Photographs found among Joanne Barton's father’s papers on the 'Durban History and Stories Facebook' page. The unpublished photographs shows the steelwork construction of the Umdloti River Bridge near Verulam to the north of Durban.
Joanne Barton posted incredible photographs found among her father’s papers on the "Durban History and Stories" Facebook page. The striking set of unpublished photos shows the steelwork construction of the Umdloti River Bridge near Verulam to the north of Durban. The bridge, completed on July 28,1897, illustrates the incredible involvement of Indian indentured labour responsible for its construction.
The history of the railway construction goes back to January 1859, when the Natal Railway Company was formed to build a three-kilometre railway from the harbour at the Point to the north of the Durban Market Square, where the old Durban Station is located. On June 26, 1860, Durban had the distinction of operating the first public steam locomotive in Africa.
Five months later, the first shipment of 342 indentured workers arrived on November 16 from Madras, India, to provide their labour in growing the colonial economy of Natal. In the hundred years that followed, including the overall shipment of 152,184 Indian indentured workers, the colony became economically prosperous, seeing major industrial developments that led to the expansion of the economy we presently enjoy.
