Henry Francis Fynn and the Fynn Community in Natal
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HENRY FRANCIS FYNN AND THE FYNN COMMUNITY IN NATAL 1824 - 1988 Shirron Bramdeow Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of History at the University of Natal Durban, 1988 CONTENTS PREFACE LIST OF A BBREVIATIONS iii MA PS, PHO TOGRAPHS AND TABLES iv C HAPTER ONE : Introd uction CH AP T ER T WO: Por t Natal 182 4-1 844 14 C HA PT ER THREE: C los in g Frontiers 58 CHAP T ER FOUR: Fy n n 's Legacy: The Evolution 93 of a Coloured Community in Natal, 1861 -1960 CHAPTER FI VE : The Struggle for Land and 132 Identity: The Apartheid Er a - 1961 - CONCLUSION 153 BI BLIOGRAPHY 158 APPENDICES 168 i , PREFACE The history of Henry Francis Fynn is one of legendary significance in the development of the region known as Natal in both the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. While certain aspects of the career of Henry Francis Fynn have been scrutinised by historians, antiquarians and various South African governmental agencies dating from colonial times to the present, there are, however, a number of neglected facets that have not received adequate attention by scholars. This thesis is concerned mainly with developing these ignored dimensions. First, the career of Henry Francis Fynn has been in need of re-assessment, given the fact that scholars and critics have not toucher upon the more controversial events that characterised his life in pre-colonial and colonial Natal and KwaZulu history. This thesis will develop such neglectec themes as his role in British colonial adm inistration, his quest for land and status in white colonial society, and the most enduring of all legacies, his founding of a distinct mixed ethnic community along the south coast of Natal. There are a number of acknowledgements that I would like to render. I am greatly indebted to Dr Charles BaJlard, my thesis supervisor and Senior Lecturer in the Department of History, University of Nata I, Durban. His scholarly knowledge of south-eastern African and colonial societies proved most inva luable to my work . I am grateful for the patience, diligence and constructive criticism that he has shown me. I am also grateful to the staffs of the Pietermaritzburg Depot of the South African Archives in Pietermaritzburg, the Don Africana Library in Durban and the Killie Campbell Africana Library and Mu se urn of the University of Natal, also of Durban. [am also indebted to Mr Jack Reardon of the Development and Services Board, Pietermaritzburg for the assistance that ii. he willing Iy gave on the continuing question surrounding the land claims of various elements of the descendants of Henry Francis Fynn residing on or concerned about Lot 7, Albersville, south coast, Natal. I also wish to extend my deep appreciation to the present descendants of Henry Francis Fynn. Foremost is the invaluable information and documentation given to me by Mr Morris Fynn, the Chairman of the Henry Francis Fynn Descendants Association, of Wentworth in Durban. Thanks is also due to the following for their first hand knowledge of the social and economic position of the Fynn Community in southern Natal: they are Betheel Fynn, Adelaine Fynn, Kate Fynn, George Fynn, Lili Maz i Fynn, Wilmot Fynn, Mrs T. Manning and Earnest Newman of Port Shepstone, and David Fynn and Johnson Fynn of Wentworth, Flora Yealvina Lupka of Pietermaritzburg and Nevi lie Lawrence of Nquabeni. Sincere thanks is due to Mrs Norma Hatcher, secretary in the Department of Econom ic History, University of Nata I, Durban for the typing of this thesis. Finally, I would also like to thank my parents, Mr and Mrs D. Bramdeow r for their support and encouragement. iii . ABBREVIAT IONS A.V.C. AlbersviJle Vigilante Committee B.P.P. British Parliamentary Papers C.O. Colonial Office Confidential Print C.S.O. Colonial Secretary's Office D.S.B. Development and Services Board G.H. Government House G. T .J. Grahamstown Journal K.C. L. Killie Campbell Africana Library N.B.B . Blue Book for the Colony of Natal N.G.G. Natal Government Gazette R.D.S.B. Records of the Development and Services Board S.G.O. 5 urveyor Genera l's 0 ffice S.N.A. Secretary for Native Affairs iv . LIST OF MAPS, PHOTOGRAPHS AND TABLES FRONT ISPI ECE: Photograph, Henry Francis Fynn and Percy Fynn MAP 1: Colony of Natal, illustrating the African locations and the location of the lands claimed and inhabited by Henry Francis Fynn and his descendants. MAP II: Illustrating the speci fie area of the land being Lot 7, Albersvi lie inhabited by the Fynn descendants, 1988. APPENDICES: APPENDIX 1: Genea logical Table of the Descendants of Henry Francis Fynn. APPENDI X 2: Genealogical Table of the Descendants of Frank Fynn. APPENDIX 3: Natal Native Trust Deed of 1875. APPENDIX 4: Natal Native Trust Deed of 1880. APPENDIX 5: Proclamation No. 298 of 1971. APPENDIX 6: Proclamation No. 197 of 1980. APPENDIX 7: Proclamation No. 36 of 1979. 'The First Fynn Chief' Henry Francis Fynn 1803 - 1861 'The Last Fynn Chief' Percy Fynn 1887 - 1966 MAP I v. Colony of Natal, 1905 illustrating the African locations and the location of the lands claimed and inhabited by Henry Francis Fynn and his d escendants. I I I 8 I· . · _~ · . · ~ 1 1<-:;:;.:-J ~ M iss ion Reserves (Fynn Lands) I :: ~~ ; . Land pur ch ased :- <> ~! bv A fr rc ari s I I I o 50 krn I 1 I Map II vi. Illustrating the specific area of the land being Lot 7, Albersville inhabited by the Fynn descendants, 1988. _.....<, -- ~ " - ", " , "0. .- " .' " - / -L.....: _ _ 1. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCT ION The history of Henry Francis Fynn and the history o f his n umerous descen- dants is incomplete, particularly the evolution of his coloured progeny . T he intention of thi s thesis is to examine these ignored facets. Existing interpretations of Henry Francis Fynn are inadequate in that they do not provide a comprehensive assessment of hi s career. Fynn has been portrayed by historians as the pioneer of Natal or, as one writer refers to him, as 'King of Natal'. (1) Major portions of Fynn 's life, however, have been neglected by historians in the major published works on South African history. They have not assessed the cultura l and physical environment in which Fynn operated in Natal. To obtain a c learer perception of this foremost settler of Natal , it is necessary to include even those aspects of h is life which have been considered as being uncomplimentary to him. A number of disconnected academic and nar rative works have been produced on aspects of Henry Francis Fynn and the Fynn community in Natal . There are only tw o academic pieces on Fynn , the foremost being Wright's se min a l article 'Henry Francis Fynn' which draws attention to Fynn's Ii fe and ca r ee r . (2) An important fa ct that cam e out of t h is article is that Fynn spent the major part of his forty-three years in southern Africa in the Cape Colony; he resided only nineteen years in Nata l. Wright mentions that the earlier period of Fynn's life as 'pioneer' in Natal tends to be emphasized but his career in colonial administration in both the Cape and Natal, a s a frontier 1. Louis du Buisson, The White Ma n Cometh, (Johannesburg, 1987) p.4l. 2. J.B. Wright, 'Henry Francis Fynn', Natalia , 4, Dec. 1974. 2. official amongst the Thembu and Mpondo and as a magistrate in Natal, has been overlooked. This thesis will address some of these neglected d ime n s ion s . T he second work is an honours dissertation by Todd entitled IThe Remembrance of Your Kindnesses to Us . Henry Francis Fynn's Other Decade in Nata l, South Africa 1852-1861. ,( 3) The focus of Tod d 's study is narrow in the sense that it concentrates on Fynn 's second decade in Natal. It is nevertheless an important part within t he wide r scope of Fynn's Ii fe that has previously not been given any attention. His thesis somewhat lacks a framework and reflects an approach where the events evolve a round Fynn himself rather than examine Fynn in the broader soc ia l, economic and political context that influenced h im. Todd is complimentary of Fynn whereas he could however be more critical of his caree r. There are a few contradictions in his interpre- tation of Fynn . He says that Fynn nev er assimilated the customs of the Africans in place of his own British ways( 4) and then later mentions that Fynn wanted to act like a n e nli g htene d African chief. as he had in his first decade in Natal. (5) Fynn adopted the Nguni social system during his earlier period in Natal, 1824 to 1834. The only way to rule the Natal Africans , as he saw it , was to assume a role as chief. Fynn was sympathetic but he was not always viewed by all the Zulu as being the benign 'good Sarnaritan ", He was a freebooter, he killed a Zulu chief n a med Lukilimba and his deteriorating 3. E.J. Todd, 'The Remembrance of Yo ur Kindness to Us. Henry Francis Fynn's Other Decade in Natal, South Af rica 1852-1861', ( unpublis hed Honours dissertation , Middlebury Col lege, 1977). 4. Ibid ., p.92. 5. H)id., p.105. 3. relationship with the Zulu is evident in the fact that he was not successful in retrieving the colonists' cattle from Prince Cetshwayo during the Zulu Civil War of 1856.