1874 – 1894: NATAL MOUNTED POLICE: MEMORIALS

Deon van Niekerk

I was asked to look for a plaque for the Natal Mounted Police that seemed to have gotten lost. I also volunteer to photograph graves for the EGGSA, Genealogical Society of SA, and know there are graves of NMP in the Commercial Road cemetery in Pietermaritzburg.  So, I set off to photograph as many historical sites as possible.

The Natal Mounted Police were formed in 1874 and renamed the Natal Police in 1894. It’s on the shoulders if these men that the Police force in Natal was formed.

Many of these men were incorporated into the new South African Police or in the newly established SA Mounted Rifles in 1913. The Natal Mounted Police were called into action in many battles including Isandlwana, Rorke’s Drift, the Zulu wars and the Bambatha Rebellion of 1906.

The current Alexander Road Police station was opened in 1890 and was the police station and barracks for the Natal Mounted Police.

The St Peters Church in Pietermaritzburg.

The copper plaque of the Natal Police that lost their lives in the Bambatha Rebellion was found in St Peters Church in Pietermaritzburg.

 

At the same church there was a memorial stone for the policemen that lost their lives at Isandlwana.

The Commercial Road cemetery is neglected, and unfortunately the graves of the Natal Mounted Police are made from Sand stone and due to age, are weathering very badly. Some stones are barely readable, while others have crumbled with no readable face left, see the following two photos:

A Memorial published in the Nongqai Magazine 1907:

In Memoriam

Gravestone of Sub Inspector Sidney Keith Hunt

Gravestone of Trooper J Armstrong

Memorial Tablet in Grave Yard

This is a sign of respect and gratitude to those that went before. As a side note, I was in the LCRC in Durban from 1989-1993 and in Empangeni 94-95. The first fingerprint office in South Africa was started by the Natal Police and by 1910 it is estimates had a larger collection than Scotland Yard.

Comments by Hennie Heymans

Here is an old Post Card depicting the Alexandra Police Complex of the Natal Mounted Police

A clear photo that appeared in the Nongqai of September 1907 at page 61a we read that the plaque – above – was mounted in St Saviours Church, Pietermaritzburg. The church has been demolished. Deon has searched and found it in the St Peters Church in Pietermaritzburg.

Observation

A closer examination of Deon’s photograph of the Alexandra Road Police Station reveals troubling signs of neglect. One sincerely hopes that the Department of Public Works will take the necessary steps to restore this historic building to its former dignity.

Thanks

We extend our sincere thanks to Deon van Niekerk, who undertook a special mission from Durban to Pietermaritzburg. There, he located the commemorative plaque in St Peter’s Church—making a valuable contribution to the preservation of the legacy of the old Colonial Police in Natal.