The coal mining town of Dundee is situated in a valley of the Biggarsberg mountains in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is part of the Endumeni Municipality, Umzinyathi District. It is very rich in coal deposits. More populous than the town of Dundee itself is its adjacent township named Sibongile, originally established by Peter Smith, with land contributed by his son in-law. This township is now being extended with many residing zones, e.g. Lindelani.Dundee was established in 1882 after the discovery of coal close to the surface by the Boer farmers. It is named after the hometown of a pioneering Scottish settler, Peter Smith. At first, Dundee was a farm (Talana farm), the property of Peter Smith, which he had bought from a Voortrekker settler, Mr Dekker. Three other men are credited with the founding of Dundee; his son William Craighead Smith, son-in-law Dugald McPhail, and close family friend Charles Wilson.GeographyThe town lies nestled in a valley of the picturesque Biggarsberg and is surrounded by historical remarkable mountains of “Indumeni”, “Mpati”, and “Talana” . Dundee has trails of the San people that lived here about 4 000 – 5 000 years ago. Evidence of this is to be found in lifestyle and rock paintings in several caves and shelters.
