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John
Dunn of Zululand: The Man, The Legacy But, this fact
alone does not make Dunn singularly unusual, for
many white men took wives and concubines from
the indigenous black populace. Rather, John
Dunn's exceptional place in history rests on his
prominent role in events hat were crucially
important in the shaping of modern South Africa.
In a sense, John Dunn's history is "living'
history of his numerous descendants have formed
a distinct and vital community in southern
Zululand John Dunn father
was Robert Newton Dunn who was born in 1795 in
Scotland. In 1820 he emigrated to South Africa
and settled on the eastern Cape frontier near
Port ElisabethFew settlers packed their
belongings and struck out for Natal, among them
Robert Dunn and his family. I was during that
time that John Dunn was born at Port Natal and
he would have been one of the first white
settlers to have been born in the frontier
settlement. During four great
days of dawn to dusk touring by
minivan, Dan not only showed us many of
the Cape area's top attractions, but
added spice to the occasion by relating
a wide variety of local facts and
legends. In my opinion, the most
intriguing stories involve Daniel's own
family, a line which descended from
John Dunn, whose story is related in a
book by Charles Ballard. Excerpts from
that book will appear on this web site
and in coming editions of Africa Travel
Magazine. We are sure you will enjoy
it." Muguette Goufrani The white
traders readily adapted to African social and
cultural norms. The scarcity of white women
prompted nearly two thirds of the white traders
to take black wives and concubines., The British
traders also found it convenient to become petty
chieftains and govern Port Natal. When Natal
became a British colony in 1843 European culture
and social customs replaced the way of the
African. The rule of hunter trader chiefs was
replaced by a Brioche Colonial Administration.
Natal's African population was territorially
politically and socially segregated white
society. Against his
background of ever tightening colonial rule and
the insistence that white colonists conform to
white standards of conduct. John Dunn became
alienated from Natal changing society. Personal
tragedy and financial setbacks soured his
attitude even more. His amazing
skill with a rifle, his fluency in Zulu and his
extensive knowledge of the physical and human
environment of Natal and Zululand earned him a
modest living as a guide for hunting parties. He
then turned to transport riding, Dunn stated in
his autobiography that he renounced civilization
and left of the haunts of wild game in
Zuzuland. THE King
Cetshwayo saw the end of a quest for a "white
chief" to serve as his adviser when dealing with
the Natal government. The Zulu heir apparent
felt an acute political need for white assistant
and Dunn possessed qualities that Cetshwayo
found attractive. Cetshwayo's
attachment to Dunn came to be based on more than
mere expedience and the two became close friends
and confidants. Dunn readily accepted
Cetshwayo's invitation to settle permanently in
Zululand. Indeed, Cetshwayo had offered Dunn an
ideal situation. He gave Dunn occupational
rights to lands along the southern Zululand
coast from Ngoya in the north to the Lower
Tugela in the South. Status in the Zulu kingdom
was measured by the number of wives and cattle
in an individual's possession And Dunn
acquired an abundance of both. Between 1858 and
1878 John Dunn emerged as one of the most
powerful chiefs in the Zulu kingdom. He ruled
over nearly twenty five square miles of
territory land six or seven thousand black
subjects. Natal sugar industry owes much to
Dunn. The coming of the Anglo Zulu War of 1879
was a time of supreme crisis for John Dunn. He
at first tried to remain neutral, but as Brian
and Zulu drew closer to war Dunn found that both
were intolerant of a "fence sitter". Dunn was
wary of remaining in Zululand. Dunn could have
remained neutral but he had not only his own
material well being to safeguard but that of his
very large family and several thousand black
subjects as well, Dunn served Lord
Chelmsford well and was named Military
Intelligence Officer and awarded the local rank
of commandant . After the war Dunn was made of
the thirteen chiefs as a result of the Ulundi
Treaty of 1 September 1879. Not only was he made
a chief but he received the largest and
wealthiest of the thirteen chiefdoms. Dunn
controlled nearly one fifth of Zululand and
controlled a number of lucrative trade
monopolies. Ironically the
post war settlement in Zululand which had given
Dunn his wealth and power contained the seeds of
its own destruction. After a short three month
illness John Dunn aged 65, died of dropsy and
heart disease at his Emoyeni home on 5 August
1895. John Dunn is
unique in South Africa's historical annals for
he founded a distinct new community. The product
of Dunn's union with forty-nine wives was an
estimated one hundred and fifteen children the
overwhelming majority of whom were classified as
"colored'. Yet,John Dunn unknowingly bequeathed
a bitter sweet legacy to his descendants. The
distribution of John Dunn's property was
immediately cloned with dispute. The chiefs
beneficiaries of John Dunn's fortune did not
have long to enjoy it before natural calamities
of catastrophic magnitude erased the accumulated
wealth of half a century in less than two years.
The Dunn's were reduced from a position of
comparative to one of poverty and ever
destitution Dominic Dun said of this calamity
that what had been a land of plenty became a
land of desolation and moaning of bitter
complaints of lean stomachs and downright
starvation. From 1898 onwards many of John
Dunn's descendants were forced to leave Dunn's
land and seek employment in Natal, the Transvaal
and the Cape. The Diaspora has continued to the
present day of Dunn's descendants having settled
as far afield as the United Kingdom, Canada
Australia and the United States of America. In
the 1950s Gladstone Dunn a grandson of John
Dunn, became the spokesman for the Dunn
community. He and his relatives had of wrestle
with the interrelated problems of insecurity of
land tenure. Gladstone Dunn's energies were
devoted to promoting sugar cane production. This
would make the Dunn community more prosperous
and check he further out migration of Dunns from
Zululand. In 1974 Daniel
(Dan) Dunn son of Gladstone Dunn, was elected as
Chairman of the John Dunn's Descendants
Association. He has proven to be one of the most
dynamic and effective leaders that the Dunn clan
has ever produced. Daniel Dunn set out to
achieve three goals for his people. The Dunns
have succeeded in a large measure because they
identify strongly with their remarkable ancestor
&endash; whose qualities of individualism and
single-minded determination have inspired a
sense of pride and perseverance in his
descendants. The spirit of unity displayed by
the Dunn community is a testimony to the
towering personality of one of South Africa's
legendary figures. We
recommend Daniel (Dan) Dunn as a Tour
Conductor Daniel
Dunn E-Mail:
mailto:dddunn@mweb.co.za kk |
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Few
personalities in the history of Natal and
Zululand have aroused as much controversy as the
legendary "hie chiefs" John Dunn. He is mostly
remembered for his taking of nearly fifty Zulu
wives and the siring of over one hundred
children.
"One
of the most valued and enduring
friendships we've enjoyed in recent
years, occured during our May 2001
visit to South Africa, while in the
company of