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The birth of the Kruger National Park
During the pioneer years of the 19th century the eastern Lowveld of the Transvaal was a harsh and inhospitable area few wished to enter. Despite the large herds of animals and fertile ground, the first Voortrekkers passing through in 1837 had no desire to remain in what seemed a God-forsaken land. In the years that followed a few hunters ventured in on horse and ox-cart to periodically plunder the unprotected herds. Many succumbed. Malaria killed men, African horse- sickness killed horses, nagana transmitted by tsetse flies killed cattle, and lions killed them all.
Eventually the first settlers arrived, establishing themselves mostly in the foothills of the Drakensberg, well away from the malarious plagues which in summer haunted the low-lying bushveld. During the dry winters parties would descend from places like Barberton, Lydenburg, Pilgrim’s Rest, sweeping through the plains to kill indiscriminately for meat, hides, and to satisfy man’s long-lingering instinct to hunt. Animals were shot, trapped, or driven from their traditional ranges until only isolated pockets of skittish herds remained.
It was Paul Kruger who eventually saved these dwindling herds. Already in 1884, the president of the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek had recognized the beauty and value of this much-maligned bushveld and had urged in the Volksraad the need to preserve some of this land. In 1898 after much opposition, he succeeded in officially proclaiming the establishment of a ‘Government Reserve’ in the Transvaal’s eastern Lowveld. Seen from today’s perspective it was not much. The Sabie Game Reserve, as it was to be called, comprised only a strip of land between the Sabie and Crocodile rivers, very small in comparison with the vast Kruger National Park we know today. But more important, vastly more important, it was the beginning of a trend. For the first time an area of worthwhile size had been set aside expressly for conservation, at least on the continent of Africa. Records of the time reflect the antagonism and derision Paul Kruger met when he expressed concern over an area scorned by virtually all. Yet, perhaps, it was the very fact that little value was attached to this region that allowed its proclamation as a protected area.
The birth > The uncertain years
