MAGAZINE BARRACKS – SUBRY GOVENDER RICH HISTORY SERIES

 

                     (Some of the former residents of Magazine Barracks in a photo taken in 2010)

 INTRODUCTION:

In 2010 when South Africans of Indian-origin observed the 150^th anniversary of the arrival of their ancestors as indentured labourers to the then Natal Colony in 1860, I visited a number of sugar cane estates and areas where they were bonded. One of the areas where they settled after their indentures was the famous Magazine Barracks in Durban. I visited the area and spoke to a number of former residents who were re-settled in Chatsworth after the introduction of the Group Areas Act in the 1950s.

Today, ten years later, when the people are observing the 160^th anniversary of the arrival of indentured labourers, I want to re-publish the article as a tribute to the people of Magazine Barracks.

 

By Subry Govender

When you visit the Central Police Station, the Magistrates' Court and the Somtseu Road Temple in central Durban do you by any chance have any inkling that this area was once a rich, colourful and thriving community settled by our indentured ancestors and their descendants for more than 80 years.  

Called Magazine Barracks, the area bounded by Argyle Road, Umgeni Road, Somtseu Raod, NMR Avenue, Stanger Street and Brickhill Road had its origins in the early 1880s when a group of about 28 indentured labourers were employed by the then Durban City Council.

The indentured labourers, who were not allocated to any of the sugar estates, were recruited to work in positions such as as street sweepers, night soil removers, and parks and gardens attendants. They were initially housed in what was called Tram Barracks in Point Road before being moved to Magazine Barracks.

Between 1880 and 1966 more than 2 000 families or about 10 000 people lived in Magazine Barracks. The majority of the people lived in houses built of wood and iron, while some had brick houses. For their water and sanitation needs they had to rely on communal facilities. The heads of all the families worked for the city council, mostly as labourers.

"My father, who was India born, worked in the cleansing section for the city council and our family lived in one of the houses in Magazine Barracks," said 72-year-old Yesudhas Kuppen, who also worked for the council as a messenger and clerk.

Mr Kuppen was the youngest of four brothers and a sister, who are all late now.

"My brothers and I went to the then Depot Road Primary School before starting work in the city council as messengers and clerks. We all stayed in Magazine Barracks until the early 1960s when we were moved to Unit 3 and Unit 5 in Chatsworth because of the Group Areas Act," said Mr Kuppen.

Mr Kuppen recalled that his father, Kuppen, and mother, Muniamma, were staunch Tamil Baptists and all of them were fully conversant in the Tamil language. But despite their adherence to Christianity and the Tamil language, they had very good and cordial relations with the Telugu and Hindi-speaking members of the community.

"We all lived in unity. There was no such thing as one being a Hindu, Christian or Muslim. We also all learnt one another's languages and lived as one big family."

Another person whose family lived in Magazine Barracks for more than 80 years is 69-year-old Vassie Muthen. His grand-father, Bengalaroo Munsamy Muthen, and grand-mother, Muniamma Rangamma, came to the then Natal Colony as indentured labourers from the current south Indian state of Karnataka. His grand-father worked as a "district sardar" for the city council.

His father, Muthusamy Muthen, who was born in Magazine Barracks, worked as a clerk in the treasury department and also a "market master". His father was also known as "Headmaster" because he was in charge of a school that taught Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and English.

Mr Muthen, who was also born in Magazine Barracks along with his three brothers, five sisters and four adopted brothers, worked for the city council for 40 years, retiring in 1998.

He and his extended family moved to Chatsworth in 1963 after being affected  by the Group Areas Act, which stipulated that the city was for "whites" only. All other groups had to move out of the city to so-called Indian, African and coloured townships.

"If it had not been for the Group Areas Act we would still be living in Magazine Barracks," he said.

"There was brotherhood in our little village. There were no differences between us. There were no problems whatsover and we had no difference relating to religion. Religion only came to the picture when we went to the temple, church or mosque for prayers.

"We also all learnt to speak Tamil, Hindi and Telugu. It was a fantastic situation to live in an area where we all looked at one another as brothers and sisters. We all looked after one another," he said.

Although the residents of Magazine Barracks came from disadvantaged and poor backgrounds, they played significant and prominent roles in the religious, cultural, educational, sporting and political struggles at that time.

 

                       

  

                (Swaminathan Gounden)

 

There were a number of young activists who mobilised the community to join the now-disbanded Natal Indian Congress and became involved in the Passive Resistance campaigns against racial repression and discrmination. One of the activists who has his roots in Magazine Barracks is Swaminathan Gounden, who at 86 is still active today.

Mr Gounden also initiated the Young Communist League and the Red Rose Social Club. His brother, R K Gounden, was chairman of the Durban Indian Municipal Employees Society(DIMES) for 25 years. Dimes later became known as the Durban Integrated Municipal Employees Society.

Mr Gounden's father, Karuppa, who was from India, worked as an elephant attendant at Durban's Mitchell Park. Swaminathan, his brother and nine sisters were all born in Magazine Barracks. His brother and eight sisters have now all passed away.

"We were very young when we became interested in the struggles against racial inequality and discrimination," said Mr Gounden.

"We came under the influence of George Singh, Dr Monty Naicker, Billy Peters, Dr Kesaval Goonum and other leaders who used to visit Magazine Barracks to take up our struggles," he said.

The president of the Magazine Barracks Remembrance Association, Danny Pillay, who great-grand-parents came from India in 1878, recalls that Dr Naicker was a regular visitor to Magazine Barracks. The association was established in 1997 to keep alive the rich history of the village and to keep in contact with surviving residents.

"In addition to taking up our plight, Dr Naicker showed great interest in our cultural activities and used to attend the Thirukutu or six foot dance festivals. He used to be the patron," said Pillay.

"At one time Dr Naicker also paid for a group of people from the barracks to attend a debate on the Thirukural (Tamil holy book) in Johannesburg. Mr Muthusamy Muthen and Angie Solai won the debate."

In the religious field, the residents had built several temples to cater for the spiritual needs of the community. In addition to the Somtseu Road Temple, which still survives today, there used to be a Tamil Baptish Church, a Telugu Baptist Church, Somtseu Kovil, and the Vishnu Temple. Some of the leaders in the religious, cultural and linguistic fields were Chinnapapa Nattar, R C Sam, Muthusamy Muthen, Nagan Pandaram, G M Solai, Velu Irusen, Bill Munsamy and Tony Moon.

Some of the people who played leading roles in the musical field were Jeddy Maharaj, Jagessar, Kapri Vaithar, Andhra Naidoo, Angela Peters, Janaki Appalsamy, Kamala James, Ruthnam Ganas, Singarveloo, Kamala Nathan, and John Kisten.

The sporting personalities who have come out of the barracks include Marimuthu (Mari) Mathambu, Lighty Chinniah, V C Moodley, Kannay Dharmalingam, Chappi Kisten, Vardha Chetty, Siva Millar, Johnny Millar, G. Kistensamy, Angumuthoo Aboo Reddy, Noor Reddy, Ford Naidoo, Sewnarain Lall, Chin Bobby Naidoo, N S Naidoo, Govindsamy Moodley(soccer);  Louis Joshua, Billy Nagiah, Steven Appiah, Sada Pillay, Darkie Moonsamy (boxing); and Andara brothers (wrestling).

Some of the football clubs that rose to prominence from Magazine Barracks were Sunrise, Temple Villa, Violets, Square Rangers, Clyde, Ramblers, Casbah, Sons of India, Temple City, Pop Eye Lads, Young Buccaneers, Magazine Rangers, Leicester City, Celtic, Boys Town, Depot Road United, Spartak. In addition to these clubs, the city council workers also had their own soccer clubs named after the departments they had worked in. These included Storm Waters, Painters, Cleansing, City Health, Sanitations and Sewage.

There were also soccer clubs that were run by gangsters in the village. They included Yorks F C and Groundfeel F C.

One of the best-known sporting personalities to emerge from Magazine Barracks is Sam Ramsamy, who started his sporting involvement as a lifesaver. He played an influential role in non-racial swimming in KwaZulu-Natal and later left the country to lead the sporting onslaught against apartheid South Africa under the auspieces of the South African Non-Racial Olypmic Committee (SANROC). Ramsamy returned to the country in the early 1990s and became head of the South African National Oympic Committee. Today he serves on the executive of the International Olympic Committee.

"The vibrancy, culture, and colour of Magazine Barracks has been lost forever," said Mr Vassie Muthen.

"We will never be able to replicate the community spirit we had in another area."  ends – subrygovender@gmail.com (November 2010) Re-published Feb 17 2021