Kruger National Park, located in South Africa, is one of the two most popular national parks in Africa, the other being the Serengeti of Tanzania. Covering an area of 19,623 square kilometers, Kruger is significantly larger than the Serengeti. The park was named after Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, the former South African President who ruled between 1883 and 1900. Kruger played a pivotal role in the establishment of this wildlife-rich conservancy.
The concept of preserving game in the area began as early as 1867, when individual farmers in the South African Republic started publishing notices in the Staatscourant, prohibiting hunting on their private land. By 1881, a total of 200 owners protected game on some 300 farms. One such farmer was Alexander Marsh Robertson, who owned two adjacent farms, Rolfontein and Elandsberg, extending over 65.1092 kilometers square in the Wakkerstroom district. Robertson was the first farmer to fence part of his property to create a game camp in the eastern Transvaal.
President Paul Kruger regularly toured the rural areas to visit his people and heard about the success of Robertson's "game camp." He visited Rolfontein in 1892 and was impressed by the experiment. During a braai held in his honor, Kruger spoke about the importance of Rolfontein in protecting smaller game and laid out his plan to establish the first Game Reserve in Africa along the Sabi River. This plan aimed to preserve big game that needed a much larger protected habitat to thrive.
A Game Commission had already been established in 1891, with J.M. Malan of Rustenburg as its chairperson, resulting in the game law of 1891. On 26 March 1898, the area between the Sabie and Crocodile rivers was officially proclaimed as the Government's Wildtuin. In June 1902, the British authorities re-proclaimed the Government Game Reserve as the Sabie Game Reserve. James Stevenson Hamilton, born in Scotland, was appointed as the first warden of the reserve in July 1902.
In 1903, Harry Wolhuter, a veteran of Steinaecker's Horse Regiment, became the first game ranger. The park was initially only open to government officials and select visitors. In 1903, an area between the Letaba and Limpopo rivers was proclaimed as the Shingwedzi Game Reserve. On 28 August 1903, the area between the Sabie and Olifants rivers was added to the Sabi Game Reserve. In 1914, the area between the Olifants and Letaba rivers was added to the Shingwedzi Game Reserve.
In 1916, Shingwedzi and Sabie Game Reserves were merged and became known as the Transvaal Game Reserve. The first tourists allowed access to the park arrived in 1918, when the South African Railways offered a rail trip of the Lowveld, along the Selati railway line. Tourists spent the night on the train at Selati Bridge with a game ranger. The Kruger National Park was proclaimed on 31 May 1926, when the Sabie Game Reserve and Shingwedzi Game Reserve were merged into one.
As tourism increased, simple rondavels and rest camps were constructed in 1928-1929 to accommodate travelers. The first overnight facilities were opened in 1928, at Pretoriuskop, Satara, and Skukuza. In 1930, 900 cars entered the park. During World War II, Stevenson-Hamilton left the park for military duty and later worked on restoring the park when he returned. He retired in 1946. Between 1935 and 1946, Eileen Orpen donated 24,528 ha of land to the park. On 08 March 2003, the Kruger National Park received over one million visitors in a 12-month period for the first time.
Key points
- The park was named after Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, the former South African President who played a pivotal role in its establishment.
- The concept of preserving game in the area began as early as 1867, when individual farmers started publishing notices prohibiting hunting on their private land.
- The Kruger National Park was proclaimed on 31 May 1926, when the Sabie Game Reserve and Shingwedzi Game Reserve were merged into one.
