Oskarberg

South Africa / KwaZulu Natal / Dundee /
 mountain, butte

680 feet high. Known to the locals as Shiyane ("Eyebrow") this isolated butte was renamed by the Rev. Otto Witt when he acquired the land on behalf of the Swedish/Norwegian Mission in 1878. He called it Oskarberg (Mount Oscar) in honor of the then reigning king of Sweden, Oskar Friedrich Bernadotte, a.k.a. Oscar II (1872-1907.)
In the late afternoon of 22 January 1879 Rev. Witt and the British Rev. George Smith climbed to the top of this elevation to serve as look out for the British soldiers who were working frantically down below, trying to fortify the mission compound against an immanent Zulu attack.
View of Oskarberg/Shiyane is from the river crossing at Rorke's Drift. Site of the battle is visible at the foot of the mountain, to the right of the ridge line.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   28°21'28"S   30°32'49"E
This article was last modified 16 years ago