Fort Amiel Museum
The fort is located in Amiel Park in Newcastle and was constructed in 1877 by men of the 80th Staffordshire Volunteers to protect the town and to provide support for Shepstone’s expedition to annex the Transvaal in April 1877. It served through the Anglo Zulu War and as a support base for Gen. Sir George Pomeroy-Colley’s advance to relieve the British garrisons invested in the Transvaal in 1881. The Fort has now been restored and serves as a museum.
Fort Amiel was constructed in 1876 by Major Charles
Frederick Amiel and soldiers of the 80th Staffordshire Volunteers. It was built
as a fort and "look-out post", for the British during the run up to
the annexation of the former Transvaal and the Zulu War, although it really
never served that purpose.
During the First Boer War it was used as a garrison for the
King's Own Royal Regiment (Lancaster).
Fort Amiel served as a commissariat depot, transit camp and
hospital. Many wounded soldiers were taken there, to recover from their wounds.
The fort is positioned on a knoll overlooking the original wagon drift across
the Ncandu River. It has majestic views of the Drakensberg mountain range and
the town of Newcastle.
Major Charles Frederick Amiel was born on 2 August 1822, in
Hanover Square, London, England. He was christened on 2 August 1822 in St
Peter, Chertsey, Surrey, England. Major Amiel died on 10 September 1885 at
London, England. He was buried at St Peter, Westminster, London. Amiel never
married.
The fort and surroundings, including a graveyard below the
knoll fell into disuse for many years. In 1979 the site was declared a National
Monument and restoration work began after the discovery of the original plans
for the fort were discovered during this period in a London Museum. The
restoration work was undertaken by the visionary Newcastle Town Council and in
conjunction with the Natal Museum Services.
Today, Fort Amiel houses an historic/cultural museum.
Military displays of the two Anglo-Boer Wars. There is a wonderful cookhouse
re-construction, this shows a typical British Army Base found in the 1880s.
An addition to the fort and museum is a Zulu umuzi (hut)
with a detailed interior
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