Monuments and Museums in Dundee
Talana Museum
The museum at Talana (Zulu for 'the shelf where precious items are kept') in Dundee, is built on the site of the first major engagement of the Anglo Boer War: the Battle of Talana. It's an eclectic collection of buildings and items related to the area: head for the relics from the Voortrekker conflicts and Anglo-Zulu war.
Napoleon's Line
On the banks of the Itshotshosi River near Dundee, there's a memorial to the ending of Napoleon Bonaparte's lineage: the Prince Imperial Memorial marks the site where the Prince Imperial of France, son of Napoleon Ill, died during the Anglo-Zulu War on 1 June 1879.
Battle of Blood River
Granite ox wagon (Blood River Monument), put up on the centenary of the battle.
Three monuments commemorate the battle Of 16 December 1838 known as the Battle of Blood River if were on the Boer side and the Battle of Ncome River if you were on the Zulu. It saw the blood of the slain Zulu warriors turn the Ncome River red some 3 000 bodies are said to have been counted (through history doesn't tell us who undertook this grisly task) while the Voortrekkers suffered only a handful of wounded. The first monument was a granite ox wagon, put up on the centenary of the battle, followed by a replica laager of full-size bronze ox wagons, and finally in 1999 the Ncome Museum to give an interpretation of the battle from the Zulu point of view.
Battle of Talana
The military cemetery at the Talana Museum, Dundee.
There is a self-guided trail to the two British forts and the Boer gun emplacements from the Talana Museum, which is two kilometres out of Dundee on the Vryheid road. The complex of 10 buildings has displays for most of South Africa's military conflicts, with special emphasis on the Battle of Talana in 20 October 1899 the first engagement of the Second Anglo-Boer War. Make sure to drop in at the Moth Museum in Dundee which holds an impressive display.
By
David Bristow
