Durban Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! === Republic of Natalia === {{Main| Battle of Congella}} The [[Voortrekkers]] established the [[Natalia Republic|Republic of Natalia]] in 1839, with its capital at [[Pietermaritzburg]].{{cn|date=December 2023}} Tension between the Voortrekkers and the Zulus prompted the governor of the Cape Colony to dispatch a force under Captain Charlton Smith to establish British rule in Natal, for fear of losing British control in Port Natal. The force arrived on 4 May 1842 and built a fortification that was later to be ''The Old Fort''. On the night of 23/24 May 1842, the British attacked the Voortrekker camp at Congella. The attack failed, and the British had to withdraw to their camp, which was put under siege. A local trader [[Dick King]] and his servant Ndongeni were able to escape the blockade and rode to [[Grahamstown]], a distance of {{convert|600|km|abbr=on}} in fourteen days to raise reinforcements. The reinforcements arrived in Durban 20 days later; the Voortrekkers retreated, and the siege was lifted.<ref name=bulpin12>{{cite book|title = Natal and the Zulu Country|author=T.V. Bulpin|publisher=T.V. Bulpin Publications|orig-year = 1966|year = 1977|location = Cape Town |chapter = Chapter XII: Twilight of the Republic}}</ref> Fierce conflict with the [[Zulu people|Zulu]] population led to the evacuation of Durban, and eventually the [[Afrikaner]]s accepted British annexation in 1844 under military pressure.{{cn|date=December 2023}} ====Durban's historic regalia==== When the Borough of Durban was proclaimed in 1854, the council had to procure a seal for official documents. The seal was produced in 1855 and was replaced in 1882. The new seal contained a coat of arms without helmet or mantling that combined the coats of arms of Sir Benjamin D’Urban and Sir Benjamin Pine. An application was made to register the coat of arms with the [[College of Arms]] in 1906, but this application was rejected on grounds that the design implied that D’Urban and Pine were husband and wife. Nevertheless, the coat of arms appeared on the council's stationery from about 1912. The following year, a helmet and mantling was added to the council's stationery and to the new city seal that was made in 1936. The motto reads "Debile principium melior fortuna sequitur"—"Better fortune follows a humble beginning".{{cn|date=December 2023}} The blazon of the arms registered by the South African Bureau of Heraldry and granted to Durban on 9 February 1979. The coat of arms fell into disuse with the re-organisation of the South African local government structure in 2000. The seal ceased to be used in 1995.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/za-kn-dur.html |title=Durban (South Africa) – Flags of the World |author=Bruce Berry |date=8 May 2006 |access-date=8 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613221018/http://www.crwflags.com/FOTW/FLAGS/za-kn-dur.html |archive-date=13 June 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.ngw.nl/int/zaf/d/durban.htm |title = Durban – Civic Heraldry of South Africa |author = Ralf Hartemink |access-date = 8 July 2010 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101205062839/http://www.ngw.nl/int/zaf/d/durban.htm |archive-date = 5 December 2010 |url-status = dead}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page