Himeville

Himeville is a small village/town situated in the foothills of the picturesque Southern Drakensberg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, approx 130 km from Pietermaritzburg. It is a landmark en route to the world-famous Sani Pass and the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park (UNESCO World Heritage Site). Himeville is the closest town to the Sani Pass which links the town with Mokhotlong in Lesotho.Himeville was named in 1902 after the then Prime Minister of Natal, Sir Albert Henry Hime, a road engineer elected as Prime Minister of Natal in 1889. The town was first established as a police outpost and a branch of the Border Mounted Rifles in 1890 following a spate of gun-running and cattle rustling in the area.Himeville MuseumThe stone buildings which now comprises the Himeville Museum were built from 1896 to 1899 as the last of Natal's loop-holed forts. it was converted to a prison in 1902 and continued housing prisoners until 1972. An open-air exhibition of settler and agricultural history is surrounded by many display rooms housing themed exhibits. The prison warders house is decorated in the style of the early 20th century.Covering the Bulwer, Underberg and Himeville communities, it commemorates the way of life of all the erstwhile inhabitants of the last frontier of Natal and has fairly extensive archives.