33°23′00″S 27°19′33″E / 33.38333°S 27.32583°E / -33.38333; 27.32583 (Birha River mouth)

Birha River, is a short river originating north of Eleqolweni, Eastern Cape, South Africa, the river mouth is at Begha (between Port Alfred and East London).

In 1858 the steam ship Madagascar of the Rennie line[1] was lost after she hit a reef near the mouth of the Birha River, around midnight on 3 December. Attempts to keep the ship afloat failed and she was run aground on the 4th and broke up. There were no deaths.[2][3]

References

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  1. ^ Madagascar. Scottish Built Ships. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Rennie's Steamer Service: Natal and Cape Colonies", R. N. Porter, The South African Philatelist, Vol. 90, No. 6 (December 2014), Whole No. 927, pp. 178-182.
  3. ^ "Loss of the Steamer Madagascar", The Hobart Town Daily Mercury, 3 February 1859, p. 2. Retrieved from Trove, 6 May 2019.