Ladysmith is a city in the Uthukela District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is 230 kilometres north-west of Durban and 365 kilometres south of Johannesburg. Important industries in the area include food processing, textile and tyre production. Tyres are produced by Dunlop in the nearby town of Steadville. Ladysmith is the seat for both the Emnambithi-Ladysmith Local Municipality and the Uthukela District Municipality. In 1847 after buying land from the Zulu king Mpande, a number of Boers settled in the area and called it the Republic of Klip River with Andries Spies as their... commandant. The republic was annexed by the British in the same year and on 20 June 1850 was proclaimed a township called Windsor. On 11 October 1850 the name was changed to Ladysmith after Juana Maria de los Dolores de Leon Smith also known as "Lady Smith", the Spanish wife of Sir Harry Smith, the Governor of the Cape Colony. Sir Harry Smith was the British general governor of Cape Colony and high commissioner in South Africa from 1847 to 1852. A fort was built in 1860 to protect the villagers from the Zulus.
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| Country: | South Africa |
| Population: | 225,452 |
| Time zone: | South Africa Standard Time |
| Also known as: | Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal |