1848 in South Africa

Events

• 23 March - Approximately 163 German settlers, known as the Bergthiel Settlers, arrive in Natal.
• Voortrekkers settle across the Vaal River.
• 29 August - Battle of Boomplaats is fought between the Voortrekkers and the British.
• The settlement of Zoutpansberg is established, which was later renamed Schoemansdal.
• The Reverend Isaac Hughes founded a mission station on the farm Backhouse, near the confluence of the Orange and Vaal rivers, which later developed into the town Douglas.

  Deaths

• 4 June - Christina Pretorius, wife of Voortrekker leader Andries Pretorius, dies near present-day Bela Bela
• 23 November - Sir John Barrow, 1st Baronet, early explorer of Southern Africa, writer, and English Statesman, dies in London