(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 150th 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 160th 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
