History of the Kruger National Park

Humans have been interacting with the Kruger ecosystem for the last 40,000 years. Stone Age people and the Bushmen lived in the area for thousands of years.

The San (Bushmen) left a rich collection of rock paintings and artefacts, but their low density populations meant that they had little impact on the environment.

Iron Age civilisation came to the Kruger Park area in about 200 AD, and a couple of centuries later the first Bantu-speakers settled in the Letaba area. Populations grew and the people hunted animals successfully, but the limited resources and rainfall, as well as local diseases like malaria, kept occupation levels relatively low.

From the 12th and 13th centuries onwards, a thriving trade in ivory and skins was conducted in the Kruger Region, boosting the population enormously. This continued until the Difaqane, the prolonged tribal wars led by Shaka the Zulu, scattered the people settled in the area.

Voortrekkers and Hunters

In 1652 the Dutch landed at the Cape, and by the early 1800s white people had started venturing north of the Vaal River. The Voortrekkers left the Cape Colony to escape British rule and settled in the Transvaal.

While the British killed game for sport, the Afrikaners and black Africans viewed wildlife as a resource, depending on it for their existence.

From the early 1800s until the end of the Anglo-Boer war, the Lowveld where the Kruger is situated was ravaged by uncontrolled hunting. Hunting laws were introduced to South Africa in 1858, but did not succeed in halting the slaughter.

The Sabi Game Reserve

After much campaigning, a game reserve was created between the Sabi and Crocodile rivers. Paul Kruger, who was president of the Transvaal Republic, signed the proclamation creating the Sabi Game Reserve in 1898, just before the Anglo Boer War.

After the war, which lasted until 1902, James Stevenson-Hamilton was appointed warden of the Sabi Game Reserve, and protection of game in the Lowveld began formally.

Stevenson-Hamilton started by focusing on rebuilding the game populations of the area, which were low. To help him, he appointed white game rangers and black game scouts.

The Kruger National Park

Over the years, Stevenson-Hamilton became determined to protect the area further by having it proclaimed a national park. After much lobbying, he succeeded.

The National Parks Act was passed in 1926 and the Sabi and Singwitsi Reserves (by then known as the Transvaal Game Reserve) became the Kruger National Park.

With the creation of the national park came public access to the area. In 1927, a total of three tourist vehicles ventured into the park, bringing in an income of three pounds. By 1930, there were 900 vehicles travelling on the 500km of new roads in the park, and staying in the huts and tents that could accommodate up to 700 people.

Stevenson-Hamilton wanted to provide a wilderness experience and disapproved of luxurious facilities. When he left, the camps were made more comfortable and the park became a tourism magnet.

By the 1950s, Kruger was bursting at the seams. By 1955, tourist numbers exceeded 10,000 a year. To cope with the influx, extensive development of roads and tourist services began, along with the fencing of the park boundaries.

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