Commemoration ceremony for indentured workers to be held
The programme includes an interfaith prayer, followed by the singing of the South African National Anthem and a Bell-Ringing Ceremony in a tribute to South Africa's first Indian indentured workers.
TODAY (November 16) marks the 164th anniversary of the first indentured workers arriving in South African on the SS Truro in 1860.
A total of 152 184 people were transported as human cargo in the years that followed, from 1860 to 1911, aboard 384 ships, to provide labour in growing the colonial economy through the development of the sugar-cane plantations and other parts of the KwaZulu-Natal economy.
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A Commemoration Ceremony will take place on today, November 16, from 10:00, at the 1860 Heritage Centre, at the site of the planned Indentured Monument.
The event is open to the public and will be held in the vicinity of the parking lot of the Durban South Beach at the end of Erskine Terrance, next to uShaka Marine World South Beach car-park entrance, directly opposite Silver Sands Lifestyle Resort.
The programme concludes with an address by the KwaZulu-Natal Government followed by the symbolic offering of the marigold flower to the Indian Ocean waters, honouring all indentured workers who have contributed to the building of the Nation of South Africa.
For more information, phone 031 309 1818 / 072 331 4017 or email 1860heritage@gmail.com or snaidoo@nwood.co.za.
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