Prosperity from humility
In the lead-up to honouring the legacy of indenture in November, we celebrate the contribution of its workers from one plantation called the Campbell Estate. In commemorating the heritage of our ancestry, Selvan Naidoo, the curator of the 1860 Heritage Centre, pays homage to the hard-working citizens of Mount Edgecombe. Their contribution in shaping the cultural and economic landscape of KZN cannot go unnoticed
IN JANUARY this year, President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his inspiring State of the Nation Address in Parliament. He has certainly reignited a sense hope and pride in the face of the kali yuga (age of vice) of his predecessor.
Ramaphosa’s message represents hope and the unbridled potential of our country that can finally deliver in creating a better life for all our citizens.
Admittedly, a huge part of the problem in creating a better life is the maleficent custodians who still operate on the president’s watch. His promises to root out this cancerous graft of our fledgling democracy gives us all renewed hope to move our country forward. His pledge of wanting to lend a hand is the inspiration that we must now all live up to.
To “lend a hand” in creating a successful South Africa is not only the responsibility of the government. This responsibility also belongs to the citizens, the private sector and the rich.
How is this all possible? One example of success is found in the success of a united Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall, as was eulogised by former president Thabo Mbeki in his historic “two nations” speech delivered in Parliament.
West Germany with its people and resources “lent” their hand towards the rebuilding of a Third World East Germany.
Another beautiful example of success is found much closer to home in recounting the history of the old Campbell’s Town, found in the Natal Estates, now known as Mount Edgecombe. It was named after the seventh Earl of Mount Edgecombe, Edward Piers Edgecombe.
A brief history of the town shows that Captain William Smeardon settled down in Natal in 1850. He planted cane and erected a steam mill in 1861.
Smeardon then sold his sugar estate to a Mauritian by the name of Jules Langlois, who erected a £100 000 sugar mill. The estate was then sold to a group of Natal businessmen two years later, in 1878.
Natal Sugar Ltd acquired Mount Edgecombe Estates and was itself, in 1895, taken over by Natal Estates Ltd.
Natal Estates Ltd owned almost all of the north coast-located estates like Blackburn Estates, Saccharine Hill Estates, Cornubia Sugar Estates and Phoenix Estates.
Today Mount Edgecombe stands out proudly as a diamond in the crown of the colonialists’ property development boom. Much before this property boom this town was the seat of indentured labour.
Much of Campbell’s Town’s success was due to how the indentured citizens worked together in building a town that became a place called home. This success of the town was also dependent on the patronage of the Campbell family, who lent their hand in contributing, in part, to the building of facilities for the community.
The communal spirit of ordinary citizens, who themselves were living in abject poverty, contributed entirely to the setting up of places of worship and schools that became their lifeblood.
In the early days of indenture, the areas of worship were generally constructed near labour sites like the barracks in Mount Edgecombe. In Mount Edgecombe, there are a few places of worship that were built by these labourers that are now declared as heritage sites.
In 1875, they built the original Shree Emperumal Temple out of wood and iron. Later on the society’s officials commissioned the famous temple builder, Kistappa Reddy, who was also an indentured labourer, to build a brick and concrete structure. Over the years this structure has been renovated and improved upon.
Reddy earlier built the nearby Ganesha Temple, which was declared a national monument.
The Shree Emperumal Temple, Ganesha Temple and the Shree Siva Soobramaniar Temple, all close to the old sugar mill, were built through generous contributions made by the people living in the Mount Edgecombe barracks.
In close proximity to the mill there also exists St Joseph’s Parish of Mount Edgecombe, built in 1933. The church was made possible with community donations as well as bricks supplied by Natal Estates Ltd. This beautiful place of worship, together with its striking bell tower design, stands proudly today as an active church that bears testimony to how people from different faiths can coexist to live happily together.
This community spirit and willingness to “lend a hand” is something that we need to revive today. The tough resolve of the indentured community together with the patronage of their employers must provide the inspiration for our societies today.
Why should we have to wait and complain before we choose to fix what is broken? Why don’t we and our families, together with the government and the private sector, all lend a hand to rebuild this great country of ours much like the ancestors of the old Campbell’s Town? It is never too late for Uhuru.