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The following lists events that happened during 1882 in South Africa.

Incumbents

  • Governor of the Cape of Good Hope and High Commissioner for Southern Africa: Hercules Robinson.
  • Governor of the Colony of Natal: Henry Ernest Gascoyne Bulwer.
  • State President of the Orange Free State: Jan Brand.
  • State President of the South African Republic: Triumviate of Paul Kruger, Marthinus Wessel Pretorius and Piet Joubert.
  • Prime Minister of the Cape of Good Hope: Thomas Charles Scanlen.

Events

;May

  • 9 &ndash; Paul Kruger becomes President of the South African Republic.
  • 28 &ndash; Two ships, the Agnes (94 tonne) and the Christina (196 tonne), run ashore at Plettenberg Bay.

;July

  • 26 &ndash; The Stellaland Republic is declared, founding Vryburg as capital.

;September

  • 2 &ndash; Kimberley becomes the first town in the Southern Hemisphere to install electric street lighting.
  • 7 &ndash; W.H. Finlay of Cape Town's Royal Observatory is first to record observations of the Great Comet of 1882.
  • 29 &ndash; 229 Norwegians settle at the mouth of the Umzimkulu River, founding Port Shepstone.

;November

  • 21 &ndash; The Goshen Republic is established with its capital Rooigrond near Mafeking.

;Unknown date

  • Zulu king Cetshwayo returns to South Africa.
  • In the Cape Colony, the Dutch language is once again admitted as an official language alongside English.

Births

  • 24 February &ndash; Jan Gysbert Hugo Bosman aka Bosman di Ravelli, concert pianist and composer, is born in Piketberg.

Railways

Railway lines opened

thumb|[[CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1882|CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT (Stephenson)]]

thumb|[[Kowie Railway 4-4-0T]]

  • 15 December &ndash; Cape Western &ndash; Wynberg to Muizenberg, .

Locomotives

  • Three new Cape gauge locomotive types enter service on the Cape Government Railways (CGR):
  • Six 2nd Class 4-4-0 Wynberg Tank locomotives on suburban passenger trains out of Cape Town.
  • The first of 33 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1882| tank-and-tender locomotives with Stephenson valve gear on the mainlines of all three systems.
  • The first of 35 CGR 4th Class 4-6-0TT 1882 Joy| tank-and-tender locomotives with Joy valve gear on the mainlines of all three systems.