Waaihoek Farm

Waaihoek is a remote Farm situated near Ladysmith in Natal (now KwaZulu Natal).

The first rent paying Tenants were 47 families who arrived in November 1984. In an interview conducted by the Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA) in June 1985 it was found that there was a substantial increase in the number of families who inhabited the Farm. Ther estimated number of families at the time was approximately 235. The people called the area Intshela, meaning the burnt bit left at the bottom of a pot of mealie-meal.

AFRA worked on land rights and agrarian reform in Natal. Its main aim was to assist Black rural people whose tenure was insecure and did not have sufficient land to fulfil their development aspirations or their basic needs.

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History and evictions

Initially Waaihoek was a White owned farm until the South African Development Trust (SADT) purchased it in the 1960s and leased the land to the first rent paying tenants. The State intended to erect 3407 sites for closer settlements.

After purchasing the farm, the SADT leased it to Waaihoek’s original occupants. The 47 families were then evicted from their homes to make a way for the proposed resettlement site.

About 37 extended families from Stendahl Misson near Weenen were transported to Waaihoek on 7 November 1984. More evictees came from Sun Valley Estates which surrounded the Stendahl mission.

A number of people who were working on a six month contract on a farm near St. Chad’s were informed that the Department of Co-operation and Development planned to construct a road through the farm. They were also moved to Waaihoek.  

More people arrived at Waaihoek, coming from kwaShuze, Umbulwane, Weenen and farms between Weenen and Colenso in an area called Sun Springs near Nyandu. One couple from Sun Springs said they were issued with eviction notices but they remained in Waaihoek because the Government trucks had not come to collect them. The farmer threatened to shoot their goats and shortly after this their cattle vanished.

 Shortly after that the farmer came with policemen and they were arrested and put in jail for two days in Weenen. Afterwards they were taken to the Magistrate’s office and he told them that they were arrested because they ignored the eviction notice. He added that they were rent defaulters. For this transgression they  would be moved to Waaihoek. Some lost their livestock during the move.

Waaihoek grew steadily. One woman who came from Umbulwane, a ‘black spot’ situated near Ladysmith, said that they were evicted by soldiers in 1982, their houses were wrecked and they were instructed to move to Waaihoek.

A man who resided in the area vividly remembered the eviction,   and explained: All those who came to Waaihoek were farm evictees and some worked for local farmers, he himself was evicted from a farm near Ezakheni Township in KwaZulu Natal. He was the only male who lived on the farm whilst others sought employment in Johannesburg. He added that a Commissioner from Ladysmith denied them compensation.

People were reluctant to move from their original settlements and they expressed their discontentment and despair about living conditions at Waaihoek. They had paid for building their houses and received no compensation for their damaged properties. The farm lacked facilities such as clinics and postal sevices. Crime, insufficient land for grazing, housing and schools added to their despair.

Zimisele (Ladysmith) is a Public Primary School located at Waaihoek Township, Waaihoek, Ladysmith, 3370. It is one of the Public Primary Schools in the Rural Waaihoek Suburb of Ladysmith. It is a Section 21 school with ABD functions and classified under quintile 2 as a No Fee Institution. In the Year 2016, the School had 586 Learners served by 18 Teachers, with a Student Teacher ratio of 33:1.