1913: the 10 days that shook Durban

There has been a lot written about the Great 1913 Strike. The strike first sparked in the coal mines of Newcastle. The strike then ignited the plantations of the North and South coasts of Natal. There has been though little focus on the strike in Durban, where the city's workers rose up by laying down their tools of trade. It was noteworthy that the very first strikers joined on November 16. This was, of course, the day on which the very first indentured workers arrived in Natal. In the wake of the commemoration of Workers' Day we take a look at the strike and its stunning impact on Durban.

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AS STORIES of the strike spread from the northern coalfields, there was a palpable sense of something in the air.

In Durban's Magazine and Railway barracks, messages were convened in the brumous evening of the 14th. On the 15th food was bought, firewood for cooking stored and children put on guard for strangers.

By now it had become apparent that the government was using Indians to infiltrate the strike and identify leaders.

In Newcastle, for example, Deputy-Protector Dunning informed the attorney-general that Budhoo Dasrath, employed at Glencoe Junction, was "an important witness re. Indian strike movement. Police anxious he should be moved immediately as they fear intimidation otherwise. Will you please arrange?"

Dasrath provided the following intelligence: "I was on strike. I went to Railway carriage to speak to Gandhi about food. Gandhi replied: 'All those who go to Volkrust will be fed.'

"Station master saw me speak to Gandhi, but could not have understood as we spoke in Hindustani."

Dasrath was moved from Glencoe to Pietermaritzburg on November 10, 1913, to be under the protection of the magistrate.

John Ramsamy, another infiltrator, stated on October 31: "I was at meeting. Saw Mohideen Sahib and Narrainsamy. Then Gandhi said all Indians should go to Newcastle and Volksrust. Promised food. Mohideen Sahib is indentured at Ballengeich."

On the morning of 16th, the workers of the Magazine Barracks led the strike into the city. The Corporation moved quickly, employing white scabs to drive the water-sprinkling carts. But whites were unused to these tasks. While a white scab was vainly trying to fill his cart in Grey Street, the water kept spraying on to his face, and as he ducked and dived, a large crowd of Indians gathered around him and laughed until the tears rolled down their cheeks.