Rich in history, fruit and veg this market has fed Tongaat since 1948

The crisp and cool morning air on entering Tongaat Daily Market is cut through swiftly by the smell of ripe tomatoes and fresh onions.

The market may have only ever received one coat of paint since being opened in 1948 but it is made ever-more appealing with competitive fruit and veg prices, beating many North Coast stores.

The Cape Dutch façade of the building, like many others in the town, has an interesting history.

In 1936 the Cape artist Robert Gwelo Goodman and renowned architect Ivan Mitford-Barberton were invited by the Saunders family, founders of the Tongaat Sugar Company, to apply this idiom to the reconstruction of their estate and upgrading of workers’ housing.

Mitford-Barberton designed many of the company and public buildings – evidenced by their Cape Dutch stucco reliefs – of Tongaat and Maidstone.

These include today’s Tongaat-Hulett headquarters at Amanzimyama, Maidstone village and clubhouse and of course the market building – all of which are now national monuments.

The market has seen to the feeding of thousands of people every week and has provided a steady income to countless traders since opening.

One family has made the market their home for the last 73 years – with descendants even putting their children through university with the earnings.

The Narains have been trading at the market since day one, and although time has weathered the building, their passion for providing quality fruit and veg remains.

The youngest trader of the Narains, Sanjay, is a fourth generation trader and sits as vice chair on the market committee.

He started trading in 2002 while his brother, Rivendra went on to become a professor and lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Tragically, Professor Narain was murdered in his Tongaat home in April 2020. His sister, Ranesha is completing her masters in accounting at the Mangosuthu University of Technology.

Sanjay told the Courier he wanted nothing more from life than to continue the family legacy at the Tongaat Daily Market.

His mother Thara runs a separate stall, also crammed with punnets of intoxicatingly fresh fruit and veg.

Thara is also the unofficial records-keeper of the market, with her collection of old documents and newspaper clippings.

“I have been around since day one,” said Thara, who first helped her mother-in-law, Rajpathy at her stall. It was not until 1977 when Thara decided to open a stall herself.

She still occupies the exact same spot today.

Trader rent ranges from R300 to R1 000 per month depending on size and location.

Thara’s husband Basanth – now 71 years old – recently gave up trading alongside his wife, but Thara said she still has a good couple of years in her before she packs her fruits and vegetables away.

Speaking fluent Zulu and Xhosa, Thara spends her mornings preparing for work from as early as 4am.

The duo agreed that being their own boss was appealing and they share a love of seeing to the needs of the community with fruit and veg being supplied to them from Verulam to Clairwood, as well as other sources.

The Tongaat Daily Market – situated along the R102 in the town’s central business district – is not just worth the visit if you’re looking at clamping down on costs, but also a cultural experience to behold!

It is open Mondays to Fridays from 7am to 5pm, except Wednesdays when it closes at 2pm. Saturdays from 7.30am to 3.30pm.