Councillor turned author releases historical book

AUTHOR and ward 66 councillor, Duncan Du Bois, has released an investigative book into the KZN south coast, formed from research for his doctoral thesis.

‘Sugar and Settlers: A History of the Natal South Coast 1850-1910’ is now on limited sale after years of dedication.

“I commenced background reading in the latter part of 2010 and worked almost daily on it from the beginning of 2011 until late November 2013, when I submitted the completed dissertation at UKZN. The bulk of my research findings were gleaned from unpublished records housed in the Pietermaritzburg Archives.

I have always been academically inclined and have a lifelong interest in history. Once retiring from school teaching in 2010, I was able to plunge headlong into research and writing, which I still pursue on almost a daily basis,” said Du Bois.

The book was published through SunPress Media in Bloemfontein with more than 80 illustrations and photographs. It covers the settlement of Isipingo in 1850 and the path of the frontier to found a sugar-based economy.

“With the exception of a number of hagiographies, that is, works that are generally uncritical about an individual or a family, the colonial South Coast is a largely unstudied region. As such it made an ideal Ph.D topic in terms of its scope and relevance.

In this comprehensive account, I unpack the issues and events that coloured the lives of the South Coast pioneers. These include the role of missionaries, fears of a Zulu uprising, labour and capital constraints, fauna, flora and the environment, the role of women, education, governance, infrastructural developments such as the coming of the telegraph and the eventual construction of the South Coast railway.”

The Book Boutique in Warner Beach, which presently stocks limited copies of the book, hosts a launch for Sugar and Settlers on Wednesday, 14 October.