People travelling from Pretoria or Johannesburg towards the bushveld in North West usually have to cross the Magaliesberg either at Kommandonek or Silkaatsnek if they do not go over the dam wall. Both these passes are steeped in history and especially Silkaatsnek has been the site of several bloody battles over the past two hundred years.

The name of the pass seems to have confused writers over the years. Called anything from Mozilikaatsnek, Tulikat’s Neck, Nitral’s Neck, and Uitvalsnek to the presently accepted Silkaatsnek, it derived its name initially from the battles in 1837 in which the impis of the Matabele tyrant were
defeated by a combined force of Voortrekkers, Griquas and Barolong and chased out of the area.
In 1864 it was the scene of skirmishes between supporters of Paul Kruger and Stephanus Schoeman in the civil war which marked the early days of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek.
Most of the variations on the name are probably the result of people unfamiliar to the area and its history trying to pronounce what to them must have been completely foreign sounds, corrupting the original name. At least one name, Uitvalsnek, was probably derived from the farm on which the pass is located – the piece of ‘uitvalgrond’ (left -over land) adjoining Rietfontein.
The Battle of Silkaatsnek took place five weeks after the British forces marched into Pretoria, fully expecting a quick cessation of hostilities. After the Battle of Diamond Hill, which the British forces technically won, though at great cost, and the occupation of Rustenburg, 11 July came as a shock to the British and a great morale booster for the Boer forces who were now reorganising for guerrilla warfare.
According to Vincent Carruthers in his book about the Magaliesberg, a British force under the command of General Smith-Dorrien was on its way from Krugersdorp in an operation to drive out General Oosthuizen’s commando from the Moot area and to link up with the forces at Kommandonek.
The main action of the day, however, was at Silkaatsnek where General Koos de la Rey led his commando up the Magaliesberg on the Tuesday night of 10 July 1900.
Despite the fact that the garrison was at double strength that night, Roberts, due to what is described by one historian as an extraordinary lack of foresight, failed to post guards on the summit of the two high cliffs that overlooked the pass. His entire force guarded the southern entrance to the pass. At dawn the guards saw Boers on the summit but were totally unprepared for battle.
Because of the positioning of the guns, they could not be elevated enough to fire on the attackers on the summit.
That evening Roberts’s unit, after having run out of ammunition, surrendered with 72 out of its 240 men killed or wounded.
Among the Boer casualties was De la Rey’s nephew, but their victory was undisputed and was a great morale booster for the Boer forces in the field. Although the Boer victory at Silkaatsnek was reversed when Baden-Powell recaptured Silkaatsnek on 2 August 1900 General De la Rey continued to make his presence felt along the Magaliesberg.

From Magaliesberg Kaleidoscope by Willie Meyer