and a handsome assembly building was created in Pietermaritzburg to house its parliament. In the same year the massive, redbrick city hall was completed, adorned with domes, clock tower and stained-glass windows, and containing, apart from its offices and hall, a small art gallery exhibiting a collection of paintings, china, glassware and clocks.
The building was destroyed by fire in 1894, but rebuilt in 1901. The original church built by the Voortrekkers when they established Pietermaritzburg stands on the market square on the eastern side of the city hall. Next to this church is a building housing the Voortrekker Museum, which displays relics of the pioneers and of the battles with the Zulus. There are statues of Gert Maritz and Piet Retief in the garden. The Natal Museum in the centre of the city has an African natural history collection. The gardens of Pietermaritzburg are luxuriant. The warm, wellwatered climate and deep soil suit flowering plants such as roses and azaleas. The azalea flourishes in this part of Natal so spectacularly that in September Pietermaritzburg has an annual azalea festival. The city has several public parks. Mayhew, V. (ed) 1978. Illustrated Guide to Southern Africa. Cape Town: Reader’s Digest.
