The Weenen Massacre (Afrikaans: Bloukransmoorde) was the massacre of Voortrekkers by the Zulu on 17 February 1838. After the massacre of Piet Retief and his delegation (about a hundred persons), the Zulu King Dingane sent his impis to exterminate the remaining voortrekkers who were camped at Doringkop, Bloukrans (Blaauwekrans), Moordspruit, Rensburgspruit and other sites along the Bushman River (Zulu: Mtshezi), in the present province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The present day town of Weenen, situated close to these sites, derives its name from the Dutch word for "weeping".
Among the Voortrekkers, 41 men, 56 women and 185 children were killed. In addition another 250 or 252Khoikhoi and Basuto that accompanied the Voortrekkers were killed, bringing the casualties to about 534.
The murdered included George Biggar, the son of Alexander Biggar, a trader at Port Natal. Biggar and his second son, Robert, subsequently participated and died in retaliatory attacks on the Zulus. Most people camped at the Klein- and Groot-Moordspruit were murdered. Here a Boer woman Johanna van der Merwe sustained 21 assegai wounds but survived. The camps at Rensburgspruit, where Hans van Rensburg and Andries Pretorius were camped, were successful in defending themselves.
Weenen (Dutch for "to weep") is the second oldest European settlement in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is situated on the banks of the Bushman River. The farms around the town grow vegetables, lucerne, groundnuts, and citrus fruit. The town was laid out in 1838 at the site of a massacre by the Zulus following Voortrekker settlements in the area near the royal kraal of Dingane. A now-closed narrow gauge railway was built in 1907 to connect the town to Estcourt, 47 kilometres to the west.
The 6,500 ha game reserve is administered by KZN Wildlife and covers an area of typical inland KwaZulu-Natal acacia grassland with occasional thickets. The reserve offers extensive game viewing facilities, guided walks, environmental education, and three picnic sites. More than 230 species of birds have been recorded (there are two hides overlooking a dam) and the park is a good example of the successful rehabilitation of severely degraded habitat. Mammals in the reserve include rhinoceros, giraffe, hyaena, jackal, bushbuck, reedbuck, steenbok and porcupine. The game reserve has a small two-bedroom cottage with BBQ facilities and its own trail and waterhole. There are 12 caravan and camping sites and a picnic site. A guided walk of 8 km can be taken, and three self-guided trails which pass dams.