THE NATAL SOCIETY OFFICE BEARERS 1990-1991 President M. 1. C. Daly Vice-Presidents Dr F. C. Friedlander S. N. Roberts Prof. C. de B. Webb (died March 1992) Trustees M.J.C. Daly Miss P.A. Reid S.N. Roberts Fellow of the Natal Society Miss P.A. Reid Treasurers Messrs KPMG Aiken & Peat Auditors Messrs Thornton-Dibb, Van der Leeuw and Partners Director Mrs S.S. Wallis Secretary P. C. G. McKenzie COUNCIL Elected Members M.J.C. Daly (Chairman) S. N. Roberts (Vice-Chairman) W.G. Anderson Prof. A. M. Barrett T.B. Frost 1.M. Deane Prof. W. R. Guest Prof. C. de B. Webb (died March 1992) G.J.M. Smith Ms P.A. Stabbins G.A. Dominy (co-opted) City Council Representatives Cllr I. Balfour Cllr G.D. de Beer Cllr Mrs J. Rosenberg EDITORIAL COMMITTEE OF NATALIA Editor G.A. Dominy Dr W.H. Bizley M.H. Comrie J.M. Deane Miss J. Farrer T.B. Frost Prof. W.R. Guest Dr D. Herbert Dr G. Martin (International editorial consultant) Mrs S.P.M. Spencer Dr Sylvia Vietzen Secretary D.J. Buckley Natalia 22 (1992) Copyright Natal Society Foundation 2010Natalia Journal of the Natal Society No.22 December 1992 This volume is decidated to the memory of Colin de Bern Webb 1930-1992 Founding editor, 1971-1975 Published by Natal Society Library P.O. Box 415. Pietermaritzburg 3200. South Africa SA ISSN 0085-3674 Cover Picture Colin de Berri Webb: 1930-1992 As Vice-Principal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Natal, 1988 (Photograph: University of Natal Archives) Typeset by the University of Natal Press Printed by The Natal Witness Printing and Publishing Company (Pty) Ltd Contents Page EDITORIAL 5 TRIBUTES TO COLIN DE B. WEBB 7 UNPUBLISHED PIECE The Reminiscences of Thomas Green Graham Dominy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 ARTICLES Lutherans, Germans: Hermannsburgers Hans-Jurgen Oschadleus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Nothing of Value: the British soldier and loot during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 fan Knight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 The Natal Microscopical Society (1878-1885?) Cornelis Plug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 National Monuments: a new focus in Natal Andrew Hall ......................... 55 OBITUARIES AndnS de Villiers ...................... 65 Dulcie Somers Vine ..................... 68 Geoffrey Sutherland .................... 71 Fred Clarke .......................... 73 Reggie Hadebe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 NOTES AND QUERIES Moray Comrie ........................ 77 BOOK REVIEWS AND NOTICES ................. 86 SELECT LIST OF RECENT NATAL PUBLICATIONS ..... 97 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS ................... 99 Editorial This edition of Natalia marks a number of important events. Sadly, the first and foremost event is the death of Natalia's founding editor, Professor Colin Webb, to whom this volume is dedicated. We publish two richly deserved tributes by Professors John Laband and Colin Gardner. The second event, not nearly as dramatic, but certainly marking a change in eras, is the change in the editors hip of our journal. Mr T. B. Frost, after eleven unbroken years in the editorial chair, stepped down at the beginning of this year, but fortunately remains on the editorial committee. As the new editor, I must pay tribute to 'Jack' Frost for his unprecedentedly long service. He has edited our journal for half its lifespan and, since relinquishing the editorship, has given much-needed, calming advice and courteous assistance to his rookie successor. Taking the editorial chair after so long and distinguished a reign, is a daunting challenge, particularly because the Natal Society, the Editorial Board and I, had all hoped that Colin Webb would reassume the editorship in his retirement. But, sadly, this was not to be. I do believe, however, that I am the first of Professor Webb's former undergraduate students to edit Natalia. In addition to the tributes to Colin Webb, Natalia 22 offers its readers an unpublished piece, four varied articles, the usual 'Notes & Queries', reviews and obituaries of other prominent Natalians. We have not reproduced this year's Natal Society Lecture by Professor Guy Butler as it was not of specifically Natal interest. To mark the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Dick King's ride to Grahamstown and the clash between the British and the Boers at Port Natal, we present the 'Reminiscences of Thomas Green', the brother-in-law of Dick King and a soldier of the period. 1992 has been a festival year for the South African German community and Hans-Jiirgen Oschadleus provides us with a timely article on the Hermannsburg Mission Society. The Anglo-Zulu War continues to arouse readers' interest and British military historian, lan Knight, offers an article on an intriguing sidelight to the activities of the British in Zulu land, namely the acquisition of Zulu artefacts and cultural material as 'souvenirs'. Our third article, by Professor Cornelis Plug, is on the Natal Microscopical Society, a little known aspect of Victorian Natal's curiosity about the natural world. Andrew Hall's article changes the focus and is a forward-looking assessment of the position of national monuments in Natal at a time of great changes. We note with sorrow the deaths of the Rev. Dr Andre de Villiers, a well known religious and educational figure; Mrs Dulcie Somers Vine, a long serving, but unsung, administrator at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg; Mr Geoffrey Sutherland, the driving force behind NAPAC's musical drama department for many years; Dr Fred Clarke, a distinguished politician and much respected member of the medical fraternity. Dr Clarke spent four 5 6 years in a coma before his family obtained an historic decisiori from the Supreme Court allowing his life to pass naturally to its end. As Natalia was going to press, the assassination of Mr Reggie Hadebe, a prominent leader in the ANC in Natal, occurred on 27 October 1992. Earlier in the year Mr Skhumbuzo Ngwenya, another young ANC leader in the Pietermaritzburg area, was killed outside a hotel in the city. On the other side of the political divide, Inkatha families have suffered their losses, including the tragic death of young children in an ambush aimed at Inkatha leaders in Imbali. It has been a desperately sad year for Natal in which misery and violence have dimmed hope. Surely each killing is further proof that the 'Zulu nation' is not a united political entity and non-ethnic solutions have to be sought. Natalia does not contain any obituaries for victims of the violence this year, but we reprint the Natal Witness's editorial of 28 October, following the assassination of Mr Hadebe, which expresses our views better than we can at such a late stage in the Natalia production cycle. In 'Notes and Queries', Moray Comrie has brought together an array of items ranging from Natal's contribution to the restoration of the bells of the cathedral in Grahamstown, to information on new museums at Hermannsburg, Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift and the restoration of King's House in Durban. The Register of Research on Natal has been omitted as it is impossible to provide an accurate reflection of the breadth and depth of research on our province from the returns submitted by readers of Natalia. A list of the most recent publications on Natal is still provided, however, and many of these have been reviewed. The Editorial Board has been strengthened by two new members. Dr David CDai') Herbert, a malacologist at the Natal Museum, brings the much needed expertise of a natural historian to a board dominated by plain historians and educationists, as well as his interest in bell-ringing. The conference of the South African Economic History Society in July 1992 brought many distinguished overseas academics to Pietermaritzburg and Dr Ged Martin from Edinburgh University has agreed to serve as an international editorial consultant for Natalia and has offered contributions to future editions. While the political and economic situations remain bleak, there is still place for optimism and a longer perspective. In this regard, Natalia notes, with pleasure, several new university appointments which bode well for the future. Professor David Maughan Brown has taken Colin Webb's place as VicePrincipal and Deputy Vice-Chancellor on the Pietermaritzburg campus of the University of Natal. Professor Jeff Guy, the author of the influential work, The Destruction of the Zulu Kingdom, has returned to South Africa, after many years lecturing in Norway, to take a chair of history on the Durban campus of Natal University. And Professor Joy Brain, who has retired from the Chair of History at the University of Durban-Westvillc, has been replaced by Professor Irina Filotova, formerly of the African Studies Centre at Moscow State University. We congratulate all these academics on their appointments. In the museum field we congratulate Natalia's northern Natal correspondent, Mrs Sheila Henderson, on her appointment by the Administrator of Natal as Chairman of the Provincial Museums Advisory Board. The political and economic 50lutions to the country's woes have to be found within the context of sound environmental policies and the Editorial Board hereby gives notice that Natalia 23 will focus on environmental issues pertaining to Natal. GRAHAM DOMINY Colin de Berri Webb (1930-1992) I An historian's tribute With the death of Professor Colin Webb on 22 March 1992, both Natalia and the Natal Society have lost a much esteemed and long standing associate. He played a prominent role in the founding of Natalia and was the first chairman of its editorial board (1971-75), as well as a council member of the Natal Society (1965-75, 1988-92), and one of its vice-presidents (1988-92). His was a presence that loomed. Yet it was much more than his sheer physical stature that indelibly impressed Colin Webb' s persona on the consciousness of all who knew him. For he was many things: teacher, scholar, administrator and public figure; but also husband and father of two sons, and valued friend and colleague. Authority emanated from him, but always tempered by his approachability, obvious integrity and fine sense of humour. Who can forget his beam of delight and high-pitched, trilling laugh? His company was always stimulating and could be enormous fun, for he was a man of wit and dramatic flair, with wide interests besides history and education. He could talk with real knowledge and insight on subjects ranging from politics, drama, music and fine art to veld types and domestic gardens. And though he could be formidable at times, it was with the short intensity of a summer storm, soon to pass. For he was a man of passion, who believed passionately in what he did and in the firm liberal principles which guided his actions. Colin de Berri Webb was born in Pretoria on 24 October 1930. He attended Pretoria Boys' High School, and in 1948 went on to the University of the Witwatersrand on a Barclay's Bank Scholarship. In 1955, as a holder of the prestigious Elsie Ballot Scholarship, he proceeded to Clare College, Cambridge, to read history. In 1957 he took up his first university appointment as a temporary lecturer in the Department of History and Political Science at the University of Natal, Durban. There he met Fleur Gower, who was on the staff teaching Introductory French. They married in 1960. In 1962 Colin came as a senior lecturer to the Department of History and Political Science in Pieterrnaritzburg, the same year his eldest son, Jonathan, was born. Nicholas followed in 1964. Col in ' s promotion in 1971 to associate professor was only his due. Then in 1976 he moved to the University of Cape Town as the King George V Professor of History, filling this, the premier history chair in South Africa, until he returned to Natal in 1984 as Vice-Principal of the University of 7 8 CoLin Webb: Tributes Natal, Durban. In 1988, at the strong urging of senior academics on the Pietermaritzburg campus, he made himself available to succeed Professor Deneys Schreiner as Vice-Principal at this centre. Duly appointed, he held the post until mounting illness, so courageously borne, forced him to relinquish it a week before his death. Students who were fortunate enough to have been taught by Colin Webb remember him as undoubtedly the most inspiring lecturer they ever encountered. For he was able to impart both his zest for history and the intellectual integrity with which he pursued it. Because he was constantly revising his thinking on the basis of fresh evidence from his reading and research, his lectures came across with a sense of immediacy and excitement, heightened by his consummate oratorical style. He spoke in his fine, clear voice with a thrill of suppressed passion, giving even the most complex issues an extraordinary clarity and relevance. As a superviser of postgraduate theses (and in his time he supervised over 50 Honours research essays, 17 Masters theses and 6 Ph.D. dissertations), he was both demanding and meticulous, extracting a high level of research from his students. Besides being a teacher of rare talent, Colin Webb was also an innovative scholar, and through his example and inspiration moulded a school of Natal and Zululand studies in which many of his students and colleagues are still prominently active today. In recognition of his distinction as an historian, in 1979 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society. Webb's Guide to the OfficiaL Records of the CoLony of NataL (1965), which provided a detailed analysis of the historical source materials available in Natal, opened up the region's records to all subsequent researchers. After going through two editions, the Guide was updated in 1984 in a compilation by J. Verbeek, M. Nathanson and E. Peel. Colin complemented this pioneering work with A History of NataL (1965), written jointly with Edgar Brookes. As a synthesis of research to date, this book provided Natal and Zululand with its first modern historical treatment. It remains a standard authority and went into a second edition in 1987. In it, Brookes and Webb began to swing the emphasis away from the traditional Eurocentric perspective of earlier white historians, and set the trend for a more comprehensive approach ecompassing all who lived in Natal and Zululand, whether Khoisan, Nguni-speakers, white settlers or Indian immigrants. Colin Webb' s especial contribution was in the field of Zulu history, and it is there that his influence has been most felt. His encyclopaedic knowledge of Zululand and its affairs in the nineteenth century was demonstrated in A ZuLu King Speaks (1978; 2nd edition 1987), co-edited with John Wright. The two of them went on to translate and edit four volumes of The lames Stuart Archive of Recorded OraL Evidence (1976, 1979, 1982, 1987), and were working on the fifth volume at the time of Colin's death. The lames Stuart Archive is surely his monument. For, through their detailed notes and indexes, Webb and Wright have presented in coherent form and made accessible a mass of African oral testimony which, despite its unique importance, had lain obscure and little used. It is no exaggeration to state that The lames Stuart Archive has opened a path to Natal and Zululand's pre-colonial and colonial past along which all future historians of the field must pass. His field-work on environlnental factors in Zulu history was but another facet of his deep feeling for the region in all its aspects, and this understanding was exhibited for the last time in published form in his historical introduction and index to volume 1 of Adulphe Delegorgue's TraveLs in Southern Africa 9 Colin Webb: Tributes Colin Webb and John Wright working on the lames Stuart Archive (Photograph: University of Natal Archives) (1990), which Fleur translated from the French, and to which Stephanie Alexander contributed a zoological and botanical introduction and index. Nor, in considering Colin's contribution as a scholar, must one forget a further two dozen learned articles and chapters in books on subjects ranging from the origins of the Franco-Prussian War to the life of Dabulamanzi. He delivered besides some thirty conference papers and public addresses to academic audiences. He was also active as an editor, for in addition to his services to Natalia, he was also co-editor of Theoria (1962-75) and an editorial adviser from 1978. No wonder his was a presence of such influence wherever professional historians met. Yet Colin was also an administrator of much experience, holding great responsibilities. He never shirked his duty to serve the university community, and a list of the committees of which he was a member, or which he chaired, would cover several pages. Some might regret that these administrative obligations took him away too frequently from his scholarly pursuits, and he also felt this deprivation. Nevertheless, he was an administrator of imagination and vision, deeply conscious of the challenges facing the universities in South Africa. He saw the urgency of addressing the problems of the educationally disadvantaged while maintaining high educational standards. Furthermore, he also insisted on the importance of academic freedom for a free and open society. It accords with this principled position that he initiated the establishment on the Pietermaritzburg campus of the Alan Paton Centre for the Study of the Literature and Politics of Inter-group Conciliation. His wide experience and well-known commitment to the goal of a free and just society in South Africa led to his being called to serve on over two dozen professional and public bodies outside the university. At one time he was a member of the Natal executive of the Progressive Party, though he resisted the lure of standing for parliament. Besides sitting on the executives of various la Colin Webb: Tributes historical societies, museum boards and heritage and conservation trusts, he also served his turn as vice-president and president of the South African Historical Society, as a member of the Education Specialist Group of the Buthelezi Commission, as chairman of the Natal Education Board and as a member of the Academic Planning Committee of the Committee of University Principals. He was also frequently called upon to deliver public addresses on occasions ranging from public meetings protesting at threats to academic freedom, to prize-giving days at schools. Always, though, his listeners savoured his magnificent, often impassioned, delivery and learned by his wisdom. When a man of multifarious talents and enormous vitality dies before his time, he inevitably leaves incomplete the many projects he had on hand. And for his family, friends and colleagues, who miss him so deeply, this can be another cause for sadness. Yet Colin Webb's full and significant life could scarcely be described as unfulfilled, despite its premature end. For he made his indelible mark on all who knew him, and through his teaching, scholarship and example. defined the path and set the goal for those who would follow where he led. JOHN LABAND 11 Speech at the naming of the Colin Webb Hall 27 August 1992 It is a very great pleasure and privilege to have been asked to speak at this naming ceremony, this university community function at which the Old Main Hall is to become the Colin Webb Hall. Let me speak first about the hall. The University of Natal (the Natal University College as it then was, the NUC) came into being in 1910. This means, if we bear in mind the amazing expansion of university education in the twentieth century, particularly since the Second World War - this means that the University of Natal is one of the world's older universities. And this building, the original university building, completed in 1912, is indeed quite venerable. The hall itself has served many purposes over the years: it has been a library, a theatre, a hospital word (during the First World War), a venue for 11 Colin Webb: Tributes such varied events as opening ceremonies, dances, musical concerts, and examinations. This is one of the reasons for its being well known and well loved by many generations of students. The other reason for its being known and remembered with affection is that it is strikingly handsome. Like the rest of the building, it was designed by the Pietermaritzburg architect J. Collingwood Tully and it was described in the building contracts - rather vaguely - as being in the 'English Renaissance style'; but there is nothing vague or uncertain about the elegant shapes and patterns, the verticals and semi-circles, that we see around us. The hall is probably looking more attractive today then it has ever looked before. That is because of the thoughtfulness and imagination of Colin Webb. The hall had grown a bit shabby and tired-looking. The reason for this was partly that, having long since become incapable of housing the whole or most of the Maritzburg student body, it had lost many of its previous purposes. It was partly also because the university seemed not to have enough money to renovate the hall. (If there is one consistent thread that runs through the history of the university, incidentally, it is a strong tendency towards drought in the matter of what is nowadays called 'cashflow'.) But Colin Webb, with the eye of a sensitive and aesthetically-refined historian, decided that the look and the atmosphere of the hall should be restored and enhanced. What is more, with the astuteness of an experienced vice-principal, he realised that he could do what needed to be done within the limits of funds available from annual maintenance budgets. In other words, at a time of great financial stringency, he managed to perform an act that was historical conservation, cultural enrichment, labour of love and practical common-sense, all rolled into one - without getting in the way of any of the university's other projects or activities. He directed and supervised the renovations himself, enthusiastically and yet patiently. As a result of all this we have a freshly painted and newly curtained hall, with a novel, slightly enigmatical charm - a subtle mixture (I would say) of Natal colonial and Bavarian baroque. It is particularly appropriate, then, that the hall should be given Colin Webb's name. It is, as it were, one of the extensions of his personality, a part of himself. Future generations of staff and students, who have not known the man himself, will be able to learn something about him by standing here and looking around. But there is, of course, a great deal that they will not be able to learn about him by looking at this hall. The tasteful reanimation of a piece of 1912 colonial architecture suggests the ability to get into, and perhaps to outstrip, the mind of the person and the culture that produced it. But Colin Webb as an historian was distinguished precisely by his capacity to understand and penetrate other viewpoints besides the colonial and European one, the one that had in general dominated the writing of our history until his time. His crucial pioneering work in South African history, particularly the history of Natal and Zululand, involved conjuring up the perspective of the victims of white aggression, and consequently putting into context the ideals, pretensions and self-deceptions of some of the sorts of people who were behind the founding of this university and the building of this hall. It is worth remembering, and Colin Webb would never have been unaware, that a mere six years before the construction of this hall there had occurred the Bambatha uprising, an event which both in its underlying causes and in the way in which it was dealt with can now be seen to have highlighted the injustice and the general inadequacy of Natal colonial rule. Besides being a handsome place well worth restoring and preserving, 12 Colin Webb: Tributes then, this Old Main Hall can be seen, paradoxically, as a symbol of that past of the old South Africa that we hope the new South Africa will be able to understand, forgive and transcend. Speaking of the old and the new, the past and the present and the future, I can't help briefly breaking the solemnity of this occasion by recounting a wild but humorous thought that drifted into my mind as I was preparing these words. The humorousness was of a kind that I'm sure Colin Webb would have appreciated. I suddenly thought: 'Maybe the University of Natal is going through a sort of Conservative Party phase, a conservative panic, and, seeing the speed with which things are changing both within the university and beyond it, has decided to go on a naming spree, and is with unseemly rapidity naming everything in sight after white administrators, living or dead.' The thought seemed worth recording (it may have occurred to other people), but fortunately for me it didn't last long: quite apart from the fact that none of the people after whom places have been named are CP types, and that all of them richly deserve the recognition they have been given, there is the additional consideration that there are many places left within the university - and we trust that others will be built too - which may be named after university leaders of the future. * * * So then, and as I've said, very appropriately, the past and dead administrator after whom this hall is being named is Colin Webb. It is with very great sadness that one says these words, because of course Colin was so very recently active here among us. He retired from the post of Deputy ViceChancellor of this university in February of this year, and he died on March 22nd. The wound of his parting is still fresh for all of us, but above all for Fleur, whom we are honoured to have at this assembly and to whom we offer our continuing sympathy. I could talk about Colin Webb, whom I knew well, for far longer than would be proper or sensible on an occasion such as this one. I have decided to focus on four aspects of his personality, four aspects of his achievement as a person and as an academic. Colin Webb was a remarkably integrated person, and for this reason the four characteristics that I single out all run into one another and reinforce one another. Here then are my four points of emphasis. He was a profoundly humane person. He was an imaginative and original historian. He was an intellectual and social leader. He was marvellously eloquent. As I say, these four points of focus can't easily be separated. His humanity, his humaneness, permeated everything. It was there in his family life, with Fleur and with his two sons, with his more immediate extended family and with a widely ramifying network of cousins and second cousins. It was there with his friends and colleagues and students, in his seriousness, his concern for others, his good himour, his hospitality, his sheer decency and pleasantness. One of the manifestations of his humaneness was to be found in his quest for social justice. He was one of the early members of the Progressive Party in Maritzburg, in the days when Helen Suzman (whom he knew) was fighting her lone battle in the House of Assembly, long before she began to become 13 Colin Webb: Tributes accepted and admired by the average white citizen. He was also regarded by liberal colleagues and students as a person to be called on, to speak in public and to write, at some of those many moments when the Government placed further restrictions upon universities and upon society. And of course his yearning for justice, for empathy and for human truth was one of the powerful impulses behind the remarkable work that he did as an historian. Many students of history used to come to the University with a sense that European and North American history was relatively interesting, but that South African history was a bore. With Colin Webb standing tall in front of them, his rich deep voice sounding vibrantly (and often echoing along the corridors of this building), they discovered to their amazement that the history of our country, properly approached, is breathtakingly exciting and momentous. All over South Africa and in several other countries there are historians who were drawn into the profession by the magic of Colin's teaching. And in the higher years he was an inspiring and enabling supervisor; he has been the midwife for numerous mini-theses and theses at the Honours, Masters and PhD levels. But he couldn't have been such a good teacher and supervisor if he wasn't producing new material himself. This is no place to offer a list of his publications (books, chapters, articles, conference papers), but it would be wrong not to mention his by now famous and recently updated Guide to the Official Records of the Colony of Natal, the History of Natal which he wrote with Edgar Brookes, and the volumes of The lames Stuart Archive which he co-edited with John Wright. As a lecturer and supervisor, a speaker at public meetings, and a person dedicated to the creation of social and political justice, he showed himself to be an intellectual and social leader. But this aspect of him expressed itself in many other ways. He found himself being elected to many committees, both within the universities that he served and in the larger society. Within the Arts Faculties of this university and of the University of Cape Town he moved to the top with a sort of naturalness or inevitability, for he wasn't in the normal sense of the word a particularly ambitious person. He simply believed that tasks were important and needed to be carried out intelligently and honestly; other people decided that he was the person to perform crucial functions. As far as I remember it was friends (and I think I was one of them) who persuaded him to apply for the Vice-Principal's post in Durban. It probably wouldn't have occurred to him to do so because he didn't spend much time plotting his next career move. But once he was in a post he made it his own and indeed recreated it. He took a lead with his own sincere version of that nonchalance which was so admired in the Italian Renaissance. The fourth of the points that I emphasized in my brief summary of Colin Webb's characteristics was his eloquence. Some people may find this a surprising point to stress, let alone to end on. But in fact Colin's eloquence, his extraordinary articulateness and his capacity to take another person or a large audience along with him, was no merely superficial technical skill. It was an expression of his whole exploratory, generous and complex being. The other characteristics that I have underlined - his humaneness, his quality as a teacher and an historian, his intellectual and social leadership - all these were distilled in the words and sentences that he devised and often most memorably spoke aloud. * * * 14 Colin Webb: Tributes This hall and this person, then: as we perform the act of naming, they come to belong to each other. There is something fitting about such a procedure, as I have tried to suggest. But at the same time (if I may return to an earlier theme) there is something very sad and very inadequate about it too. Colin Webb richly deserves to have this fine hall named after him; but there is so much more to him than these walls and this roof could ever hope to indicate. This naming confers a particular kind of immortality upon him. We must look to other modes of remembrance, of immortality, if we are to do any full justice to him. Or perhaps we might say that the point of the naming of this hall after him is that it symbolizes the other kinds of respect, gratitude and love that his friends offer and constantly re-create. COLIN GARDNER The Reminiscences of Thomas Green Introduction In 1896, Thomas Green, octogenarian ex-soldier and early settler in Natal, provided 'Kit' Bird, senior civil servant and chronicler of settler Natal, with a lively set of reminiscences which have proved to be a fruitful source for histories of early colonial Natal. The original manuscripts are in the Bird Papers in the Natal Archives Depot and, rather inaccurate, typescript copies are held in the Killie Campbel\ Africana Library in Durban.l Bird had set himself the task of recording the reminiscences of early settlers before they all died and through press reports, questionnaires and circular letters he tried to contact as many old colonists as possible. The Bird Papers in the Natal Archives Depot are the result. Bird did not publish much of his information, but the Bird Papers were extensively used by Hattersley and by later historians. Some ten years ago, two archivists, Avenal Geldart and Verne Harris, began preparing the collection for publication. Regrettably they both left the Archives in Pietermaritzburg before completing their task. The Bird Papers still await their editor and publisher. It is well worth noting that while Bird was actively engaged in collecting settler reminiscences around the turn of the century, a fellow civil servant, lames Stuart, was equally energetically collecting the reminiscences of many Zulu informants. The lames Stuart Archive has been appearing under the editorship of the late Professor Colin Webb and Professor John Wright for several years.2 The intellectual atmosphere in Natal among the colonial elite that gave rise to these parallel historical endeavours and the joint and separate impacts of Bird and Stuart on Natal historiography still needs exploration. Both Bird and Professor Alan Hattersley published short sections of Green's reminiscences, but omitted those parts which add flavour, biographical details and background3 Hattersley seems to have specifically omitted parts of Green's reminiscences which refer to settlers living in similar styles to the black inhabitants of Natal, either through their deliberate choice or through dependence on similar resources. Further research into Hattersley's editing of settler reminiscences would be necessary for this to be established as part of an editorial policy. In addition, Green's reminiscences have been referred to in several general histories of Natal and his lists of early settlers have been used, in conjunction with other sources. by Shelagh Spencer in compiling her register of Natal settlers Clearly these reminiscences must be regarded as important source material. Green's reminiscences are in three sections: An introductory note to Mr Bird, his extensive reminiscences and a short memoir on Dick King, his brother-in-law. Although not present at the Battle of Congella between Capt Smith's detachment and the Voortrekkers under Andries Pretorius, Green provides us with a unique description of conditions at Port Natal in the aftermath of the clash between the Trekkers and the British. He also describes the skilled work in civil construction and the manual labour done by the British troops. both in Port Natal and Pietermaritzburg: work which provided the basis for the infrastructure of the British colony. There is extensive discussion of fellow-colonists and a variety of amusing anecdotes on the wild life and the environment in Natal. Green was as prejudiced as the next colonist and, at one level of mental consciousness, he regards Natal's black inhabitants as invisible, almost non-people; white settlers are the only real people in Natal. Yet, throughout his reminiscences, expressions of underlying respect for his black compatriots appear, even if phrased in terms, such as 'Kaffir' or 'Kafir' - he uses both spellings - which are now regarded as inSUlting. Furthermore it is clear from the reminiscences that the settlers and the army were heavily dependent on the black peoples among whom they lived, for providing food, shelter and for communications. Thomas Grreen was born in County Cavan in Ireland and learned the trade of a stonemason. His Natalia 22 (1992) G. Dominy (ed.), pp. 15-26 16 Reminiscences of Thomas Green date of birth is not recorded in the reminiscences, but the KCAL holds a typescript copy of an unidentified newspaper report which gives his date of death as 1903. Green joined the British army and came to South Africa in 1843 with the 45th Regiment, the Sherwood Foresters. Ironically, the 27th Regiment, the Inniskilling Fusiliers, an Irish regiment which recruited from Green's home and neighbouring counties, also claims him as a veteran. It is clear from his reminiscences that he served with both the 45th and the 27th regiments and with the Royal Engineers. Green was stationed at Port Natal with the veterans of the Battle of Congella, but marched to Pietermaritzburg with the detachment of the 45th Regiment that established Fort Napier. During his years of service in Pietermaritzburg, Green was deeply involved in the construction of Fort Napier and of many public buildings and private homes. He also assisted the Royal Engineers with land and harbour surveys in Durban and after taking his discharge from the army, he settled in Durban. He speaks with pride of his life in Durban in general and, in particular, of the fact that he built the monument to the fallen of the Battle of Congella and the Siege of Port Natal. In 1879, he added an additional plaque to the monument to commemorate the fallen colonial volunteers in the Anglo-Zulu War. Thomas Green married Dick King's sister and his description of his famous brother-in-law, while awe-struck and uncritical, provides some intimate details. It is strange that Green does not mention Ndongeni, who accompanied King for much of his ride, at al1. 5 Green does mention, however, the role of Mnini, the pro-British chief on the Bluff, who covered King's tracks and deliberately misled the Trekkers as to his route. The manuscript in the Bird Papers has been taken as the most accurate version of Green's reminiscences. Illegible words in the manuscript have been cross-checked with the typescript and the clearer version has been taken. Editorial interventions such as this are indicated in the notes or in square brackets in the text. The original spelling, grammar and phraseology (including now offensive terms, such as 'Kaffir' and 'Bastard') are retained. Green is inconsistent in his spelling and slightly repetitive in his style, but changes have been kept to a minimum in the interests of conveying the flavour of the man and his times. Minor changes have been made to punctuation and to the paragraph structure, simply to improve the flow of the narrative; they do not alter the meaning in any way. Green mentions numerous early settlers by name and checks have revealed that most, if not all, the 'British' settlers are included in Shelagh Spencer's lists of settlers.6 Those whose surnames begin with the letters A-F, have already been provided with comprehensive biographies. Green usually provides sufficient detail for a general reader on Natal history to identify the person being referred to, therefore the editorial policy here is to note only exceptionally important, or obscurely described, persons. Acknowledgements I am indebted to Mrs Bobby Eldridge, of the KiIlie Campbell Africana Library, and to Mrs Shelagh Spencer for their assistance with the task of editing this manuscript. I also acknowledge the assistance of Mrs Pamela Jerling, of the Natal Museum, for her assistance with typing the manuscript. NOTES I. Natal Archives Depot: A79 '[C.J.] "Kit" Bird Collection', Vol.6 (,Reminiscences of early settlers': G-H). The typescripts in the Killie Campbell Africana Library [hereafter KCAL] are in 'Uncatalogued Manuscripts'. 2. C. de B. Webb & J. B. Wright (eds & trans), The lames Stuart archive of recorded oral evidence relating to the history of the Zulu and neighbouring peoples, Vols. 1-4, (Pietermaitzburg & Durban, 1976-1986 continuing). 3. C. Bird, 'Echoes of the past: records and reminiscences of old Natal', Regimental annual, 1921 [45th Regiment - The Sherwood Foresters]; and 'An Irishman of the 45th Regiment reaches Durban in 1843' in A.F. Hatters1ey, More annals of Natal with historical introductions and notes, (London, 1936), pp.71-3. 4. S. O'B. Spencer, British settlers in Natal 1824-/857: a biographical register, Vols. 1-6, (Pietermaritzburg, 198 I -1992 continuing). 5. Jacqueline A. Kalley quotes Elizabeth Watt as refuting Ndongeni's claims to have accompanied King on his ride: See 'Dick King: a modest hero', Natalia 16, 1986, pp. 39-44. 6. Spencer, British settlers, 6, (1992): See list between pp. 288-305. GRAHAM DOMINY 17 Reminiscences of Thomas Green I Reminiscences of myself On the 3rd May 1848 I purchased my discharge from the 45th Regiment after spending some 7 years and 150 days in the Army with the Engineers (& the 27th Regt) & the 45th Regt, so I have had a varied experience. The Colony of Natal has a great deal to thank the 27th for. They fought & bled, & handed over Natal watered with their blood. The 45th kept a firm hold on it, & tried to develope it. The 27th of that date was not like the 27th of late years that came to Natal. l They were about as true fellows as ever carried arms for Her Majesty. I brought from the Army an exemplary character which I tried to keep up as well as I could. I was always a great favourite with my officers, and began in PMBurg as a Builder & Contractor. In 1851 I married Dick King's sister, & was brought to belong to the family of the famous Dick King. His sister - my wife - was the second volume of her famous brother & was a good wife & mother, and never afraid to rough it or give her help when required. She lived with me 36 years & died in Durban. We had a large family/of daughters, not one of whom ever brought a blush to the cheek of father or mother. I can safely say no gentleman in Natal need ever be ashamed to shake hands with any of my generation, and believe there are 56 grandchildren, all good respectable citizens in Natal. I became one of the people of Durban. I revered and respected them & think the men of Durban the finest, warmest hearted people in the world. On this 26 Oct 1896 I am four score years of age and am proud to say all my faculties are unimpaired & as sound as a bell. So I have a good fortune left me - long life, good health, a great fortune. Strange that I should have been appointed to put up the first monument to the slain of the 27th, and in 1879 I put up the military monument on a large scale [illegible - 27th?].2 The public could not raise money enough (80) so I said give me what money you have, I will do the labour for love, there it stands in the Military Cemetery, Durban, today. 11 Reminiscences of early Natal I arrived in Cape Town with my regiment (45th) on the 3rd of May 1843, but was sent by general order of Sir George Napier, military General and Governor of the Cape, to join the Engineers, then the Sappers & Miners. They were short handed, I was a tradesman, my services were required. The route came, We were ordered to march for Natal. We marched on the 9th to Simons Town and got aboard the Thunderbolt, War Steamer, for Natal. We arrived at the outer anchorage on the 26th May,3 landed 200 men, 14 Engineers, some Artillery, and some 25 men of the Cape COlJ1s. The Cape Corps were then all Bastards & Hottentots, and supposed to be the best light cavalry in H.M. Service.4 18 Reminiscences of Thomas Green The landing was done by the Steamer's Long Boat, as no other boat or ship appeared. It was a difficult task, landing troops in so small a boat, however it was done successfully. So we pitched our tents, about where the Custom House stands at present and took up a position of defence, for the Boers were all about. I stood amazed at the grandeur of the scene. Everything was primitive, the hands of man had not defaced it. The Inner Bay was like a sheet of silver, with the wild fowl that man had never frightened. I thought the Bay the most beautiful sight that I had ever seen. But the Sunset that evening in May with the Golden tints beggars any description that I can give. I have never seen the like before in Ireland where I came from. The beautiful Berea untouched, all one sheet of Evergreen, and I was told that Elephants were there, and lots of other animals, which I soon found to be true. I was satisfied with Natal then, though uninhabited, for this was my first day in Nata1.5 The first man I noticed was Mr Mesham salting beef in a tub with a voorloper shirt on. He was afterwards a magistrate, but then he wore no coat nor boots. The schooner Fawn was lying inside [with] some guns and a few men. Her back was broken when crossing the Bar. Capt Nourse commanded her. A few of the Fawn's men stayed. Jack Cotton and Fred Philips both quiet and respectable citizens. Old Hugh MacDonald who afterwards owned the Royal Hotel in Smith St. Durban. Also Charlie MacDonald his brother - both good men. Hugh brought a ship called the Pilot, once a month, with the little supplies we wanted, but often she would not come for 4 months and there was then almost a famine. There was no 'Misters' in those days,6 each called the other Bill, Tom and Dick. We were very scant of clothing then, Military as well as Civilian. We were at one time so reduced for trousers that we shot a large Buck, the skin was Brayed and the Hottentots made trousers for us, sewed with the sinews of the buck. There was one particular man we almost worshipped for his heroism, Dick King, his farm was at Isipingo. Chief Ogle was here, his farm was Wentworth. Also, Fynn had a farm on the Bluff by right of squatting long before anyone was here. George Cato was here and his brother Joe. Mr Beningfield, old Mr Kahts, John Hogg. Mr Dunn father of John Dunn and I believe he was the Doctor of the Fawn. John Dunn's Father was a medical man. I well remember Mr Dunn drinking with Dr Best, One evening in 1847. The night was stormy with sudden heavy showers of rain. Dunn was advised not to go home that night (it was Saturday) but persisted in going home. But early on Sunday morning, the report came in that Dunn was dead. Just as you turn up to go to Sea View, there were no marks on the body, so I believe his death was from apoplexy, or from a fall from his horse. But a report soon spread that he was killed by an elephant. I said at the time it was strange, killed by an Elephant and no marks. It was wartime (1843) and martial law was proclaimed.7 We had a 'shook up' thing of a guard room, enough to keep the sun off. I was musing on Sentry. There was a dull moon and plenty of Phosphorus on the Beach. I saw something come out of the Bay like a sheet of fire, As to its size and ugliness I never saw anything like it. Being young and coming from Ireland, the Country of lakes, where every lake has its traditions, of River Bulls and huge Eels showing up at various times, I was thoroughly frightened, and as it was death to quit your post, I came down to 'resist cavalry'. The monster passed me by 19 Reminiscences of Thomas Green and went on towards Cato's Creek, but I was so frightened that I kept half way between my post and the Guard [room] so that I could run either way. It was a weary two hours for me, but at last I got relieved. I never opened my lips to mortal man. I knew I dare not fire, or give a false alarm, and my comrades might say I was a coward, so I held my tongue. Early next morning, Longhinds, a Grenadier of the 27th, six feet eight high, came down from the Trench, where the old military camp stands, he was on fatigue, he shouted, 'Boys, what a fine seacow passed by last night'. All went to see the tracks, it was then I opened my mouth and told my comrades what I had seen. Since that time I had seen them on the Inner Bay, and seen them chased by Mr William Quested who lived at Congella. In 1844 an elephant was killed by Dunn or John Hill then known as Black Jack. I don't know for certain which killed the Elephant. His bones were all carefully carried, and kept in the garden of an old butcher named Webb. Afterwards the same garden was owned by Mr Todmen. The Berea had all sorts of animals then, and was so unsafe, and if offered to any man to live there he would say 'No'. Men in Durban when I arrived [the following section approximates Green's original layout]: MrMesham English Dick King Petty chief " (Devonshire) Henry Ogle Chief " (B'gham) [Birmingham?] - Fynn Kaffir Chief - Beningfield Snr Geo. [George] Cato A wonderful man S. African Jos. [Joseph] Cato Clever Architect Frank Armstrong Shoe Maker Irish John Mackenzie Blacksmith Scotch (later owned Craigie Bums Sugar Estate at the Umkomaas) Thos [Thomas] or Wm [William] Proudfoot Scotch (Partner afterwards with Dick King) John Hogg English (son of Pete Hogg) Old Mr Leathern English (a man of superior ability and a dear friend of mine afterward Mayor of P'maritzburg). William Leathern Junr known and respected by all born in Africa. John King a good and successful Africander (brother of Dick) citizen Hookey Walker afterwards Attorney Walker, kept a little half way house between Durban and Maritzburg, afterwards one of Natal's ablest criminal lawyers. 20 Reminiscences of Thomas Green A German Naturalist and Dr lived near where Escombe8 now lives, a wonderful man of Science, Carl Quincias. Polydore Short, known as Polly Short who died on the Bluff lately. A German called lung, and largal a Frenchman who were afterwards partners in business. Mr Shield Commissary at Irish P.M.Burg Carl Behrens, was here but with the Dutch, he was German. loe Kirkman, who had been with Grout. Rev Adams, who was missionary at the Congella.9 Rev. Archibald military chaplain Black lack an AmericanlO and Elephant White. Dr Toohy chemist but called Dr Irish adopted Kaffir life, settled at Tugela. Dr John Dunn, settled at Sea View as a squatter, also a man named Kinloch, a clever Poet and a highly learned man, Scotch, some of his poems are in the hands of Mr Leathern Junr and should be published. Kinloch took to Kaffir life. There lived then in Durban, where the club is now, a Dutch Widow named Strydom, who had a numerous family of sons and daughters. One of her daughters married Pete Hogg and another Jim Rorke and settled somewhere up country.ll Mrs Strydom, was a general favorite in Durban, she was almost aDr and everyone ran with their ailments to Mother Strydom. There was no post offices (sic) then and there were no Banks nor Courts in Durban. Furniture was unknown, nor houses except Kaffir houses. We had four sticks, stuck in the ground for a bedstead. We put bearers (sic) on them, and crossed pieces of brushwood with Grass on the Top. With a grass pillow and a blanket we slept the sleep of the just. It was almost laughable to see some of us. Capt Hugh MacDonald brought some flour from the Cape. We rushed for the bags and made trousers out of them and were afraid lest 'Mills Cape First' would show.12 There was one Napoleon Wheeler in later years Market Master of P.M.Burg. The Bar then was a straight line in a diagonal direction from South to North with a very small mouth. We went out in 1843 with the Fawn's men and hadn't to strip our clothes to kill 3 porpoises which were cast up on the Bar. We killed the porpoises and ate a portion of them. A couple of years after (in 1845, I think) the 3 brothers Milner, came out. They seem to be nautical men and traded with the ship Sarah Bell between Natal and Mauritius in later years. There was no money in the country in 1843. Kaffirs or Natives would take no money. They would take a few strings of beads for the produce of [or?] Honey and Potatoes which I found they had nice Kidney Potatoes at that date, but now extinct. Frank Bird was in the Ordnance Dept at the Cape, and came to Natal at intervals of perhaps a month or 4 or 6 months. He was the first man to bring any money to Natal. He brought the Military Money. I think he was a lieutenant in the Ordnance Dept because when we saw him acoming we used to say the 'Bird is flying'. At one time the ------- ---21 -Reminiscences of Thomas Green Military Money came up in Cartridges of 3d bits. The first time the tic key was introduced. Mr Jas [James] Brickhill was a clerk in the Commissionary's office. He was afterwards Manager of the Natal Bank. About 1846 an 'Umfezi' spat in his face and nearly blinded him.13 He was discharged on a pension of 2/8 1/2d per day for life. It was then he began Brickhill' s Lotion. After he was discharged from the service his eyes got well and he was made Manager of the Natal Bank. After I had spent 2 months at the Point on very severe duty we were removed to camp and joined the 27th Inniskilling Regiment. The men were the tallest men I have ever seen in the army - like a walking forest with their busbys on. They were all beloved by the civilians who were here. The men bore splendid characters. They were more like civilians than soldiers. Some had red on their coats of various colours and some were patched. Tho' these men had to lie in a wet trench; on 4 ounces of horseflesh & 3 ounces of biscuit dust there was no murmur and every man was obedient. They were only skeletons of companies after the Congella affair. We got 'the route' (the 45th & Engineers) and marched to P.M.Burg on the 27th August. We were two companies of the 45 about 15 Engineers some artillery with 3 guns. We were commanded by Capt Kyle whose father was Bishop of Cork and Capt Hines Lieut Armstrong, Blenkinsop, Smythe and Miller. (The 27th remained in Durban) We marched loaded and carried 60 rounds of ammunition each and arrived on the hill of Maritzburg on the last day of August 43, planted the standard and called it Fort Napier. We marched up the hill the pipes and drum playing the 'Sprig of Shillelagh'. and 'Garry Owen'. Next morning the Engineers began to fortify by building a stone battery to the East and a traversing battery on the West. We were 75 (or 25?) men in a bell tent. And soon began to build a temporary barracks of stone which took two years to finish. The officials in town asked as a great favour to get an artisan to build their houses. I was recommended. I drew civilians pay as well as Engineers pay so did well and almost regarded myself as a civilian. The Winchester War Frigate was on the African Coast in Jan '43 and chased a pirate ship whose crew [took] to the boats and landed some where about Umzimkulu. They made their way overland and came to Pietermaritzburg in Aug or Sept '43. They stole every horse they could lay their hands on. Poor Mr Hooky Walker was a great sufferer - all the horses were taken. The military stables had to be doubly guarded. A few of the pirates settled down. Jack Linden and Joe the butcher among them, and lived and died in Maritzburg. It was laughable to see a certain lady serenading with the pirates and firing pistols in the night and glorying in being called 'The Pirates Bride' .14 Only a few of the 27th took their discharge including McKormick Patrick Bryan, Coope & a few whose names I forget. They were Irish. Mackormick married a Dutch lady named Sloppar, and did well. A Baker named Brewar with his wife came from the Cape about that time. They were very kind to many of us - there being no hotels or boarding houses in those days. - every man for himself. Van der Plank was here and a man of the name of Shears was his partner so report said. Shears was found dead in bed, but no enquiry was made in the circumstance. Shears was supposed to have been well off but no enquiry was ever made by the next of kin I believe.15 There was a notorious renegade who led the Kafirs against the whites in the old colony. He was in the Dutch Tronk in P.M.Burg for horse stealing, and died there. The Waterloo, convict Ship, was wrecked in Table Bay about March 1843. The chains were knocked off the convicts to give them a chance of saving their lives. Many of 22 Reminiscences of Thomas Green these convicts were recognized in P.M.Burg. A refined German named Oatman, Jung and Jargal started wholesale houses. A Frenchman named Cauvin and Albrecht and the Boshoffs were there. The Marais - old Tass Marais, van Jargeveldt. Pretorius a fine gentleman whose farm was Plessis Largaar - in fact all the Boers were settled about P.M.Burg.16 Old Liversage was at Umgeni. All in P.M.Burg seemed to live more comfortably than in Durban. There was no vegetables then. On account of bad roads in Durban you could not walk only to your neck in sand. Then the man who could build 'wattle & daub' was the man. To thatch a house was then an accomplishment. Education was of no use - manual labour was the thing in demand. The 27th Regt left and went to the Old Colony about 1845. Many of the 45th purchased their discharge, settled down and became good and useful citizens. To show what many of them were, Andrew Muirhead was a PD [BD?]. His family also followed education & his sons are now schoolmasters. He was of Irish extraction. Sergt Miller or White [?] also was Irish. He was hospital Sergt in the 45th and afterwards Superintendent of Durban Hospital. A good man, George Ross Nottingham kept the Aliwal Tavern in Longmarket Street & got rich. His son George is a successful farmer about Howick, I believe. Wm Burroughs was a good citizen. A man known to all named Gibby; A gentleman named Lamont kept a canteen, made money and died in Durban. Polly Short, money lender & great landowner died at the Bluff where his children are now. There was a Piet Otto, a farmer, & two brothers Zeederberg, two of the finest gentlemen [that] ever lived. They had land and farms over the whole country. Good, kind men but, shortsighted - would not sell land at any price and at last came to grief. Jacobus married Piet Otto's daughter and both are dead. Napoleon Wheeler came in 1843. English used to draw wood from Meyers Hoek. He was afterwards Market Master at P.M.Burg. Predicant Smith was a good old Dutchman his son a pettifogging lawyer. 17 About that time came Dr French and de Villiers. The latter was an uncle of John Dunn. He came from the Cape. Both underwent 6 months in prison. De Villiers was a clever advocate but defended [defrauded?] his clients and embezzled their money. Dr French suffered for practising without a diploma and something about the death of Mrs van der Merwe. The whole of the Dutchmen were about P.M.Burg very quiet people but in 1844 they began to immigrate to Mooi River Dorp [Potchefstroom] so that in a short time the Dutch element vanished. The 45th were bridge builders and road makers between Maritzburg and Durban. They made that great cutting at the Inchanga under the supervision of the Engineers. They were paid so much per diem and did well. They were all temperate men for the old 45th were well ordered men and very submissive and quiet. They helped many emigrants later on. I was sent down to get headstones for the graves of the men who fell at Congella & letter them. I got the stone at the Bluff. Time has so worn them that I cannot read the names myself now. The Bar was in such a state then that Capt Gibb of the Royal Engineers ordered a survey which lies in the Harbour Engineer's office today. We had a surplus of 500 on the military estimate. The sum was dedicated to survey from Umgeni to Cato's Creek. We made the canal successfully with a view of turning the Umgeni to Cato's Creek to scour the bar. That was about the latter end of 1846 or beginning of 1847, but a great flood came and washed the banks in. We had no more money, so had to leave it. The marks of the canal works are there today.18 23 Reminiscences of Thomas Green After I completed my job I had to sink a well at the old camp which is good today. I got assistance & had to build a Magazine at the Point which many may remember as it was slated. In 1844 I was ordered to attend in P.M.Burg and was on the Delimitation Survey of the colony. Mr Gibb of the Engineers with Captn Kyle, Theophilus Shepstone - he was our safeguard and everything to the party. 19 Our Party was large. 15 picked men of the Royal Engineers, four artillery men and about 25 of the 45th. I was one of the picked men (Read Sir Theophilus Shepstone's reminiscences from 'Honey Bird'. He refers to his old friend Mr Thomas Green who doubted his story of the honey bird at Dugaza now Stanger).20 The 45th were the real pioneers of the colony ready & willing to do every work that came in their way no matter whether civil or military. No grumble - it was for the good of Natal. The Kafirs had four attributes no other man on this earth possessed. They were sober, honest, virtuous & obedient. No case of theft was known, though everything was under their noses. There were no locks or keys then. Order them to go 30 or 40 miles, give them a loaf of bread and a piece of beef and they completed their task honestly. The 45th was a sort of amphibious animal - half soldier, half civilian though poorly clothed and fed he pioneered the colony. In 1845 headquarters arrived - Col. Boyes band & staff. After that Martin West, the first Governor came, & Judge Cloete, one of the best of men. Donald Moodie was Secretary to the Governor. Shortly afterward came a young lawyer chosen at home for his ability - Mr Gallwey, now Sir Michael. He found everything a blank page. He began & framed every law, and advised every Government in Natal up to the date of his promotion to the Chief Judgeship. The Country should be grateful to Sir Michael, who has done his work honestly and well. I am myself proud of him especially as my fellow countryman. Mr John Bird, a Mr Pierce, & Lawrence Cloete, Surveyor, & then Dr Stanger, Surveyor General. It was the machinery of the Law got put in motion. The Courts began, though we had done very well without them in the past. Our young Attorney General greased the machinery and the law seemed to work very smoothly. Magistrates were appointed & people began to steal into Natal in ones and twos. We were all men, scarcely any women, so that when the first shipload of emigrants came, the women were worshipped - It was so long since we had seen an English woman that we were all off our heads. In 1848 the ship Henry Tanner brought the first emigrants to Natal. 21 You may think what was our state of mind was when we saw our country women with the blush of rose or the daisy on their cheek, and the compliments or 'blarney' we paid to these fine women - I can assure you we laid on the butter so thick that many of them were thrown off their balance and 'balakiled'22 from their good husbands, poor things! They thought they had made a mistake in the choice of their husbands, for we had good money. Our experience we gave to the emigrants freely. Dr Addison arrived in that ship - the first M.D. in Natal. John Akerman was here then teaching in a Dutch Family and had hard work to make ends meet, 'But there is a tide in the affairs of men etc'. At that time there was a Chemist named van Sivel who went mad. He was successful, a good chemist, but a mad chemist was very dangerous, so Mr John Akerman stepped into his shoes and became a successful chemist. 23 The Emigrants all came to Maritzburg. Nothing was doing in Durban - it was a waste of sand. But most of them were free Yorkshire farm labourers, 24 Reminiscences of Thomas Green who understood cattle and could work hard. There wasn't much education amongst them. A little flannel rag, soap & water would clean them of their education. There was a butcher amongst them Puckering?24 by name, who was well off. Beef was cheap then - 11/,d per lb - so that there was no danger of hunger. Some I know worked at 3/- per diem. Cattle was cheap, & they soon got a cart and 4 or 6 oxen to carry loads to & fro; and most of these men or their sons, are wealthy men today. Amongst them was Mr Wakefield, a man of considerable means who started a large Bakery and confectioners shop and became wealthy. His family is settled all over the country - respectable good citizens. My daughter is married to a son of Mr Wakefield's and settled down in comfortable circumstances. Another daughter was married to 'Polly' Short, whose son is lighthouse keeper at the Point at the present day and one of her daughters is married to Pilot Gordon. All of the Wakefield family are respectfully settled in the colony. I was talking to a gentleman in Verulam a year ago. I called his name Carter. He said 'No, my name is Mason. I was once Mayor of P.M.Burg'. He said, 'Don't you remember employing my cart to drive you to Ilovu where you were going to build for somebody there?' I then remembered, 0 What a surprise! Many who came at that time were by their own energy and perseverance to be the wealthiest men about the district of P.M.Burg. More power to them! /// Dick King I came to Durban to reside permanently in 1852. Dick King who was then my brother-in-law, brought me into more intimate acquaintance with that gentleman. I often sat trying to draw him out on many of his hair-breadth escapes. He was very unassuming. I asked him about the great ride. His reply was that taking the standpoint of 1842 when all was savage life there arose a difficulty. I asked him what road he took to Grahamstown. He said, 'once my two horses were landed on the Bluff I well knew the Boers would be on my track so I coasted it & swam all the rivers at their mouths. The Boers followed me for a length of time, but Chief Umnini put them on the wrong track. The Boers followed me for 24 hours'. I asked him how many rivers he had to swim. He said, 'over 200 between Natal & Grahamstown'. I asked him how his horses stood it. He said, 'I rode them as long as I could. A good missionary of the name of Eversides, carrying on his work at Umtata gave me a relay of horses'. He told me he was lying in the veldt for 24 hours with fever. I asked him how long it took him to do the ride. He told me he diu the distance in 8 days, but taking the time lost with fever, he rode the distance in six days.25 You must have been very fatigued 1 said. 'No', King said, 'I jumped off my horse when 1 went into Grahamstown'. 1 asked him how he got along with the Kafirs. 'Being a good Kafir linguist helped me very much, as 1 could obtain food, as every Kafir hated the Boer'. My wife told me a different tale, she said she was one of the first to meet her 25 Reminiscences of Thomas Green brother Dick in Grahamstown when he arrived, and two men had to take him off his horse - and likely enough. 1 asked the distance and he replied, 'I believe it is 600 miles to Grahamstown'. When the rivers are taken into consideration together with the nature of the anxiety and its savage [surroundingf61 believe that such a ride has never been accomplished by any other man. 1 said to him 'You are a hero and worthy to be called an Englishman - A man that England should never forget for time immemorial'. NOTES I. In 1887 the 27th Regiment served in Natal and Zululand and experienced a minor mutiny during its period at Fort Napier. Two deaths, a trial in the Supreme Court and a hanging resulted. See G. Dominy, 'More than just a "drunken brawl"? The mystery of the mutiny of the Inniskilling Fusiliers at Fort Napier. 1887', Southern African-Irish Studies I, 1991, pp.56-72. 2. Green is referring to the Anglo-Zulu War monument in Durban which he describes below. 3. Green is incorrect: the Thunderbolt arrived off Durban on 21 July 1843. See George Russell. The history of old Dilrban and reminiscences of an emigrant of 1850 (Durban. 1899reprinted 1971), p.54. 4. The 'Cape Corps', also known as the Cape Mounted Rifles, was a British-officered unit of the Imperial army raised largely from the Cape 'coloured' communities and used as cavalry and mounted infantry on the colonial frontiers. See Johan de Villiers, 'The Imperial Cape Mounted Riflemen in Natal - a preliminary survey' (Unpublished paper presented at the Workshop on Natal and Zululand in the pre-colonial and colonial periods, University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 23-24 October 1990). 5. Green completely ignores the black population of Natal! 6. The KCAL TS incorrectly transcribes 'misters' as 'ministers'. 7. It was only after the acceptance by the Volksraad of the terms laid down by Henry Cloete and the occupation of Pietermaritzburg by Major Smith and the detachment of the 45th, that legal restrictions were relaxed. Natal remained in a 'curious state of transition'. - see E. H. Brookes & c. de B. Webb. A history of Natal (Pietermaritzburg, 1965), p.48. 8. Harry Escombe: Lawyer. politician and prime minister of Natal under responsible government. 9. The Reverends Newton Adams and Aldin Grout were missionaries of the' American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions' who arrived at Port Natal in 1835 (Brookes & Webb. A history of Natal. p.27). Adams College near Amanzimtoti is named after the former and Groutville. near Stanger is named after the latter. 10. In the KCAL TS 'Negro?' appears in parentheses after 'Black Jack'. I!. James Alfred Rorke (1827-1875), after whom Rorke's Drift was named: See G.A. Dominy, 'Disputed territory: the Irish presence in the marchlands of the Zulu kingdom. 1838-1888' in D. P. McCracken (ed.), 'The Irish in Southern Africa 1795-1910'. Southern African-Irish Studies 2, 1992. pp. 214-23. 12. An 'Imfezi' - Zulu word for the rinkhals (Hemachatus haemachates), a snake which spits its venom at its victims. 14. Hattersley, in More annals, refers to the 'pirate's belle', p.73. IS. According to Mrs Shelagh Spencer, enquiries were made into Shears's death. 16. Andries Pretorius was Commandant General of the Voortrekkers' 'Republiek Natalia' and had a farm at Plessislaer until he trekked to the interior in 1847. 17. Green appears to be referring to Erasmus Smit, the un ordained minister with the Voortrekkers. 18. Green may be referring to Lt. Gibb's efforts to bring pure water from the river to the military camp. This was a controversial work, both in funding and in execution which was destroyed by the Mngeni flooding in April 1848: See, Russell, The history of old Durban, p.71. 19. Green appears to be referring to the appointment of the first Locations Commission in 1846: See Brookes & Webb. A history of Natal. pp. 58-9. 20. Theophilus Shepstone, The honey bird: a Christmas chapter in natural history, Pietermaritzburg, 1890? See Chantelle Wyley, 'A Bibliography of contemporary writings on the natural history of Natal and Zululand in the 19th and early 20th centuries', Journal of Natal and Zulu History, XIII, 1990-91, p.103. 26 Reminiscences of Thomas Green 21. The Henry Tanner was the third of the Byrne & Co. ships to arrive: I am indebted to Shelagh Spencer for this note. 22. Green seems to be using a corrupt form of the Zulu word beleka. or beleta, meaning to 'carry an infant or young child, on the back' - see J. W. Colenso, Zulu-English dictionary (Pietermaritzburg, 1905 - 4th ed.), p. 31. See also A. T. Bryant, A Zulu-English dictionary (Pietermaritzburg & Pine town, 1905) for an almost identical meaning. Green is obviously implying that the men carried off the newly arriving women with the ease of a mother carrying a baby on her back. I am indebted to Cmdt. S.B. Bourquin of WestvilIe, for his assistance with the identification of this word. See also 'baleka': v. intr. 1. run away, flee. 2. desert a husband, break contract. 3. be a fast runner. 4. pay runaway visit to lover (by a girl).' In C. M. Doke, D. McK. Malcolm & J. M. A. Sikakana (Comps), English-Zulu dictionary (Johannesburg, 1985), p.6. I am indebted to Miss June Farrer for this reference. 23. Akerman entered the Natal legislative in later life and in 1887 he was created KCMG on the occasion of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee, the first Natal person in elective office to receive this honour. See Spencer. British settlers. 1. p.2l. 24. The KCAL TS tentatively identifies him as 'Nuckering'. 25. Brookes & Webb claim that King took ten days: A history of Natal, p.39. 26. Word inserted from KCAL TS. Lutherans, Germans: Hermannsburgers Never forget that you are Lutheran missionaries and have undertaken to teach according to the Lutheran confession and using pure Lutheran sacraments. Also never forget that you are Germans and must cling to German language and tradition as a jewel given you by God. And as Hermannsburg missionaries you may never become lords but must remain servants. (Theodor Harms, 1857).1 Natal's large German community this year celebrated its contribution to the development of Natal and South Africa. The fact that the language and culture has survived through so many generations is in itself extraordinary, made more so by the tremendous impact the industrious Germans have had at all levels of society. Census figures show that the Germans are the largest 'foreign' contingent of Natal's white population, while German is the most popular foreign language offered at Government schools.2 Natal boasts a number of prestigious German schools, beautiful churches and a rich cultural tradition. German names are prominent at all levels of government, banking, the building industry and above all, in agriculture and livestock farming. German immigrants and their descendants are also well represented in academic circles, education, medicine, law, industry, trades and the civil service. They form part of South African history from the days of Jan van Riebeeck when a number of Germans arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in the service of the Dutch East India Company. They are particularly prominent in the development of Natal from its days as the Voortrekker Republic of Natalia. But why did so many Germans settle in a British colony? And how has the German language and tradition survived so many generations in an often hostile environment? The advice of Theodor Harms, given to the second group of Hermannsburg missionaries on 2 November 1857, provides the answer. On this day the Hermannsburg Mission Society (HMS) commissioned 43 people, including missionaries, colonists and their wives, for service in Africa. From the day its first station was established in 1854 the HMS would, like no other society, shape the face of Germanness in Natal. Mass German emigration From the mid-eighteenth to the late nineteenth century thousands of Europeans found their way to southern Africa as part of the mass European exodus to America, Africa and Australasia. But the mass influx of Germans was not enough for the language and culture to survive in a foreign land. In fact, the Natalia 22 (1992), H-J. Oschadleus pp. 27-38 28 Lutherans, Germans: Hermannsburgers early immigrants had little reason to maintain contact with their fatherland, where they had borne the brunt of political and religious instability, economic crises and the consequences of the industrial revolution. Within a generation they were absorbed into their new environment. The Cape, for example, saw a mixture of Germans with Dutch settlers, French Huguenots and smaller groups of other nations who settled there. This assimilation was equally evident in Natal. In 1840 twelve German men settled in Pietermaritzburg, capital of the Voortrekker Republic of Natalia, but all were married to non-Germans and their children did not speak German. If groups of Germans found it difficult to preserve their language, it was even more difficult for individuals. One of the first known individuals was H. E. C. Behrens, nephew of the Hanseatic consul to the Cape, Maximilian Thalwitzer. He arrived in the Republic of Natalia in 1841, hoping to pursue his agricultural interests. When Britain annexed Natal in 1843 Behrens moved into colonial service as an interpreter. He was soon placed in charge of the finance office, and in 1850 became the secretary of the Natal Fire Assurance and Trust Company. Later he was to become a leading figure in the Natal Bank and the Natal Land and Colonisation Company.3 His farm, Perseverance, would later become the headquarters of the HMS. With the exception of German officials whose primary concern was trade, few emigrants maintained contact with the German states. However, stimulated by an upswing in German classicism and romanticism in the early nineteenth century, and accompanied by the increased nationalism and patriotism of the post-Napoleonic era, a German national identity began emerging. This was entrenched by the liberal revolutions of the 1830s, but its initial effect was limited to those still living in Germany. Colonialism became a major factor in transferring nationalist sentiments to communities around the world, but Germany's brief colonial experience (1880-1945) was never a major consideration in British-oriented Natal. In fact, Germans encountered considerable opposition and generally remained neutral during the various conflicts between Germany and Britain. Furthermore, the foundations of German communities had already been laid by this time. The question is, how did the German language and culture survive in a foreign, and even hostile, environment? The rise of mission societies The answer to this question lies in the rise of mission societies, particularly those conducted by Lutherans. 'The most powerful factor in the cultural life of the Germans in Natal is the Lutheran Church,' W. Bodenstein wrote in 1937. 'It stands in the foreground, determining and shaping the essence of that cultural life, permeating the whole fabric as a religious life energy.'4 Various Lutheran mission societies were sent to Natal - the Berlin (BMS) and Norwegian Mission Societies (NMS) in 1847 and 1848 respectively, the Hermannsburgers in 1854, and the Church of Sweden Mission (CSM) in 1876. These societies maintained close contact with their home church, and the ongoing ordination of missionaries ensured a fresh influx of German and Scandinavian blood to Natal. Ludwig Harms, founder of the HMS, was particularly concerned with the need to tie the mission society to the church, and to establish an 'indigenous church' which would be the counterpart of the home church in doctrine, 29 Lutherans. Germans: Hermannsburgers Hermannsburg missionaries in Natal (1888) Back: Schmidt, Hormann. Stielau. Drewes, Oltmann, Schiering, Dedekind, Braul, Ahrens, Dir. Harms; Middle: Stallbohm, Deppe, Ropier, Lilie, Wolff, Schoemann, Johannes, Reibeling, Past, Haccius ; Front: Hoist, Bartel s, Prigge, Kohrs, Wagner, Engelbrecht, Volker, KUck, Rottcher, MUller. (Photograph: University of Natal Library. Pietermaritzbllrg) liturgy, organisation and church discipline. 5 Harms's vision included the eventual establishment of an independent, black-controlled Lutheran Church, while the HMS approach to mission also ensured that German communities would be established. Not all mission societies assisted in the building of German culture. The Roman Catholics, for example, were more concerned with the spread of Catholicism than national culture. Furthermore, the clergy and members of religious orders, being celibate, had no descendants and were unable to pass on their language from parent to child. Consequently, although valuable work was performed on Natal stations such as Mariannhill and Reichenau, this did not lead to the establishment of German communities. Neither were all Protestant missions able to establish strong German communities. Most of the German Baptists and Reformed Christians in southern Africa were assimilated into the nearest reformed English or Afrikaans communities.6 By contrast, the Moravians (Herrnhuter), who were the first German missionaries in southern Africa in 1737, sent their children to school in Germany. Few returned to Africa and thus German culture was not nurtured. However, where Lutheran missions were established it soon became evident that German communities would arise too. Although the first Lutheran mission society in southern Africa, the Rhenish Mission Society (RMS), did not enter Natal, it showed the way for later societies. The first four RMS missionaries 30 Lutherans. Germans: Hermannsburgers arrived at the Cape with Dr John Philip of the London Missionary Society in 1829 and attempted to establish communities around stations such as Wupperthal near Clanwilliam. The RMS modelled its work on Genadendal, the station established by the Moravians in 1737, and its close association with various Dutch missions precluded the possibility of a distinctly German community.7 Ironically the arrival of German Lutherans, and thus the establishment of the German communities in Natal, was more by accident than design.8 The BMS sent its missionaries to the Orange Free State and Kaffraria, while the HMS, with its unique concept of colonial and communal mission derived from the medieval monastic mission to the Saxons, was destined for the Galla people of East Africa. But for the existence of a German community on the Natal coast, the HMS may never have entered Natal. Natal's first German settlement Natal's first German community owed its existence to the opposition of the British government to the immigration scheme of a Bavarian Jew, Jonas Bergtheil. He arrived in Natal in 1843 and established the N