Negotiating public memory: the Dick King memorial in Durban

Abstract

This article investigates the Dick King equestrian memorial in Durban as an example of how the visual representation of an historic event in a commemorative monument endorses a particular interpretation of the past and may shape the popular imagination for generations to come. Specifically, the article focuses on Ndongeni kaXoki, the young Zulu man who reportedly accompanied Dick King on his famous journey. There is evidence that the artist, H.H. Grellier, intended to depict Ndongeni prominently as part of the main sculptural group on top of the pedestal. This proposal - rejected by the memorial committee - would have turned the present conventional statue into a unique monument and contributed to a rather different public remembrance of this historical event and its protagonist(s). The article concludes that more public knowledge about such statues, the events they commemorate and the circumstances of their construction, might nuance viewers' perceptions about them and make meaningful contributions to the current debate about existing colonial and apartheid era heritage in South Africa.

To cite this article: Marschall, S. 2005. Negotiating public memory: the Dick King memorial in Durban. Southern African Humanities 17: 81-99.