Ixopo

Ixopo Stuartstown
SAR Class NG G11 no. NG55 arriving at Ixopo station
Ixopo Ixopo
Coordinates: 30°09′26″S 30°03′53″E
Country	South Africa
Province	KwaZulu-Natal
District	Harry Gwala
Municipality	Ubuhlebezwe
Area
• Total	10.85 km2 (4.19 sq mi)
Population  (2011)
• Total	12,461
• Density	1,100/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• Black African	90.6%
• Coloured	5.6%
• Indian/Asian	1.9%
• White	1.4%
• Other	0.5%
First languages (2011)
• Zulu	74.8%
• English	10.6%
• Xhosa	7.6%
• Sotho	2.2%
• Other	4.8%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	3276
PO box	3276
Area code	039

Ixopo, also known as Stuartstown, is a town situated on a tributary of the uMkhomazi River along the R56 highway in the midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Background

The town was laid out in 1878 and named after M Stuart, Resident Magistrate of the surrounding district, who was killed at the Battle of Ingogo in 1881. Its name is derived from the Zulu onomatopoeic word, eXobo, describing the sound made as cattle squelch through mud. The 'x', in Zulu, is pronounced as a lateral click.

The town is most famously described by Alan Paton in the opening lines of Cry, The Beloved Country: "There is a lovely road which runs from Ixopo into the hills. These hills are grass covered and rolling, and they are lovely beyond any singing of it."

Until the mid-1980s, Ixopo was served by a railway station on the 610 mm (2 ft 0 in) narrow gauge Umzinto - Donnybrook narrow gauge railway.

Notable people

• Thabo Nodada (Footballer)
• Purity Nomthandazo Malinga (Bishop)
• Ray Zondo (Chief Justice, Constitutional Court of South Africa)

References

3. R56 information Route 56 - Ixopo