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During the First Boer War, horses proved to be the main usage of transport across the South African plains. Because of this, much effort was put in grass mowers by the British for the production of hay. It was during one such expedition to collect the necessary horse fodder on 11 January 1881 in a valley near Elandsfontein, that the British were spotted and attacked by a party of Boers. This resulted in the Boers capturing the mowing machine, a wagon and some mules while the British escaped the encounter. With the belief that their attackers had originated from a laager at Elandsfontein, an escorted expedition force was sent to the laagers believed location on 16 January 1881 to either ascert dominance in the area or to destroy the camp outright.

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The Battle of Majuba Hill on 27 February 1881 was the final and decisive battle of the First Boer War. It was a resounding victory for the Boers. Maj. Gen. Sir George Pomeroy Colley occupied the summit of the hill on the night of 26–27 February 1881. Colley's motive for occupying Majuba Hill may have been anxiety that the Boers would soon occupy it themselves, Colley having witnessed their trenches being dug in the direction of the hill. The Boers believed that he might have been attempting to outflank their positions at Laing's Nek. The hill was not considered to be scalable by the Boers, for military purposes, and hence it may have been Colley's attempt to emphasise British power and strike fear into the Boer camp. The battle is considered by some to have been one of the "most humiliating" defeats suffered by the British in their military history.

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The Cape Government Railways 0-4-0ST of 1881 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

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The Cape Government Railways 0-4-0ST 1881 Coffee Pot was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

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The Cape Government Railways 1st Class 4-4-0TT of 1881 was a South African steam locomotive from the pre-Union era in the Cape of Good Hope.

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The First Boer War, 1880-1881, also known as the First Anglo-Boer War, the Transvaal War or the Transvaal Rebellion, was a war fought from 16 December 1880 until 23 March 1881 between the United Kingdom and Boers of the Transvaal. The war resulted in Britain’s accession to the establishment of the Second Republic.

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The Battle of Laing's Nek was a major battle fought at Laing's Nek during the First Boer War on 28 January 1881.

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The Pretoria Convention was the peace treaty that ended the First Boer War between the Transvaal Boers and Great Britain. The treaty was signed in Pretoria on 3 August 1881, but was subject to ratification by the Volksraad within 3 months from the date of signature. The Volksraad first raised objections to a number of the clauses of the treaty, but did eventually ratify the version signed in Pretoria, after Britain refused any further concessions or changes to the treaty.