How Spion Kop got its name

On January 24 and 25, 1900, British troops under the command of General Sir Redvers Buller were attempting to relieve the town of Ladysmith when they were repulsed by a smaller Boer force.
Ladysmith had been under siege by the Boers for 118 days, and the town had become famous throughout the world.
Buller had planned to lift the siege of Ladysmith by outflanking the Boers on the Tugela River.
A column under General Sir Charles Warren crossed the river upstream and then moved down to attack the Boer position on Spion Kop, the centre of their right flank.
British troops made a surprise attack on the night of January 23-24 and captured the hilltop, but were unable to get artillery up to the top due to the steep incline of the hill.
The light of the morning revealed that the British position was very exposed to Boer fire, and Brigadier-General ERP Woodgate, who had commanded the attack, was mortally wounded.
Colonel Thorneycroft, who took over command, stubbornly defended the position for the rest of the day.
When night fell, he ordered a withdrawal, as he considered the position could not be held any further.
At the same time, the Boers had decided that they were unlikely to drive the British off and were withdrawing their artillery from nearby positions.
They decided to send a body of some two or three thousand troops up the hill, in a final bid to capture the hill.
To their surprise, they found it unoccupied apart from about three hundred dead British soldiers.
In 1975, a 6000 hectare nature reserve - Spioenkop Reserve - was established on this famous battle site in Northern Natal, 35 km from Ladysmith and 14 km from Winterton.
But why do we have a hill at Woy Woy Bay called Spion Kop?
A glance at a photograph of the battlefield in Natal might reveal an answer:
Spion Kop in Natal is the 'middle hill' in this group of hills.
It is not hard to imagine someone who had served in the South African War, standing on the railway platform at Woy Woy, gazing at the view across Woy Woy Bay and comparing it in his mind to the Spion Kop battlefield.
The middle hill is the one still known as Spion Kop.
After the War, the names of 'Spion Kop' and 'Ladysmith' began to appear as place names and in other ways to commemorate the fallen.
The Manchester Regiment, which had been at the battle, renamed their barracks at Ashton as the 'Ladysmith Barracks'.
In the Manchester area, and other parts of north-west England, local soccer teams named the stands where the home side fans sat as their 'Spion Kop'.
As to who actually named the feature at Woy Woy Bay, we may never know.
Sources for this article include:
http://students.su.umist.ac.uk/gbh/article7.htm
http://www.uq.net.au/~zzrwotto/battle.html
http://www.battlefields2000.co.za/events/sawar.htm
http://www.kwazulunatal.co.za/Parks-Board/spioenkop/index.htm
 
The following article is from a Sydney newspaper of the 1920s:
ON WOY WOY
OCEAN BEACH
Holiday Homes a Good Letting Proposition
Cheap Land
Many people of moderate means have realised the advantages to be gained by having their own holiday homes at the seaside.
They have proved that the relaxation and change of scene are beneficial to health, and when not required for their own use, they have found their cottages an excellent letting proposition.
Thus pleasure and profit are combined.
During the summer months the demand for cottages at the seaside is generally far in excess of the supply.
When carefully selected, seaside home sites are a first-class investment.
Seaside land is steadily increasing in value every year.
Surf bathing has been mainly responsible for the rapid rise of many of the more popular seaside resorts.
The Ocean Beach locality, three miles by road from the Woy Woy railway station, is a case in point.
A few years ago this fine surfing beach was practically unknown.
Today it is the most popular part of the Woy Woy district.
Many shops and hundreds of houses have been erected, and building activity is in evidence everywhere.
The Ocean Beach is served by several motor 'bus services, which carry passengers to and from the Woy Woy railway station at a shilling fare.
The Ocean Beach City Estate, which directly adjoins the Ocean Beach, is still in the developmental stage; but it is so situated, and possesses so many natural advantages, that it is bound to become the most popular part of the Ocean Beach locality.