Stanger

Stanger occupies a central place in the history of the Zulu people. It is where Shaka Zulu, the great warrior-king and founder of the Zulu nation lies buried. Apart from his two royal kraals, named kwaBulowayo, he also built a capital called kwaDukuza, at the site of present day Stanger.

Dominating the village's traditional beehive-shaped huts was Shaka's own royal hut. On the afternoon of 24 September 1828 Shaka was stabbed to death by his half-brothers, Mhlangana and Dingane, using his own invention, the short stabbing spear. The following day his body was wrapped in an oxhide and buried in an empty grain storage pit, together with some personal possessions.

In 1932 the Zulu people built a memorial to Shaka in a garden on the site of his grave. Stanger was founded in 1873 and named after William Stanger, first Surveyor-General of Natal. Stanger became a municipality in 1949 and is the commercial, magisterial and railway centre for one of the most important sugar-producing districts.

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