Kwazulu-Natal

The first few Indians in South Africa were imported by the Dutch East India Company in the seventeenth century as slaves. They were mainly from Bengal and South India. Simon van der Stel’s maternal grandmother, Monica da Costa (Monica of the Coast), was from Bengal. Some Indians were also aboard ships that were wrecked off the Cape Coast. A few of them survived and became spouses of the local inhabitants. In 1820 a number of Indians from Bencoolen were brought to the Cape by Mr Hare on the condition that the colony was not to be responsible for these Indians. Some planters also brought in Indians at their own expense.

The majority, however were brought here by the British Government as indentured labourers to work on the sugar cane plantations. Most of them were from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. The other group of Indians were referred to as “Passenger Indians” as they came at their own expense. The first group arrived in 1869. They were mainly entrepreneurs from Gujarat, many were traders, artisans, teachers and shop assistants.

Labourers working on the sugar cane fields

In 1843 Natal became a British colony. The province was poor and undeveloped...

"An ancient song, as old as the ashes, Echoed as Mageba’s warriors marched away." South African Contemporary Folk Song. Johnny Clegg and Savuka.

Colonel Anthony Durnford is probably the most enigmatic, controversial and colourful character associated with the British defeat at Isandlwana. Incontrovertibly the senior officer present, history has blamed him for the disaster for failing to exercise effective command and control.

Durnford

We are reasonably certain that Durnford left the camp before midday and took out a patrol of his own Natal Native Horse (NNH) around noon eastwards to just past the Conical Hill towards Qwabe, ostensibly to protect Chelmsford’s rear from any possible Zulu activity already reported from the Nyoni heights, but in effect breaking a cardinal rule – never, ever, split one’s forces in enemy territory. Possibly he wasn’t worried – after all, his Boss had already done that twice by going off on a wild goose chase down to the Mangeni.

The Zulus did indeed find him – the whole left horn of the Zulu army, to be precise. With just over 100 men, there was no hope in a stand-up fight but, if they retired systematically, dismounting at intervals to fire at the approaching horde, they could certainly slow them down. 

According to a survivor’s account, Durnford was in his element. All his pent up frustration...

The SAIA - KZN Regional Heritage Committee in Durban has raised alarm about the Barrie Biermann House currently under threat of demolition. Robert Brusse (in the chair), together with Rodney Harber, Trish Emmett, Lindsay Napier and Kirk White have launched a national appeal. The heritage community including architects everywhere wish to object to the demolition of this modernist Durban architectural gem.

The present campaign is initially focused on objecting to and convincing the Local Authority to veto the current application for consolidation of the two sites – Biermann’s and the neighboring site – and the rezoning of the consolidated property from Residential 900 to Institutional 2. The latter zoning will permit a broad range of other uses, but will also sanitize the current illegal (unregistered) use of the site for a medical practice and laboratory.

Once this application is 'terminated', the next step in the heritage recognition process will be to get the building provisionally declared. Most of the letters of objection submitted to date demonstrate the reasons for the preservation of the building and site.

Located on Glenwood Drive, Berea, House Biermann was the home of the architect Barrie Biermann, built with love, imagination and style. He forged a sense of the regional vernacular in the early 1960s, the house was started in 1961 and completed in 1962. There were two earlier structures on the site. Barrie Biermann adapted and redesigned the older property to create a unique and rather wonderful home. It is a property that misses the general protection of the...

A casualty rate of 10% of forces engaged in battle is today considered as catastrophic. British casualties at Isandlwana number some 70%, which constitutes annihilation. Zulu numbers have always been exaggerated, but current thinking is approximately 3000 dead out of an attacking force of about 20000, which works out at more than 10%. So the battle may also be considered catastrophic for the Zulus, although they did come away with the entire contents of the camp, which was their ultimate objective.

Zulu King Zwelithini has asked on a number of occasions why the names of the Zulu dead are not recorded somewhere? The answer is that there were no written records at that time, and thus the names have sadly blown away into the winds of history.

In 1999 a monument to the Zulu dead was erected at Isandlwana to coincide with the 120th Anniversary of the battle. It consists of a gigantic representation of a warrior’s necklace or isiQu, the Zulu equivalent of a campaign medal. A “been there, got the T shirt” award, NOT the so-called “Zulu VC” so beloved by some historians. Traditionally the necklace is either made by cutting up one’s walking stick and stringing the blocks together or else specifically from imsimbithi wood (Natal Olive).

The necklace is shaped in the bull’s horn formation, pointing towards the hill where the warriors died. Around the base are a number of sleeping pillows or iziqiki, symbolizing that the warriors are “sleeping”, and this is thus a monument...

When the Boer raiding party rode into Elandslaagte on 19 October 1899  they first made a turn at David Harris’ imposing red-brick residence. Harris, the General Manager of the Elandslaagte Colliery, was having dinner with Simpson Mitchell-Innes of the farm “Blanerne”, who was also one of the Directors of the Colliery. The ten minutes spent in conversation there gave the acting Station Master, G.P. Atkinson and his clerk, D. Christie, an opportunity to warn Ladysmith of the Boer’s arrival via the telegraph. Atkinson also managed to persuade the engine driver, H.W. Cutbush, that a hurried departure might be in order. The train chuffed out of the station, with the Boers now in hot pursuit. The train guards, an officer and 9 men of the 18th. Hussars, opened fire and wounded one Boer in the leg. The Boers were unable to keep up, and the train made good its escape.

David Harris and his wife

Pienaar was incensed with this failure, and threatened to shoot Atkinson. The latter’s rifle was confiscated and he was confined to house arrest, but not before Pienaar had cooled down and returned to apologise for his bad behaviour!
 
All the activity at the station allowed the Mine Manager to conceal the...

Known as “Long Toms”, the four 155mm siege guns installed in the forts to protect Pretoria, were supposed to be far too big and cumbersome to move, yet one of them (nicknamed Schanskop Tom), which had originally been installed at Fort Schanskop, was used to drive the British out of Dundee. It was manoeuvred up Impati Mountain and shelled the British camp on Ryley’s Hill. Unable to retaliate, the British were forced to withdraw from Dundee and make a hazardous, but mostly uncomfortable (in the pelting rain) retirement to Ladysmith.

H. Watkins-Pitchford, one of the Veterinary Officers stationed in Dundee, wrote to his wife that –

“The big gun of the enemy drove us out. They had managed to put one of their 40 pounders (6 inch) guns on a truck and had brought it from Pretoria on our railway, which had, of course, been left intact, with our usual disregard of our foe. This gun was mounted upon the top of a hill overlooking the town, and with it they poured in heavy shells at a range at which we were hopeless to reply as we had only light guns in our possession”.

This gun was subsequently moved to Pepworth Hill, just north of Ladysmith, as the Boers tightened their grip around the town. It came into action again during the abortive British sortie on 30 October, later to become known as “Mournful Monday”. Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes but at that time a Doctor serving...

Durban, to me is a motley memory of youthful, carefree and sunny beach holidays. While Cape Town offers stunning vistas, top-end restaurants and a sense of Europe-in-Africa, it somehow feels clinical in comparison. The exotic fragrances, clamour, sub-tropical climate and personal recollections are what most attract me to this colourful Indian Ocean city.

A recent trip to the KZN South Coast concluded with a visit to the historic Brook Street cemetery. Driving down Theatre Lane, the din produced by a multitude of taxis, passengers and street vendors soon faded as I entered this peaceful oasis. Exiting my air conditioned vehicle in early winter, I found the climate pleasantly warm with just a hint of humidity. Glimpsing a snake charmer entertaining a crowd on the far side of the cemetery fence, my senses momentarily confused, I briefly pondered whether I was still in Africa, or somehow magically transposed to the Indian subcontinent.

This historic cemetery, surrounded by interesting markets and vernacular architecture, offers much to see and appreciate (see main photo with ‘The Mansions’ building dating from 1904).

My rather tattered copy of ‘Durban’s Heritage explored … on walks and drives around the City’, as always proved very useful, although many of the street names have changed since first published.

This cemetery, previously known as the West Street Cemetery, is still very well maintained and safe to visit. It is a veritable ‘Who’s Who’ graveyard of early settlers to Port Natal, or Durban as it was subsequently named.

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In the article below, journalist Lucille Davie delves into the history and significance of Border Cave. The article was first published on the Media Club South Africa website on 7 March 2013. Click here to view more of Davie's work.

The Border Cave offers a spectacular view 800m down into the plains of Swaziland which is enough to sweep you down if you don’t have the head for it. But that’s not the best reason to visit the cave.
 
Border Cave is a rock shelter on the cliff face of the Lebombo Mountains in the far north-east of KwaZulu-Natal, on the border with Swaziland.
 
The cave is remarkable because it reveals a continuous record of occupation for 120 000 years. Among the fossils found in the cave is an almost complete skeleton of a child, dating back almost 82 000 years, but also the remains of five adult hominins in excess of 66 000 years.
 
A question that has concerned scientists for some time has been when human cultures similar to ours emerged. Until the Border Cave findings were made, archaeologists believed that the oldest evidence of Bushmen hunter-gatherer culture in southern Africa dated back 20 000 years ago.
 
Of significance is the fact that the child was buried in a ritual way, covered in ochre. Although the exact meaning of the ochre is not known, it indicates that 82 000 years ago humans were engaging in symbolic cultural practices.
 
The findings also reveal...

Last weekend my husband Keith and I spent a weekend in Durban as guests of the Durban Art Deco Society (DADS). I was there to deliver the lecture at the Annual General Meeting of the Society on the Sunday morning at the Phansi Museum but we had about 26 hours to see Durban and pleasure the pulse of the Indian Ocean city which had been Keith’s home town and my favourite teenage holiday destination. I knew Durban from my childhood sojourns and then family visits to the grandparents once we had settled in Johannesburg but in recent years our visits have dwindled so it was a pleasure to revive memories of places we knew decades ago and to gain fresh insights of a 21st century Durban.

A highlight of the weekend was the special Art Deco tour by professional tour guide, Shiney Bright and Professor Mike Mulholland of UKZN. Both are passionate about Durban’s Art Deco buildings and through the Durban Art Deco Society they are determined to promote, celebrate and save all that is Art Deco in Durban. There are more than 100 Art Deco buildings in Durban dating from the interwar period. Art Deco is such a distinctive style of angles, lines, geometry, decorative motifs in brick and plaster. Durban, because of the many apartment blocks, office blocks, homes and even simple shops, has been recognized internationally as a city where you can view Art Deco architecture with its many motifs and colours. Durban is an Art Deco city, though if you are keen on this style you will also find many buildings in Johannesburg and Springs.

Art Deco style was popular...

With reference to the early Durban based photographers Caney, one author recently confirmed the challenge in “disentangling” the relationship between the various Caney individuals.

The number of Caney photographs identified in the Hardijzer Photographic Research Collection also confirms that closer scrutiny was required as to who these photographers were. The photographs in this research collection, all dating from prior to 1905, include studio-based images as well as images captured during the Anglo-Boer war.

This article not only intends to clarify the various links between the Caney men (and possibly one female in the same family), but also corrects some misinformation previously published. The three key aspects that are corrected in this article are:

• Date of Benjamin Williams Caney’s death. All websites state the incorrect date of death – This is a significantly important aspect;
• Benjamin William Caney had four sons who survived into adulthood and not three;
• Benjamin William Caney was not an active photographer during the Anglo-Boer war.

The primary purpose of this article is therefore to determine how the various Caney photographers relate to each other. This required the analysis of internet, archival and photographic sources as it relates to the three Caney brothers who arrived from abroad. This analysis was expanded to their respective South African born children and grandchildren.

Of the 9 Caney men recorded in the three generations, 5 have been recorded as active South African photographers between the period 1860s and 1915 - Some were clearly more visible as photographers or had more success compared...