Legacy Of Discord And Peace
Many streets and buildings in Port Natal – now the thriving harbour- metropolis of Durban – were subsequently named after King Shaka’s colonial associates, and South Africans believed it most appropriate when Nelson Mandela revived the name Dukuza from the annals of history to a living honour for the Dolphin Coast. President Mandela was not the first Nobel Peace laureate to grace our part of the country. Between KwaDukuza-Stanger and Shakaskraal lies the former mission station of Groutville, home and burial place of South Africa’s first-ever Nobel Peace Prize winner, Chief Albert Luthuli. This renowned educator received the accolade in 1960, for seeking a non-violent solution to our country’s racial inequalities and attendant conflicts. Widely respected and honoured abroad, but routinely silenced at home, Chief Luthuli was elected President- General of the outlawed African National Congress (ANC) in 1952. He guided the ANC through that turbulent decade authored the internationally acclaimed Let My People Go in 1962, and died in 1967 while serving yet another banning order.
Taste Of Things To Come
As traditional leader of the local populace and dedicated to their economic upliftment, Chief Luthuli encouraged his people to engage in sugar farming, an industry which had begun physically reshaping the coastal belt in the mid-19th century. Edmond Morewood pioneered the South African sugar industry in 1851, growing the first commercial cane at Compensation, just south of Umhlali, and refining the sugar at his rudimentary mill. After failing to secure expansion- finance, Morewood departed our shores never to return, his memory lost for a hundred years until rediscovered by latter- day ‘sugar barons’ of the area. The Dolphin Coast’s panoramic fields of ‘green gold’ waving in the gentle sea-breeze, and the quaint, informative ‘sugar village’ of Umhlali, bear witness to the prophetic nature of Morewood’s vision.
Passage From The East
Before he sailed though, Morewood imparted to colonial authorities information that also had a profound effect on the Kingdom of the Zulu – indentured labour from India. From the outset, Zulus had shown unwillingness to become farm labourers, and as the practice of importing field hands was already operational in Ceylon and Mauritius, the government of India soon received letters of request from this country too. The first few hundred Indian families disembarked at Port Natal on November 17, 1860 journeying north by ox- wagon to those farms that had applied for labour. By 1911, when the scheme was abolished, their number had risen to well over a hundred thousand. Many Indians chose not to leave when their contracts expired, exchanging return passage for money or land. They were soon joined by entrepreneurs from the sub-continent, who arrived on their own initiative at this new frontier of opportunity. Culturally and economically, Indian influence flourishes throughout our Kingdom of the Zulu, not least along the Dolphin Coast. KwaDukuza-Stanger in particular, has a distinctly Eastern feel to its bustling central business district, and Shakaskraal closely resembles many a hamlet in rural India…transported into the heart of Africa!
The Circle Is Complete
While decades of legally entrenched racial segregation denied equal access to the fruits of our inimitable heritage, the long- sought demise of apartheid finally witnessed the Dolphin Coast’s dynamic potential reach full bloom. Built around the legend and image of ‘Ilembe’ – the ‘wise and powerful’ King Shaka – our regional authority’s title and coat-of-arms pay homage to the vibrant landscape and diverse cultural origins of today’s unique and fascinating Dolphin Coast experience. We look forward to sharing with you our insights, hospitality and all the ingredients of a stirring South African adventure!
