1847 in South Africa

Events

• The Cape Colony's boundary is extended to Orange River and the districts of Victoria East and British Kaffraria are annexed
• The Montagu Pass is opened
• Sugar cane plantations are started in Natal
• The settlement of East London is established
• Robert Gray is ordained as the first Bishop of Cape Town in Westminster Abbey, London

  Births

• 9 July - Henrietta Stockdale, pioneer of nursing in the Cape Colony, is born in Nottinghamshire, England
• 22 October - Jacobus Herculaas de la Rey, Boer general, is born near Winburg, Free State