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Place Name
- Named in commemoration of the 217-day Siege – and Relief – of Mafeking which ran from October 13, 1899 – May 17, 1900 during the Second Boer War (11 October 1899 – 31 May 1902). The defence of the town was overseen by British commander, Colonel Robert Baden-Powell, who had been sent to the region as hostilities mounted. Despite being heavily outnumbered, Baden-Powell defied expectations by holding off the besieging forces. He introduced a number of clever deceptions including the laying of fake landmines and ordered his soldiers to move as if avoiding barbed wire, among other improvisations. The Boers believing that the town was more heavily defended than it actually was, eventually retreated. Patriotic developers at the time would often name new streets after military successes from around the British Empire.
