THE NATAL SOCIETY OFFICE BEARERS, 1984-1985 President Cr Miss
P.A. Reid Vice-Presidents Dr J. Clark M.J.e. Daly H. Lundie S.N.
Raberts Prof. e. de B. Webb Trustees M.l.e. Daly Cr Miss P.A. Reid
S.N. Raberts Treasurers Messrs Dix. Bayes & Co. Auditors Messrs
Tharnton-Dibb, Van der Leeuw & Partners Chief Librarian Mrs
S.S. Wallis Secretary P.e.G. McKenzie COUNCIL Elected Members Cr
Miss P.A. Reid (Chairman) S. N. Raberts (Vice-Chairman) Dr F.e.
Friedlander R.Owen W.G. Andersan A.D.S. Rose R.S. Steyn M.l.e. Daly
Prof. A.M. Barrett T.B. Frost Associate Members F.J.H. Martin. MEC
City Council Representatives Cr N.M. Fuller Cr W.l.A. Gilsan Cr
R.F. Haswell EDITORIAL COMMITTEE OF NA T ALIA Editor T.B. Frost
W.H. Bizley M.H. Camrie l.M. De:me Prof. W.R. Guest Ms M.P. Maberly
Mrs S.P.M. Spencer Miss l. Farrer (Hon. Sec.) Natalia 15 (1985)
Copyright Natal Society Foundation 2010Cover Picture The tower of
the Mariaman Temple, Pietermaritzburg. (Photograph: R.F. Haswell)
SA ISSN 0085 3674 Printed by Kendall & Strachan (pty) Ltd.,
Pietermaritzburg Contents EDITORIAL 5 ORIGINAL DOCUMENT Letter from
S. John 7 ORAL HISTORY Interview with Mr Sam Chetty Moray Comrie
........... . 10 PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY 125 Years The Arrival of
Natal's Indians in Pictures Joy B. Brain
........................... 18 ARTICLE Reducing the Indian
Population to a 'Manageable Compass': A Study of the South African
Assisted Emigration Scheme of 1927 Uma Shashikant Mesthrie
............... 36 ARTICLE Indian Townscape Features in
Pietermaritzburg Robert F. Haswell ..................... 57 ARTICLE
Health and Disease in White Settlers in Colonial Natal Joy B. Brain
........................... 64 ARTICLE Brother Nivard Streicher
1884-1922 Robert Brusse Architect of Mariannhill 79 ARTICLE
Architects versus Catholics: The Emmanuel Cathedral Controversy
Peter Spi/ler .................... . 89 ARTICLE A Brief History of
the Farm Bosch Hoek Maryna Fraser ................. . 95 OBITUARIES
Mark Fiennes Prestwich George Selwyn Moberly 100 102 NOTES AND
QUERIES Morav Comrie 106 BOOK REVIEWS AND NOTICES . 119 SELECT LIST
OF RECENT NATAL PUBLICATIONS 128 REGISTER OF RESEARCH ON NATAL 129
NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS 132 5 Editorial The Index of the previous ten
volumes published in Natalia 11 revealed that a theme conspicuous
by its absence was the history of the Indian community and its
contribution to the tapestry of Natal life. 1985 marks the one
hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of the arrival of the first
indentured Indian labourers and thus provides a most suitable
occasion to make good a regrettable deficiency in the scope of
material published in Natalia. Accordingly we reproduce a letter by
a literate indentured Indian supplied by Professor Surendra Bhana
of the University of Durban-Westville, to whom we are also indebted
for its editorial introductory note. Accompanying it is our first
venture into oral history, the reminiscences of Mr Sam Chetty of
Pietermaritzburg, recorded and edited by Mr Moray Comrie of the
Natalia Editorial Committee. Not inappropriately, it is other
members of the staff of the Department of History of the University
of Durban-Westville whom we have to thank for further contributions
on the theme of Indians in Natal: Dr Joy Brain for an unusual
photographic essay on Indian immigration to and settlement in Natal
(and we acknowledge the assistance of her husband, Dr Peter Brain,
in the reproduction of the photographs), and Ms Uma Mesthrie for a
substantial article on the South African assisted emigration scheme
of 1927. Dr Rajend Mesthrie reports on his study of the evolution
of distinct South African varieties of the Indian languages while
Mr Robert Haswell of the University of Natal completes this part of
Natalia 15 with a piece on the Indian contribution to the
Pietermaritzburg townscape. 1985 was ~ l s o the one hundred and
twenty-fifth anniversary of the inauguration of the railway age in
South Africa with the running of the first train from Durban to the
Point, an event commemorated by the Railway Society of Southern
Africa with an appropriate (if not precisely accurate) historical
re-enactment by a special train with guests in a variety of
nineteenth century costumes, hauled by the second oldest steam
engine in the land. Mr Bruno Martin, also of the University of
Natal, and a railway enthusiast, has contributed a substantial Note
on these events. Three years ago Natalia recorded the centenary of
the establishment of the Mariannhill monastery. We are now pleased
to be able to carry an illustrated article on the work of its
architect, Brother Nivard Streicher, both at Mariannhill and at
various daughter houses. For this our thanks go to the well known
Durban architect, Mr Robert Brusse, himself responsible for the
recent splendid restoration of St Joseph's cathedral church at
Mariannhill. For the rest, we are glad to be able to publish
another offering by one of our most indefatigable contributors, Dr
Peter Spiller of the School of Law at the University of Natal,
Durban, this time on the controversy that erupted between the
architects and their clients, the Catholic Church, over the 6
construction of Durban's Emmanuel Cathedral. The adjective
'indefatigable' is also an appropriate one to apply to Dr Joy Brain
who has supplied us with an interesting article in an unusual field
- health and disease in colonial Natal. Travellers on the national
road through the Natal midlands pass through the farm Bosch Hoek.
We are grateful to Mrs Maryna Fraser, archivist of the Barlow Rand
group, for tracing its history for us. In our Book Review section
we publish a short article by Professor Michael Chapman, co-editor
of the facsimile reprint of Voorslag 1 - 3, on Roy Campbell and his
role in the production of that iconoclastic journal. To all our
contributors, to the writers of obituaries, and to the members of
the Editorial Committee who have attended many meetings, made many
enquiries in search of material and done much proof-reading, my
grateful thanks. Without so much talent and goodwill, freely given,
there could be no Natalia. May the pleasure and profit of our
readers be their reward. T.B. FROST 7 "Make haste my Lord You
cannot help me after my death" Editorial Note S. John was a
Christian indentured Indian. He did hawking for his employer.
although it is not clear whether he was originally hired for that
purpo,e. or whether the Tuckers were his first employers. There
must have been others who were hired as hawkers. but this class of
employment among the indentured was infrequent. John is not typical
of the indentured individuals in that he was able to read and write
English. His letter, then, is one of a very few that provides
fir;;t hand the indentured perspective. and is therefore
historically valuable. The complaints agilinst his employer sound
reasonable enough. although some of his charges suggest to me a
paranoic mind. The picture he creates makes good social history;
and the researcher studying the development of the English language
among Indians may find the mannerisms of interest. Despite claiming
to have 'no time to write letters', John appears to have been
gifted with the pen. The Deputy Protector. who investigated John's
complaints, found some of them to be valid, but was generally
unsympathetic. He was inclined to believe that if John 'were to
write less and try and satisfv his employer by endeavouring to do
his duty. matters would go more smoothly'. Of the individuals named
in John's letter C.W. Tomkins was caterer for the Railway
Refreshment Rooms. He built the Inchanga Hotel where he had a large
bakery and mineral water factory and from where he despatched daily
consignments to the various buffets and dining rooms. A. Fricker
was in charge of the Refreshment Rooms at Estcourt. Mr Tucker,
however. is less easy to identify: the 1904 Natal Almanac lists an
Ed Tucker as running an eating house in Durban, though whether he
was the onc of whom John complained is uncertain. John's letter of
13 JulY. 1904 is addressed to the Protector of Indian Immigrants.
It has been brokcn into paragraphs and some punctuation supplied.
but otherwise no changes have been made. Source: II11112S,
1613/1904, Natal Archives. SURENDRA BHANA May it please your
Exellency my Lord. Hoping the trouble will be excused, I with due
respect and humble submission beg to submit these few lines to your
generous and kind considerations. Oh my Lord, I pray your majesty
to sympathize with my pitiful conditions. How long I suffer
disconsolation and affliction. Make haste my Lord to help me in my
distress. You cannot help me after my death my Lord. Your majesty
say that I give trouble to my employers. Don't think so my Lord. I
did not give any trouble to my masters and I will not give any
trouble to them. I am a christian. I know it is a great sin to tell
lies or to be humbug. In order to cover their curious heart they
say that I am humbug and liar. Did your majesty ask them what
trouble I gave to them? I did not give any trouble to them my Lord.
8 "Make haste my Lord . .. " Mr C.W. Tomkins once promised to Mr
Fricker manager of Estcourt and said, 'If anyone put John into
prison I will give 8 pounds to him.' Mr Fricker himself said to me,
all the waiters know this. My employers try their best to kill me
in any way they could, but they looks good to others. Most honoured
my Lord I humbly pray your majesty to see to my fruitful
conditions. On the 13th June 1904 Mr Tucker filled a large tray
with sweetmeats, fruits, books and paper and gave order to me to
walk along the platform when train comes to sell them, and
compelled me to sell them from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. I did not refuse
it. I sold them for two days. On the 15th June I was sick by that
hard working. Thinking it is best to show myself to the magistrate
of the City Police I without a pass went to the Interpreter of City
Police and reported about my sickness and requested him to tell to
send me to hospital. But he said to me to go to your manager and
ask him to send you to hospital. When I returned from the Court, Mr
Tucker met me near the Court and charged me to a police man for not
having a pass from him. But Interpreter declined to take me in
charge and gave order to send me to hospital. My manager left me
behind and returned from the Court, and then I went to a Doctor
named Mr Wood and requested him to examine me. I returned from the
Doctor's house with a prescription note and showed it to my
manager, and requested him to send me to hospital. No, no. I shall
take you to hospital for examination. Come and follow me, he said
and took me to the of N.G.R. Hospital and said to him, examine this
humbug feller who put his face downward so that I take him for
jail. Compounder said, 'No I cannot,' send him to the medical
officer. And then my manager Mr Tucker took a knife from the hand
of the Compounder, which he had for his work on that time, and came
to me to stab with it, crying, take away this wretched feller, and
said, Why you did not die. I answered and said, Sir, the Lord God
keeps me in life to protect my poor children who still expecting my
hand. While I saying these words Mr Tucker was whispering something
with the Compounder which I did not understand but the Compounder
interrupted and said, no, no 'he is a poor man having children.' I
hope Mr Compounder will not deny these what I say here. Mr
Compounder sent me to the medical officer's house. While my manager
was still speaking with the Compounder, I was examined by the
doctor and was sent to hospital where I was 8 days on 22nd June. I
was discharged from hospital with a weak state. When I was in
hospital I tried very much to speak, and tell about my sickness to
the Doctor but I had no chance to speak with the Doctor because he
was busy. Otherwise I should have told him about my sickness. When
I returned from hospital I carried a uncovered letter in which Mr
Compounder stated that I was fit for work to my manager. I am sure
of it that there was a speach between my manager and Compounder.
Otherwise he will not certify me that I am fit for work. Most
Honoured my Lord, I swear it that I felt very weak on the day of my
dischargement, on the very day Mrs Tucker ordered me take fruits
tray to sell. I am under this hard work suffering very much
difficulty. Oh my Lord, I swear it by the greatest name in the
universe that I feel still weakness. My muscles are not strong
enough to walk properly. My feet, ankles and hip are 9 "Make haste
my Lord.. " very much pammg because of my infirmity. Those who go
by the train sympathize with my pitiful and miserable state when I
walk along the platform with that fruit tray. Did not I say that
there is something about my life, my Lord. I dare to make an oath
that Mr C.W. Tomkins sent me to Pietermaritzburg for the purpose of
assassinate me. There is no doubt of it. From 7 a.m. to 8.30 p.m. I
must do my work. Mrs Tucker treat as a slave. She says that I am
humbug and in order to hide her evil design she speaks with her
feigned lips good. She says your Protector you say is in my hand
and he will not refuse to my words. I hope he will not hear you. Oh
my Lord, I pray your majesty. Where can I go if your majesty so
will pleased us to be ill-treated. Oh my Lord incline your ears and
hear my voice of crying, no one is put but you to protect the
destitute indentured men. Even a mule gets some rest off his work,
but on my part I could not find any rest while other servants enjoy
their rest. I was compelled to wait in the kitchen. I have no time
to write letters. This application was written ... [words missing?]
to work here, not to be humbug. I have finished 21!2 years. During
these time no managers say that I don't know how to cut bread and
butter. Mrs Tucker finding that there is no other way to treat me
badly she ventured to say that I don't know how to cut bread and
butter. Oh my Lord let it be pleased your majesty that I did not
agree to come here to sell fruits, and I did not agree to work
whole day. But I must do my work whole day or whole night when busy
in order to make my Superior satisfied. Did not I work in the time
of war. Night and day we work. I did not mind my rest, but it is
unsufferable when the order proceeding out of their envious and
cruel heart for the purpose of fulfil their revengeful thought. In
conclusion I most humbly pray your majesty to call me to Durban,
before I transferred to Zululand because my manager said that he
would transfer me to Zululand, and examine my strength and sickness
and be gracious to cure me of my illness and make me fit for work.
Because though I looks a strong and lleshy man I swear it that I am
too feeblc and weak. All my joints are very painful. I pray your
majesty don't forsake me, help me. For which act of kindness I
shall praise your name. I remember you in my prayer and I shall
duty bound to pray your honor, welfare and prosperity. I beg to
remain Most excellency my Lord I am your obedient servant S. John
No. 90785. 10 Interview with Mr Sam Chetty This interview was
conducted at the offices of the Natal Society, Pietermaritzburg, on
Tuesday 16 July 1985. Comments which did not bear directly on the
main themes of the discussion have been excised from the
transcript, as have such minor hesitations and repetitions typical
of colloquial usage that do not affect the sense of Mr Chetty's
remarks, but in all other respects this is a verbatim
transcription. We had a laundry situated at West Street, 191 West
Street, which was opened by my grandfather. This must be some time
just before the first World War - that would be 1910, 12: I
couldn't remember dates. This was managed by him and helped by my
father. I was born in '24, so I only remember things say from '30
onwards. I can remember faintly we used to do washing for the
Wykeham School. And we used to do all the washing for the mounted
police out at Alexandra Road, for the warders at the prison, and
all the people at the top end of town. At that stage there were a
lot of lawyers and judges and all living in Pine Street and West
Street. This was our territory, we used to do all the washing and
ironing. I mean those days, you know, one had to do starching, and
we had all these four or five ironing rooms. Nothing electrical, it
was all coal stoves, these flat-irons, and washing soda; none of
these things you get these days, modern equipment. There were
another two laundries, I think. One of them was even before us. I
think it was before the start of the century, 1890-something, which
was known as Verasammy's laundry in Pietermaritz Street. I think
that was the oldest laundry in town. And then there was Samuel's
laundry. That was just below the station. These were the three
laundries at the top end of town that did all the washing and all.
You know, in a laundry those days, things used to be dried out in
the sun, and we had all these lines surrounding the yard. This is
what I can remember. And our place used to be a meeting place for
most of the Indians, because we had a big yard, and people used to
come shopping in town from the outlying districts and would ...
Animals, horses and things would be fed there, hay and other
things. When they did their shopping there was a very big trader
known as Amod Bayat. That's just below the station in Church
Street, one of the oldest traders in Maritzburg, and that used to
be the main shop for Indian groceries and Indian condiments. People
living far out, like Ashburton and Sweetwaters, towards Edendale,
used to come into town. If they came by train it wasn't far from
the station, and they would come and rest at our place, or leave
things there, and put up for the night and the next day go back
home. So you lived on the premises? We lived on the premises. 11
Interview with Mr Sam Chetly Are the buildings still surviving? No.
It was demolished in about ... We had stopped this laundry
operation in '34. There was a new building that was put up there.
We had leased these premises. There was quite a good Indian
community at the top end of town - we just called it the top end of
town - towards the Pine Street area. There were quite a few
shopkeepers, and there were tobacconists. A very old resident of
Maritzburg had his tobacconist's there, Mr S.R. Naidoo. And the
other Chettys, Dr Chetty's family, used to live at the top end, and
-. That's about all I could ... Now you mentioned that there were a
lot of lawyers and other professional people living in much the
same area . Much the same, yes. It was a "good" area to live? I
think it was an elite area. An elite area? An elite area, because I
think the Government House was where the present teachers' training
college is, and then Macrorie House and all these places. I think
that was the elite area. And an obvious question: was thne any
friction between people of colour? No. Nothing at all. Opposite us
used to be Mr Salter that used to own racehorses, and we were great
friends, and his children. You know, we used to go across there,
and we used to pinch some of the carrots that he used to feed his
horses with. As children, you see. And all our neighbours were
Europeans. We used to go ... my sisters and others used to go and
help at the Sanatorium that was just in Loop Street, and ... all
very friendly. In fact our next door neighbour (I've forgotten the
name now) was a European that my sister used to always go and help,
and do a bit of baby-watching. As I said, most of our friends,
even, that go down to the Umsindusi, which was just down the road,
were all Europeans, children that used to play together. Wc used to
go down to the river there, and spend ... WelL you know, pinch
plums and other things that used to grow around the river banks,
and come up ... Where did you go to school then? Well, there was a
school not far from us that used to be called the ... Islam ... It
used to be a school that was opened by the Muslim madressa that was
known as the Mohammedan school. That was not far from us. Of
course, wc had the bakery opposite us, and we had Dr Ovendale
opposite us. From that time he was a doctor, right 'til about the
'fifties, almost the 'sixties. Even close to the 'seventies he was
still ... and I think he retired after that. And, you know, those
days, not far from our place used to ... Well, we were very well
situated. We had all the facilities. We used to go down to the
Cream-. We used to go down to the milk shop. You know, you didn't
get milk in tea rooms as you get these days. You go up with your
jug, and they pour a pint out of the big container, and you buy
your butter and things like that. And we had a city meat market
that is still there, still in that position, 12 Interview with Mr
Sam Chetty and we had this fish shop, that used to be next door to
Arnold's chemist, but that's since ... not there any more. And you
said that the business was started by your grandfather. Had he come
from India himself! He had come from India as an immigrant, and I
think he worked for some time in Durban. We're a bit vague about
that. Then he ... I think he was contracted to the railways. Before
you go on: was he a free immigrant or indentured? An indentured
immigrant. He came as a labourer. He had to do his time, and then,
I think, he was given a job on the railways. He tells us that he
helped on the railways up to Mooi River. And finally I think ... I
am not too sure what he was doing on the railways, but then he
became a gatewatcher at Mooi River, a sort of a foreman of the
gates. My father was born in Mooi River, then from there he settled
in Maritzburg. He bought himself a farm out at Edendale, which is
still in our possession, but of course now it's going to be
expropriated by the Department of Cooperation and Development. This
is the ... the latest thing happening. While my grandfather had
this laundry, my father used to operate a taxi business and started
a small bus service. He was one of the first taxi operators, and he
had this transport knowledge with him. And in the 'fifties, or '58,
we started, which the help of my father, a bus service which grew
to a very large company. And, ah . . . Unfortunately there was
another expropriation there. We seem to have had [chuckle] a string
of expropriations. And this bus service was finally taken over by
the city council and the KwaZulu transport. This matter had to go
to arbitration, and we were not very happy about it: you know, the
sort of a settlement, the legal costs, and all these things
involved in it. The whole family ran this business, from this
laundry business into this bus business. We are seven brothers and
six sisters, so a very large family, yet my grandfather had just
one son. Sorry, to go back to him again: did he marry out here, or
did he bring a wife? He brought a wife, from India. He had one son
and the one son had thirteen children. A large family. Why was your
bus service expropriated? You say by KwaZulu and the council
together. Was there a clash of interests? Well. Well. We used to
co-operate quite well with the city council. We knew most of the
city operators. Our service grew to a very big service. When you
say 'very big'. We had about fifty-odd buses, fifty or sixty. You
know, for a private enterprise that was quite a large fleet. I was
a sort of a mechanic. We had my sister that used to be a cashier,
and my brother that used to do the finance in town, the board work.
In fact, I think, six of the brothers were involved in this bus
thing. What happened is that we had a sort of clash of interest
with KwaZulu that ... What they call B. I. C. came in and they
operated a bus service, not in direct competition but sort of
around about to ... we used to meet there. They used to be always
wanting to say this is an African area and they are Interview with
Mr Sam Chetty 13 preparing this for Africans. It used to come to
the local board. Of course one used to argue the matter, and we
were successful every time. And then came Group Areas and we
thought, you know, sooner or later we'd have to leave this, and we
applied for a bus service in the Indian area, thinking that ... Not
that we wanted ... This was not our doing that we wanted to be in
the area there; we were quite happy with the African service. In
fact all our neighbours . . . From European neighbours here we had
African neighbours, and we had a very good relationship with the
African community out at Edendale. We lived on the premises, and
all the drivers, predominantly African drivers and mechanics, were
trained there and we had a very good relationship. We brothers
started the business in '58 and we went up to '78: twenty years in
this business. And then there was a new law passed in parliament in
1978, which we weren't aware of, which had given the minister the
right to have an enquiry when he deemed fit. And like a bolt from
the blue came this commission of enquiry into transport in the
Maritzburg area. We had our legal representatives. We wanted to
know what is wrong with the present transport, what is wrong with
our transport? Before that, if anything was wrong, they had given
you allegations. You know, you were overloading, or you didn't keep
to your timetable, or your service was not up, the commuters were
complaining. We wanted to know what's wrong. And they just said,
'Look, we've just got a directive from the minister that we must
look into transport. The status quo might remain, and . . .'. So we
said, 'Well, we've got nothing to go by'. At the hearing the
chairman just said, 'Look, this is something the minister asked us
to look into; we might just leave this matter as it is. You say
your piece. Each one r.lUst say their piece'. But we said, you
know, 'Wh- ...'. Then they went around on inspection in loco. They
came and had a look at our depot, and looked at all the workshops
and whatever we had. At the same time we even mentioned that trying
to compare the city council's workshop and our workshop, which was
a private enterprise, wouldn't be fair, so the judgement wouldn't
be fair. One thing that we impressed upon them and said, 'Look,
come and look at our routes, the area that we are running'. This
was not of our own choosing. We had bought off African operators,
single operators, that had gone out to the spare routes and then
found themselves in great financial difficulties. They couldn't pay
for these buses, and their things were being repossessed. We would,
if we could, take them over so they don't lose everything, they
don't lose the bus and their certificate. So in most cases - must
have been five or six operators we had taken them over and made
some financial arrangement so they don't lose the lot. So we almost
had the monopoly. I must just come back to before we got this
monopoly. There were another two Indian operators. Then the city
council themselves weren't keen on running the service. I think
they were looking for a buyer, and I think they had a buyer, an
overseas company that was known as United Transport. They came down
to Maritzburg, and they visited us also, and they said they were
interested in this matter, but they weren't keen on buying the city
council's bus service if we were still in competition with them.
Their one condition was that they would take over the city council
if Mr Chetty and the other operators are willing to sell. 14
Interview with Mr Sam Chetty We had words with Mr Schumann, I think
he was the transport manager, and other officials, and we said,
'Look, we're quite willing. We think our days are numbered in the
sense that it's becoming an African area where they talk about
KwaZulu. It means that a new company is to take over, and we'd be
quite willing to talk price'. So then there was this question that
they would talk to the city council first, being the biggest
operator, then come back to us. They made the necessary
arrangements with the city council, and asked if we would, with the
other operators, meet them in Johannesburg, which we did. We went
to a boardroom in Johannesburg and had a chat and spoke about
price, and ... during that ... That was in '76, and I just have
this feeling that they dropped this whole matter because of the '76
riots. There were the Soweto riots that took place while we were
still discussing this. There was this burning of buses. Of course,
we still couldn't get the proper reason for their dropping this,
but we just have a slight suspicion that it would have been these
riots. Then after this came this commission of enquiry. But the
irony of the whole thing is that the city council now wants to be
rid of its bus business. They're running at a loss. But I was
telling you about the routes that we ran, but the commission didn't
want to go - they said they knew about it. We said we'd like to
drive along some of the routes where we are operating, and we've
made quite a few complaints to KwaZulu roads department about
fixing these roads and nothing has been done. For years we used to
have to mend the . . . We used to have a pick and a shovel and a
barrel to fill up these potholes and ruts and things like that. But
in any case, we had a very good relationship with the people. We
were in the route. If there were any complaints, people used to
come to the yard. Immediately we'd take hold of the matter. We
didn't have an incident of stone-throwing, or burning of buses in
our time. It was easy to get hold of us. People did come and
complain to us. We usually just checked on this. If it was the
driver that was at fault, we just said, 'Look, please, we want none
of these things to happen'. Or we would go into the matter and sort
it out. Of course, at the same time, we weren't the best of
operators, in the sense that we also had financial difficulties.
Each time we bought an operator off it meant outlaying money, and
we had bought new buses. One sad part was that this was a sudden
thing that was just snatched away. We had senior counsel in Durban,
and the city council had. KwaZulu weren't prepared to nego-. Well,
I wouldn't say not prepared to negotiate, but there was great
difficulty. This matter took three years, and finally we had to
settle out of arbitration. Our creditors were only prepared to
accept forty cents in the rand; more or less forty cents in the
rand. We paid about forty cents. But the people we had dealt with
like Western Bank and Combined Motor Finance understood the
position, that this wasn't of our own making. That this was
something that just came about, and ... And it seems that they
could provide no specific reasons why you should not run the
service? No specific reasons. If they had given a reason one could
bring evidence to try to fight this allegation or whatever it was.
The old Transportation Act 15 Interview with Mr Sam Chetty I don't
know if it was in 1952 or something - used to give the chairman of
the board . . . He could give you notice and give you thirty days
or sixty days in which to show cause why your certificate should
not be cancelled. Here there was no question of cancelling
certificates. There's just that the minister feels that they should
look into transport in the Maritzburg area. And we wanted to know
what's wrong or who complained so we could get into the matter.
We'd know what was happening. Before that, one would give an
operator a warning that your certificate will be cancelled, and
these are your offences, or these are the allegations. There might
be a good reason why you didn't run a service. You know, there
could be a bridge washed away. I mean we, once or twice, didn't run
certain services. The bridge had washed away, so we couldn't do
anything. You either had to go through the river with great danger
or just had to terminate your services. But now, since we've lost
our bus business, my brother has got a sort of a restaurant at the
lower end of town, a sort of a take-away, and I've ... It's just
fortunate for me that I could, at this age, I could fit in there.
Most of the people that used to travel by our buses still come and
support us, and this great relationship still exists with us. Some
of them, we still call by their first names. People still come to
the shop that used to be our bus commuters, and each time they want
to know when are we coming back into the bus business, why did we
sell? Lots of them don't understand that it wasn't a willing
seller. It was just something that was just ... taken away. Going
back then. The transition from the laundry to the bus service was
just a development by the children, and you didn't close the
laundry business for any reason? No. The laundry business, I think
... Here I'm a bit ... I wouldn't know the reasons, but I think the
lease had expired or the people wanted to ... It used to belong to
some Froombergs that had a bottle store round the corner. They
owned the premises, and I think this laundry was a very old
building, and I think they wanted to demolish it and put up a block
of flats. That is what is there now. And Group Areas. Did that
affect you residentially? At West Street? No. Or at any stage. Not
at West Street because you had moved from there. We had moved
before Group Areas came in. It didn't affect us. Except at Edendale
it didn't affect us. But what happened at Edendale is the schools
were moved out. You know, they had a different way of getting
people to move. And then there was the threat that it was going to
go KwaZulu, and lots of people, I think the whole community at ...
There was a very large community at Edendale, Indian community. We
had a soccer club, we had a cricket club, and we used to have
annual five-a-sides quite a large number of Indians that used to be
farmers predominantly. A few storekeepers, mostly farmers. Well, we
even did farming while we were doing this bus operation. We had
about, say, thirteen acres of land, and we used to grow nearly any
vegetable that one could think about or come across. We had an
orchard of 16 Interview with Mr Sam Chetty about an acre, and we
used to grow almost any fruit. We had a very nice soil, nice
climate out at Edendale, and most of the farmers used to bring
things to the local market. Now when we got to Edendale we had
built a home, and we were living at this, built for my grandfather.
This was in about 1935, and there was a new national road that was
being planned for Edendale. This went right through our home. We
lost all the orchard, and we had to move again from there and build
another house lower down the road. So we haci quite a few movements
in our [chuckle] time. This wasn't very helpful. I must mention
there were a few European people at Edendale too. There were
storekeepers and a few farmers and the relationship was very good.
We used to visit them and they used to visit us and, you know,
exchange ideas. And then, during the war years we were the first
people in the Maritzburg area to grow rice, and we grew rice for a
very long time. The war started in '39 and you couldn't get rice at
all here, but we had an ample supply. Very hard work. We used to
have paddy fields just like they do in China or India, proper paddy
fields. We had an ample supply of water; we had very good
irrigation. When there was this shortage of rice, we used to
support Carter's and we were their customers, and we used to barter
rice seeds for other seeds. They used to sell our seed to other
people that wanted to put in rice seed just to experiment. I
remember one specific occasion, some gentleman in town, I don't
know his name, he came and wanted some rice seed, and he wanted to
send it to the Egyptian Sudan he says. He said they grow rice a lot
there but he just thought he's going to try some Natal rice. We
used to grow about five, six acres of rice. Of course the dehusking
was the problem. We didn't have any machines or something, we had
the old mortar method that you just stamp, stamp and clean that.
That was a very difficult job. Of all the things that we grew, rice
was the very difficult operation. But the land seemed very fertile
and we used to have very good rice crops. We must have grown rice
'til about the 'fifties, and then South Africa started importing
American rice and things like that so we stopped growing rice.
There wasn't Group Areas as such but ... Mount Partridge,
Plessislaer, Esinadeni, all these areas had farmers. But what
happened is that these Indian schools were moved, so children had
to go by bus, which was a long distance. The schools were taken
away, and then, just lately, the hospital came away to Northdale.
Of course, today there is a slight difference, but if there was an
injury or something you had to come across town. So virtually there
is hardly anybody living at Edendale. No Indian community as such
living there. There might be one or two, possibly five at the most,
business people that are still, not living out there, but still
doing their business out there but living in town. Within KwaZuiu,
does Group Areas operate? We're not too certain. We've never had
any inkling towards that. You know, nobody even came and ... Except
right now the property is going to be expropriated. We get a letter
from Bantu Trust or something, and then it's got a minister of
co-operation and development sort of a pamphlet saying that they
looked into the matter and there was a ... They made us an offer,
and if we didn't accept this offer it would be expropriated, then
we 17 Interview with Mr Sam Chetty could go to arbitration. This is
in the last month now. But before that we had no inkling
whatsoever, no notice from people, no buyers that said, 'Look, you
chaps are in the wrong area'. And Edendale was a free area. We used
to go out to the grounds and walk in the streets and down the
roads. Of course, running a bus service there you were at nearly
every corner of the area. We ran quite an involved sort of
intensive area in town, and then we had these country routes, right
into the rural areas. But out at Edendale we had no problem at all.
We could be repairing buses right out in the countryside, but we
had no trouble at all. And do you have any idea what they're going
to use this land of yours for? We just hear ... We've just heard
from ... They hadn't said anything on the letter, but we hear that
part of it's going to be used ... Because part of the land is
low-lying, they said that they might open up a school or something.
But this is something that we just hear a whisper. We've got no
definite ... You have no specific reason why? No specific reason
why. Yes. Recorded by MORAY COMRIE 18 125 Years - The Arrival of
Natal's Indians in Pictures November 1985 marks the one hundred and
twenty-fifth anniversary of the arrival of the first indentured
Indians, an event that was to have far-reaching results for the
Colony of Natal. The first ships arrived in November 1860 having
left Madras and Calcutta the previous month. The voyage, in a
sailing ship or paddle-steamer, in those days took an average of 45
days from Madras and 54 from Calcutta but a few decades later, when
steamers were used, not only was the journey considerably shorter
but 600 passengers could be transported in comparison with the 300
or 350 that the Truro, Belvidere, Lord George Bentinck and Spirit
of Trade carried in 1860. The type of ship in general use at about
this time is shown in the view of Calcutta docks. 1. Scene at
Calcutta docks, about 1870. (Photograph: India Office Library and
Record Office, London) Groups of Natal agriculturalists had begun
to agitate for the importation of labour as early as 1855 and
necessary legislation was finally passed in 1859. However, before
labourers could be sent to Natal the necessary 125 Years - the
Arrival of Natal's Indians 19 machinery had to be set in motion in
India. William Collins, the PostmasterGeneral, was sent to India as
special agent and he arranged for two Emigration Agents to
represent the Colony, one in Madras and the other in Calcutta.
Recruiting was carried out by licensed recruiters and their
assistants or 'touts' under the supervision of these Emigration
Agents. The Protector of Emigrants, appointed by the government of
India, was in overall control of all indentured emigration and saw
to it that regulations were complied with and investigated all
complaints made by individuals. The 152 184 men and women who came
to Natal as indentured labourers were from a wide area but the
majority were recruited in Madras Presidency and Mysore in the
south and Bengal, the Ganges valley and Bihar in the north.
Intending emigrants were required to sign a contract, printed in
English and the Indian language of the district, setting out all
the conditions of service applicable in Natal. The conditions for
all places to which Indian labourers were sent were based on the
recommendations of the Colonial Land and Emigration Commission of
1842. It was stipulated that the clauses of the contract be
carefully explained to the signatory before he signed or put his
mark and in country areas this had to be done at the magistrates'
offices. Once this was done the intending migrants were transported
to the nearer of the two ports of embarkation where they were
housed in the depot barracks and subjected to a full medical
examination at the depot hospital. 2. Awaiting medical examination
outside Depot, Calcutta. (Photograph: Author's Coll ection) ----20
125 Years - the Arrival of Natal's Indians The medical officers at
the depot hospital were told exactly what to look for in the
intending immigrants. Firstly they had to be fit enough to stand a
voyage of two months followed by ten years of manual labour . They
were to be free of contagious diseases, men were to be not more
than 35 years of age and women not more than 30 unless part of a
family. Height and weight were to be in proportion so that a man of
5 feet tall should weigh not less than 115 lbs with an extra 5 lbs
for each additional inch. Certain physical signs such as calloused
hands and well developed chest were taken as indications that the
man being examined had been accustomed to manual labour and would
thus be a useful immigrant in the colony where agricultural
labourers were in short supply. Anyone showing signs of heart
disease, varicose veins, goitre or any debilitating or contagious
disease as well as venereal disease was to be rejected. Another
medical examination was carried out once the ship docked in Port
Natal and it was not uncommon for individuals to be declared unfit
for work and sent back to India even though they had originally
been passed as healthy. Once the emigrants had been cleared by the
medical officer they waited in the Depot for the arrival of the
ships which were chartered by the Emigration Agents. Every vessel
used to transport indentured Indians had to conform to
specifications laid down by the Government of India with regard to
space per person, water, rations, medical attention and
ventilation. The captain was required to sign a charter party and
to under take to carry certain stores, medicines and equipment.
Extra clothing for the passengers had also to be carried. 80J
ru.orOR'I'ION or j'(t on.:itnN V"IRKWOOD, W." 'ry.H AN 1-;.: :H Hr
..-\)I: .\ ti UII' ElIIOlUNTS 1'11011 IIAl>IlAS 10 NAT.\!. h
o\'! ' IONS. J101' \'\I'I'Y Slalule ;uhllt t.bc Sbill is ftl ('
01"",., I :.!J '411 ""0 f)t... 1I ..., .. .. I'M, IJII."""", ...
..!, I .. T.. nnt'no ' I .. . 1'doo,'(): . 1 1,,'1.-. . j , 110 ..
I ,i."111.1, ft." "'111""" " T .... u. ri u.l .. it lv..1t .. 1.
...... I , 1,1 1.1 I... ' .... 11"'.1 .. I ', rltl l.. r (; ,;''''.
.. " )J .. ".,.I, !'IPI r 110::>,1 t; lfmlo,',. ,1" .;. ...,.
:-1'."\, 01 !t() \!' '\I'al,', 3. Schedule showing rations to be
c.arried by ships. (Photograph: Author's Collection) 21 125 Years -
the Arrival of Natal's Indians For WOUl t' fL PO" Boy 11' 1110.1
10.... ,"') .",if.. . ' "Illllll ii'_. ,') !..... '" (' nbllkd,.
platea. It) P till J ... ,)- ])rill JAd: t"U. Infants. ft, Cur.-i
C"IUf. .-f' n allian., 1(\ I'I:lUlj,- 1 Ca1"'4. Memorandum showing
extra clothing that each ship was obliged to carry. (Photograph:
Author's Collection) 5. Embarking at Calcutta. (Photograph:
Author's Collection) 22 125 Years - the Arrival of Natal's Indians
Finally the ship was provisioned and ready to depart. In place of a
passport each emigrant was provided with an emigrant certificate.
This information was also entered on the ship's list , a copy of
which was handed to the officials in Natal when the ship docked
there and at this point a colonial number was allocated to each
individual, including babies born during the voyage. This colonial
number was used to identify Indian immigrants throughout their stay
in the Colony. A section taken from a ship's list is shown
opposite. The name of the first employer was added by the clerks at
this time. jI:\;\'S I. 1 G r: .\ T J U eEL T] F] CAT E. JI.. 71
Shir ..:1 . .1' 1:':.\("11, CAUT1TA. Ik< .! :9.ct!/_ I 77' f: ..
.. . ... iJ '4#' 1'"4'l! /02.2.2. . 1 f." - nnml?, .. ......... . _
,' , 1.: }; ' . I, . .......... ...... ..... ... ... /' Jp. '0 .\
Ij! .. ] " r l " . ... J'.L' \ .i .>! &11 Emih'Tant accord I
' ; '''I .. ' ,.f lI,JI:m Lwi"n.I.iOb A"" \ JI. or 1. I . "j" M . I
....: (I " ',.:t.: . 6. Emigrant certificate issued in 1874.
(Photograph: Author's Collection) 23 125 Years - the Arrival of
Natal's Indians 7. Extract from ship's list showing colonial number
in first column and employer in last. (Photograph: Author's
Collection) Ships bringing immigrants from India were granted
pratique in the usual way unless there had been cases during the
voyage of infectious disease, particularly cholera, smallpox and
measles. In such cases the ship was placed in quarantine and forced
to fly the yellow jack and to wait in the roadstead. The Belvidere,
which arrived ten days after the Truro, reported an outbreak of
cholera on board in which twenty-four people had died. When this
news reached Durban there was an outcry, especially among those who
had been 8. Coming ashore. Port Natal. (Photograph: Local History
Museum) 24 125 Years - the Arrival of Natal's Indians opposed to
the importation of Indian labour from the beginning. However when
no further cases were reported the panic died down and the
immigrants were allowed to land after their possessions had been
burnt and they had been supplied with new clothing. In the nearly
51 years during which indentured Indian labourers continued to
arrive there were only a handful of ships that had to be
quarantined on arrival. Usually the passengers were brought ashore
in small boats and then transferred to the Depot on the Bluff. 9.
Landing. Port Natal. (Photograph: Author's Collection) 10. Crossing
the railway line on the way to the Bluff. (Photograph: Natal
Museum) 25 125 Years - the Arrival of Natal's Indians Shortly
before the arrival of the Truro and the Belvidere an official post
of Coolie Agent was created with Edmund Tatham as the first
incumbent. His main task was to see to the accommodation of the
immigrants and then to allocate them to the colonists who had
applied for them. Added to these duties was the financial
responsibility for collecting the money due from employers. This
was originally set at 7 but later increased to 12.10.0 and then 15
for each immigrant landed. This was to cause endless problems until
eventually the Colonial Secretary agreed, very reluctantly, to
allow employers to pay by instalments. Throughout his years in
office Tatham had difficulty in satisfying the colonial officials
about his accounting methods and in the end this was to lead to his
dismissal. His successors were more fortunate in being able to
concentrate on the immigrants and their needs, leaving the
financial side to the Indian Immigration Trust Board. The policy in
allocating immigrants was to keep families together and also,
whenever possible, to send people from the same village to the same
employer. Employers had to accept the immigrants sent to them and
only in cases of bankruptcy or proven ill-treatment by the employer
or his agent could transfers be made before the indenture period
was completed. The majority of the immigrants in the 1860-1866
period were allocated to employers along the coastal belt, from
Verulam to Umzinto, where they were in demand as agricultural
labourers on estates which, at that time, were growing a variety of
crops while experimenting with growing various types of sugar-cane.
Some of the Indians, however, were indentured to residents of
Durban as domestic servants or to the Corporation as labourers.
After 1874, when immigration was started again after a break of
eight years, there was a demand for their labour in the inland
districts and by the end of the century Indians, indentured and
free, were working in almost every part of the Colony as well as
across the borders on the diamond and gold fields. 11. F.ree
Indians at the Diamond Fields in the l870s. (Photograph: Kimberley
Public Library) 26 125 Years - the Arrival of Natal's Indians The
conditions under which Indian indentured workers were employed laid
down nine hours of work per day, from sunrise to sunset , rations
as quoted below, wages of 12 shillings per month during the first
year, increasing to 13 shillings during the second year. Medical
attention and treatment was to be provided free of charge, letters
could be posted to India free of charge and there was freedom to
practise their religion without interference. The original
indenture period was five years, after which it could be renewed
for another five years with the same employer or could be
terminated and a new employer found . At the end of ten years
immigrants were to be provided with a free passage to India or they
could remain in Natal as ' free' Indians. Rations were to be
supplied by the employer , consisting of one and a half pounds of
rice per day and each month 2 lbs of dhal , 2 lbs of salt fi sh, 1
lb of ghee or oil and 1 lb of salt. Despite the strict application
of these conditions some of the immigrants had cause to complain,
as the following letter shows. 1.. Cl ... '1 ". ",I f 4