On the western heights of the Biggarsberg, Mkupe Mountain looks down on the strategic pass to which it gives its name and the Inkunzi river. During the Anglo-Zulu War (1879) and the 1st Anglo Boer War (1881), this pass was of vital concern to the British Army, as it was their supply line between military headquarters in Pietermaritzburg and the Frontier stations of Newcastle and Dundee. It was also the shortest route for any Boer invading force to strike at the communications system of the British defending forces and the quickest route to take to Ladysmith.
Fort Mistake from a distance
“Mkupe” is an old Zulu name meaning the "fouling of the Eagle’s Nest”. To this day the black eagles nest along its cliffs and soar across its northern flanks.
Other mountains with historical significence can be seen from these heights:
- to the east. Mt. Nonni (with the signal fort built in 1881 and the Border Mounted Rifles Fort “Carolina”(built in 1901),
- “Lindisfarne” with its twin forts and
- Mt. Mpati with its memories of General “Maroela” Erasmus and the young Denys Reitz on commando in October 1899
Many is the tale told of the origin of Fort Mistake and its quaint name – and many are the legends that continue to this day:
- that the foolish British (without...
