1891 in South Africa

The following lists events that happened during 1891 in South Africa.

← 1890 1889 1888 1891 in South Africa → 1892 1893 1894
Decades:	1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s
See also:	1891 in South African sport List of years in South Africa

Incumbents

• Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and High Commissioner for Southern Africa:Henry Brougham Loch.
• Governor of the Colony of Natal: Charles Bullen Hugh Mitchell.
• State President of the Orange Free State: Francis William Reitz.
• State President of the South African Republic: Paul Kruger.
• Prime Minister of the Cape of Good Hope: Cecil John Rhodes.

Events

January

• 12 – Mahatma Gandhi passes the Bar examination in England.

June

• 11 – Britain and Portugal agree on territory in East Africa at the Anglo-Portuguese Convention in Lisbon.

Births

Deaths

Railways

CGR 5th Class 4-6-0

NGR Class K 0-4-0ST

NZASM 19 Tonner 0-4-2T

Railway lines opened

• 10 February – Transvaal – Roodepoort to Krugersdorp, 8 miles (12.9 kilometres).[1]
• 7 April – Natal – Newcastle to Charlestown, 32 miles 33 chains (52.2 kilometres).[1]
• 28 December – Transvaal – Mozambique border near Komatipoort to Malelane, 33 miles (53.1 kilometres).[1]

Locomotives

Cape

Two new 3 ft 6 in (1,067 mm) Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the Cape Government Railways (CGR):

• Two Baldwin-built 1st Class 2-6-0 Mogul type locomotives, the first American locomotives in South Africa.[2]^:40–41[3]^:15
• Thirty 5th Class 4-6-0 tender locomotives in mainline service on all three Cape Systems.[2]^:39–41

Natal

• The Natal Government Railways places five Class K 0-4-0 saddle-tank locomotives in service as shunting engines.[4]^{:115, 126–127}

Transvaal

• The Nederlandsche-Zuid-Afrikaansche Spoorweg-Maatschappij (NZASM) places the first of twenty-four 19 Tonner 0-4-2 tank steam locomotives in service.[2]^:110–111

Sports

Rugby

• The first tour of the British and Irish Lions to South Africa takes place. The touring side presents the Currie Cup to Griqualand West, the province that produces the best performance on the tour.
• 30 July – The Springbok Rugby team plays its first international test match against the Lions team of the British Isles and win by 4-0.

References

1. Statement Showing, in Chronological Order, the Date of Opening and the Mileage of Each Section of Railway, Statement No. 19, p. 182, ref. no. 200954-13
2. Holland, D.F. (1971). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. 1: 1859–1910 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-5382-0.
3. Paxton, Leith; Bourne, David (1985). Locomotives of the South African Railways (1st ed.). Cape Town: Struik. ISBN 0869772112.
4. Holland, D. F. (1972). Steam Locomotives of the South African Railways. 2: 1910-1955 (1st ed.). Newton Abbott, Devon: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-5427-8.