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THE BUSHMEN ERA

Africa is as old as the dinosaurs but one certain historical fact about Northern KwaZulu-Natal's
ancient past is that during the 18th century, the only inhabitants were the bushmen, the amaZizi and amHlubi.
The bushmen were skilled hunters who also lived off roots and plants.
The amaZizi and amaHlubi were pastoralists, they knew how to cultivate millet and melons and also understood the art of iron smelting.
The little yellow men in their rocky caves and their black neighbours in their bee-hive huts on the plains below, led a tranquil existence for some hundred years.

THE SHAKA ERA

Then in 1818, this scene was shattered by the savage cries of the waring tribes led by Dingiswayo and Shaka.
The chaos and devastation which swept across the Midlands and Northern KwaZulu-Natal into Lesotho is described in Shaka Zulu by Ritter as "One of the greatest in history".
 The days of the Bushmen, the amaZizi and amaHlubi were numbered. Their rock paintings and their small iron foundries are the only pathetic reminders of the primeval peace of those days. During these years of chaos in the north, a different scene was being enacted in the south.

ARRIVAL OF SETTLERS AND VOORTREKKERS

Europeans, tired of the Napoleonic wars, had arrived in Africa and, lured by stories of a hunter's paradise in South Africa, these British and German settlers were pressing ever northwards.
A third group, the Voortrekkers, extremely discontented with the attitude of the British government in the Cape, had also arrived via the mighty Drakensberg mountains, but the tragic memories of Piet Retief, Weenen and Blaaukrantz (Bloukrans) resulted in many returning to the Orange River colony and the
Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek.On their northward trek they passed through the pleasant green land where water and grazing for their cattle and sheep were in abundance.
Some, only a few, remained to join the British and German settlers who had already started to establish themselves and build homes on the land near what is now Newcastle.
Thus it happened that the four groups, Afrikaner, British, German and Zulu, met in Northern KwaZulu-Natal.

BEGINNING OF A COMPLEX COMMUNITY

             During the years l849 - 1851 when about 5 000 British settlers arrived, Natal was suddenly transformed into a much more complex community.
Once the wagons of the transport drivers had carved out definite routes, the Post Chaise also made its appearance and regular halts after a long day's trek or ride, were established. Number II Post Halt (the future Newcastle) was a natural place for relaxation.
Hotels sprang up along the routes to cater for the Post Chaise passengers.
One of these, Fermistones, now called Valley Inn, is still a popular stopover hotel.

THE START OF NEWCASTLE

In 1864, a Natal government proclamation advertised certain lots of  land for sale in the township of Newcastle. 
The name seems to have been acceptable from the onset. About 10 years previously, in 1854, Dr Sutherland, Surveyor General to the Natal Government, had been forced to spend 
nearly two weeks of his honeymoon on the banks of the swollen Ncandu River. 
 To pass the time he planned a township for 
this site, named streets after members of the Government, and filed the plan in Pietermaritzburg on his return to the city. 
Dr Sutherland appears right from the start to 
have favoured the name Newcastle for his brainchild. In 1863, he recommended that the "township on the Waterval" be selected as the chosen site to have itself called Newcastle. 
 The first erf was purchased for £5.30.

CONSTRUCTION OF FORT AMIEL

Always in the background however, was the uncertainty over the future of this new, and as yet, untamed land.
About 1876, the British expected trouble with
the Zulus and Major Amiel was sent with 2 000 men to build a fort at Newcastle (one of a series throughout KwaZulu-Natal). At about the same time, the local inhabitants (the men from Newcastle Mounted rifles) built the Armoury as an arsenal and for defence of the town.

ANGLO/ZULU AND FIRST ANGLO/BOER WARS

General Lord Chelmsford had arrived at the Cape to command the troops and then, in 1879, the horrible aftermath of the battles of Isandlwana and Rorkes Drift shattered the peace of the little settlement.
Sir Rider Haggard, who farmed the Hilldrop Farm, but who was in Pretoria at the time, wrote that half the women in Newcastle were left widowed after this debacle.
The town had hardly recovered when the first Transvaal
War of Independence broke out in 1880.
 The British regarded Newcastle as a strategic base in their struggle to annex the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek.
Newcastle, although not the scene of the battles of Laingsnek, Schuinshoogte and Amajuba, was the military and hospital base; and after hostilities had ceased, the Peace Convention was signed at O'Niels Cottage at Amajuba on March 23, 1881 by Boer and British leaders, including Paul Kruger,General Joubert and Sir Everlyn Wood.
Later the Retrocession of the Transvaal was signed in June 1881 at Hilldrop Farm owned by Sir Rider Haggard.

IMPACT OF THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD

By now the gold mines at Barberton and on the Reef were in operation and Newcastle became even more important as a changing and resting place for wagon and post chaises.
 The hotels flourished and some of the older residents can still recall the stories their fathers told about the wild escapades of the transport riders who stayed over in Newcastle.

ARRIVAL OF THE FIRST TRAIN AND DISCOVERY OF COAL

The first train arrived in 1890 and the town was proclaimed a Borough in 1891.
Then the discovery of large coal deposits heralded an era of prosperity and several ambitious building projects were planned.
These included the building of the Town Hall which was completed in 1899.

SECOND ANGLO-BOER WAR

The plans were halted however when the Second Boer War broke out in 1899.
 Although no battles were fought here, Newcastle was once more heavily involved as a cog in the wheel of the War machine.
When it was certain the Boers would invade Natal from the north, the Mayor of Newcastle was advised by the Natal Government not to defend the town but to organise the evacuation of its inhabitants. For a period of eight months, the Boers occupied the town which they renamed Viljoensdorp, after Gen Ben Viljoen. The Russian-Boer Ambulance Unit moved
in to set up a hospital base in the Convent buildings. When it was re-occupied by Gen Buller, the evacuees returned to a shambles.
 They rescued many of the belongings which were stacked in the Town Hall by the Boers and settled down once more to the daily task of living.

MARTIAL LAW

Newcastle continued to be an important hospital base, but under British military administration.
For a few years, the town was under Martial Law and the presence of the military population gave rise to many problems especially water and sanitation and it was not surprising that dysentery broke out among the soldiers. These problems were soon solved.
The rest of the occupation appears to have been enjoyable, for the military authorities organised many balls, masquerades and concerts where the military bands performed.
When peace was declared, the soldiers gradually departed and the Club Institution Buildings were purchased by the Council for civic use.

THE MODERN ERA

By 1910, many problems with regard to public amenities had been sorted out. A dam on the Ncandu River had been built, a waterworks established and electricity was available.
 Bridges were built across the Jordan Spruit and the tree planting programme, begun in 1898, was completed.
 Newcastle's potential as an industrial centre was seriously considered in 1905, but the First World War (1914-1918) was no incentive towards such development. However in 1918, Mr JK Eaten decided to proceed with his dream of establishing an iron works.
Within a few years Newcastle Iron and Steel Works Ltd was established.
Between the years 1920 and 1926 the first blast furnace to be erected in SouthAfrica had been completed, the project was acquired .by Union Steel Corporation (SA) Ltd.
By 1937 African Metals Corporation purchased the Newcastle works and by 1150 000 tons per annum of various grades of pig iron were produced. This expansion was of great financial benefit to the town.
Durban Falkirk Iron Co. Ltd. were also in production by 1948 and they employed about 200 people.
Throughout the 50s and 60s, the growth rate was slow but steady.
In May 1969, the government announced that the third Iscor Works would be established in Newcastle and as a direct result of Iscor, Newcastle developed rapidly as an industrial town and a prominent growth  point in Northern Natal.
 Later Karbochem established a plant in Newcastle and a vigorous marketing campaign by the municipality attracted a wealth of investment from the Far East.
Today Newcastle has a large Chinese population including people fromTaiwan (Republic of China), Red China and Hong Kong.