 |
 |
 |
 |
| Obverse |
Reverse |
Detail from
the reverse |
Pair to Lt W Antell,
Natal Carbineers |
Click here for a list of the units
involved.
The Zulu uprising
in Natal during 1906 was the result of a series of culminating factors and
misfortunes; an economic slump following the end of the Boer War, simmering
discontent at the influx of White and Indian immigration causing demographic
changes in the landscape, a devastating outbreaks of rinderpest among cattle
and a rise in a quasi-religious separatist movement with a rallying call of,
‘Africa for the Africans’.
The agricultural
mainstay of the economy of Natal had been adversely affected by the
depletion of the Black workforce to the more lucrative work in the mines of
the Witwatersrand. The imposition of Hut Tax was a further burden and then
the introduction of a Poll Tax on each male over 18 years in Natal and
Zululand by the cash-strapped government was to be the final straw turning
discontent into open rebellion.
The enforced
collection of this tax was deeply resented by many Blacks, it raised
tensions considerably within Natal and resulted in a series of incidents and
finally the murder of a farmer and the deaths of two Natal policemen in
January 1906. This caused the Governor Sir Henry McCullum to declare Martial
Law on the 9 February and the militia were called out.
Although the Zulu
King Dinizulu (King Cetshwayo’s son and successor) paid his taxes, he is
believed to have given tacit approval to other dissenters who refused to pay
and this further fermented the revolt. The summary executions of 12
tribesmen on the 2 April near Richmond, for complicity in the murders of the
policemen, fanned the flames into armed revolt.
A minor chief of
the Mpanza, Bambata (1865-1906?) of the Greytown area, was considered a
‘thoroughly bad character’ by the Colonial authorities, but he held
considerable influence over a large area and he was the first to take up
arms after he was deposed as chief for refusal to pay. He sought refuge in
King Dinizulu’s kraal and there left his wife and family under royal
protection and in doing so implicated the king in the rebellion. Bambata
then fled to the Nkandla forest, where he was joined by a large group of
disaffected Zulus.
In April, a
column of local units, Umvoti Mounted Rifles and Natal Field Artillery,
under Lt Colonel G Leuchar,
proceeded to the Mpanza area and shelled Bambata’s kraal causing him to flee
to the mouth of the Mome Gorge. There they were joined by
Lt Colonel ‘Galloping Jack’ Royston
and the 1st and 2nd Royston’s Horse, which he had
raised and which numbered 838 by the close of operations.
It had been
decided by the Colonial government not to involve Imperial troops in
quelling this rebellion, relying instead on the Natal militia with military
assistance from the Cape and Transvaal. The Transvaal sent 535 men of the
Imperial Light Horse (ILH), Johannesburg Mounted Rifles (JMR), South African
Light Horse (SALH) and the Northern, Eastern and Western Mounted Rifles,
these were collectively called the Transvaal Mounted Rifles under the
command of Lt Colonel W F Barker. The Cape also sent a 321 man detachment
of Mounted (CMR) and Border Rifles (BMR) under Lt Colonel J Dick. The Natal
Naval Corps was mobilised as was the Indian Stretcher Bearer unit in which M
K Gandi served.
The first
skirmish in the Nkandla forest, extremely rugged terrain covering an area of
20 km by 8 km, took place in May. The militia force was divided into
smaller columns under the commands of Colonel’s Barker, Royston, MacKenzie
and Mansel, It was here too that Bambata was joined by Sigananda, a 95 year
old Zulu aristocrat of the amaCube tribe, a relative of King Shaka and who
was revered by his tribesmen. However, a pincer movement by the converging
columns succeeded in cutting off their line of retreat and crucially caused
the loss of large numbers of cattle and goats which robbed the rebels of
their wherewithal to continue the rebellion. Terms for surrender were
offered by the Zulus on the 24 May but this later proved to be a ploy for
time.
A concerted
‘drive’ over the next 10 days by Colonel Duncan MacKenzie, in overall
command of the troops, through the forest and a sharp action at Tathe Gorge,
resulted in a concentration of Zulu forces at their stronghold at Mome Gorge
on the 2 June. After a series of smaller sharp encounters, the decisive
action was fought on the 10 June, when Bamata is believed to have been
killed and Sigananda was taken prisoner two days’ later and subsequently
died in prison on the 22 June 1906.
The Battle of
Mome Gorge was the last major action fought and the rebellion petered out
over the next few weeks. In terms of casualties between 3-4,000 Zulus were
killed, 7.000 were imprisoned and 4,000 were flogged. In contrast, 25
Colonial soldiers died during the insurrection. King Dinizulu was sentence
to four years’ imprisonment for treason. The cost to Natal was almost
900,000 pounds and a hardening of attitudes towards the indigenous
population. This in turn contributed towards the Union of South Africa in
1910 and its racially segregated policies.
In 1907 the Natal
Government was authorised to issue a silver medal for this rebellion for
service between 8 Feb-3 Aug 1906. Those who served for 50 days on active
service were awarded the bar ‘1906’ and 10,000 medals were issued about 20%
being without bar. The effigy of King Edward faces to the right and the
ribbon is crimson with black edges. Officer’s medals were engraved and the
remainder were impressed.
Lieutenant A H G
Blamey of the Natal Mounted Rifles was recommended for the Victoria Cross
for a daring and successful extraction of one of his men, Trooper Dick Acutt
who had been unhorsed and was surrounded. The gallant Lieutenant’s actions
resulted in a Mention in Despatches. Two
Edward VII DSOs were awarded
for this campaign.
