Majuba Hill, situated in the extreme north of Natal, was the scene of the defeat of 648 British troops, with the loss of their leader, Sir George Colley, by a greatly superior force of Transvaal
Boers on 27th February 1881. The night before, after an eight hours' climb, they had occupied the hill, which overlooked the enemy's position at Laing's Nek, and which towards noon was unexpectedly carried by a rush of the Boers. Their loss was 1 killed and 5 wounded; of the British, 85 killed and 122 prisoners (many wounded), besides some missing. See Sir W. Butler's Life of Colley (1899).