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The following lists events that happened during 1884 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: Paul Kruger.
- Prime Minister of the Cape of Good Hope: Thomas Charles Scanlen (until 12 May), Thomas Upington (starting 12 May).
Events
;April
- 24 – Germany occupies German South-West Africa.
;July
- 24 – Barberton is declared a town.
;August
- 5 – The Republic of Vryheid is established in northern Natal.
- 7 – Walvisbaai is occupied by the Cape Colony.
;November
- 3 – Imvo Zabantsundu (Xhosa: The Native People's Opinion of South Africa), South Africa's first newspaper by and for Black people, is founded by John Tengo Jabavu in King William's Town.
- 15 – The Berlin Conference commences when 14 countries (Austria-Hungary, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden-Norway, Turkey, and United States of America) meet in Berlin to each claim their part of Africa.
;December
- 1 – The private Kowie Railway line between Grahamstown and Port Alfred is opened to traffic.
thumb|King [[Cetshwayo kaMpande]]
Births
Rolland Beaumont cricketer
Deaths
- 8 February – Zulu king Cetshwayo. (b. 1826)
Railways
Railway lines opened
thumb|[[CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0 1884|CGR 3rd Class 4-4-0|279x279px]]
- 31 March – Cape Midland – Noupoort to De Aar, to link up with the Cape Western System, .
- May – Natal – Pietermaritzburg to Merrivale, .
- 16 September – Cape Eastern – Sterkstroom to Molteno, .