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Date	Original Topic
23rd April 2003	The fort. By Damien. Hi there, Does there still exist a fort there or some sort of museum or even ruins from Rorke drifts fort? Regards Damien.
Date	Replies
23rd April 2003	John Young Damien, There is a small museum inside the building that was built over the site the hospital building. It was opened in 1992 by the then Natal Provincial Museum Services. To my recollection part of the original foundation or wall, that was found when the site was excavated, can be seen through a clear floor panel. The site the battle is a working mission & school. John Y.
23rd April 2003	Mark Hobson Damien In addition to the museum which John mentions, there are also several other things of interest on the site. The defences which were hastily thrown up are now marked out by a line of stones along the ground, showing very clearly where the walls of mealee bags and biscuit boxes were. There is also a circular impression where the final redoubt was, just infront of the then storehouse which is now a fully working church once again. The well built cattle kraal, at the eastern end of the mission station, has been rebuilt complete with interior partition. And, if you look closely, the origional dirt road that led right up to the north wall (see Chard's map on this website) is still discernable. At the river remains of Fort Melvill - built after the battle - are still traceable. So too, the cutting in the bank where the pont was. Sadly, a modern day bridge over the river rather spoils the atmosphere, but it does mean there is now a direct route from Rorke's Drift to Isandlwana once more, more-or-less following Lord Chelmsford's original route. Some people say that Rorke's Drift lacks the atmosphere that still lingers at Isandlwana, and it can sometimes seem a little disappointing. But all the key locations of the battle are there to be seen. Mark
23rd April 2003	Trevor Finney Is there a grave yard at RD where the soldiers and the Zulu were buried. If so, is it well tended?
24th April 2003	Peter Ewart Trevor Yes, the little cemetery containing the graves of the defenders is still there - see the four photos of it on this site. (Click on "Battle" & go to John Young's full & detailed account (not the summary) & then scroll down to the link to the memorial itself). You'll also see the well known contemporary Victorian illustration for comparison. Yes, it is well cared for. There isn't much to do - the same perimeter wall still surrounds the cemetery, which is laid to grass (admittedly not to CWGC standards but then none of the British cemeteries in Zululand are). The small obelisk survives, although the lettering is of a rather vernacular appearance & probably always has been, presumably relying on the materials available at the time (see JY's account). Throughout Zululand most of the lettering on British headstones and memorials is rather rudimentary, although perhaps no less attractive for being so. Memorials to the Zulu dead at RD and Isandlwana have been raised in recent years, in the latter case near to where one of the mass graves is believed to have been dug. The condition of the British graves and memorials in many of the cemeteries, from Ntombi Drift in the north right down to the numerous sites in the south and east, is a cause for continuing concern as a result of regular desecration (whether by locals after "muti" or collectors after buttons etc is a matter of debate, but both have been accused in recent years). R/Drift and Isandlwana (latterly) seem to be honourable exceptions, perhaps because they are by far the most visited. The cemetery at Khambula, for example, was done up nicely in c1990(?) but could have done with some urgent attention when I was there 3 years ago. Many of these locations are extremely remote & suffer also from the weather too (Abel & Rogers at Ityotyosi [old spelling!] about four years ago, for example). At Ntombi, Fort Pearson & Hlobane (Lloyd & Campbell) serious damage has been done in recent years, with explosives apparently being used to blow open graves and at the former site I was able to look very deep down into a recently opened grave, where the stone or concrete had been opened up and tossed aside. These matters have, as far as I know, been the subject of much debate and concern in recent years and perhaps someone on this forum may well know the latest position with regard to the efforts by the local authorities to stamp out the problem? At Eshowe/Ginghindlovu the graveyard is overgrown and has a neglected appearance but somehow resembles a quaint English churchyard (although large) and is very peaceful and, being among trees & on a steepish slope, is not exposed quite so much to the weather. Most of the dead here are commemorated by metal markers containing name, unit and date etc. Peter
24th April 2003	Peter Ewart In para 3 above, for "latter" read "former"!!! PE
24th April 2003	Damien Hey, Thanks for all your replies they were interesting. I myself havent been to south africa yet, my brother has been to egypt though! Is it well worth a visit to see the museums etc... at rorkesdrift? Anyone live near there? Regards Damien.
24th April 2003	Peter Critchley Hi Damien, I went to Eygpt in March and had a great time - It's similar in many ways, very different to your typical "holiday".. I'd say that Rorke's Drift in general is well worth the visit. The Museum is in the old hospital, which is interesting in itself.. All the best, Peter
26th April 2003	Trevor Finney Peter. Thanks for the info. Very interesting! Your mention of graves being looted. Although awful. It's not surprising! It is still a very poor country and I would imagine zulu war memorabelia would fetch a good price today. No matter how macarbe, or where it came from. Plus I suppose grave robbing has been around for thousands of years. But we call it archeology now, and it makes it legal. Doesn't make it right though! (forgive my spelling)
26th April 2003	Alan Critchley Unfortunately, anything which has any sort of value in South Africa today will be stolen. Bronze plaques on memorials, bronze rifles on war memorials, even tepephone cables. When plaques are replaced with plastic, even they are stolen. Sad! Alan [email protected]
26th April 2003	Peter Ewart During the recent 2ABW centenary commemorations around 1999 and 2000, the question of the desecration of British graves came up more than once in the British media. I recall "European" members of the population of RSA being interviewed & openly admitting that the potential value of military items recovered from graves was definitely encouraging grave robbing, despite the regulations prohibiting the removal of anything at all from battlefield sites these days. However, I understand (but obviously don't know) that the commonest reason for the opening of British graves in Zululand itself is by locals for muti. I'm emphatically not giving an opinion on this, as I'm not well enough informed, nor am I in any way an expert on muti & don't want to cast aspersions. Is there a Zulu contributor to the forum who wouldn't mind voicing an opinion or explaining matters, or who is familiar with the current views of the authorities? Peter
27th April 2003	John Young Peter, A few years back there was a spate of battlefield looting. One person actually produced a catalogue of items which sold for more than a pretty penny. I have seen cairns opened up and bones disturbed on the Fugitives' Trial- those I was told by both a well-established guide and a local Zulu had been open for muti purposes. In the belief that if the bones were ground into a powder mixed with a liquid and consumed so that the spirit of the "brave soldier" might enter the body of person consuming it. Some of the grave robbery though I suggest is nothing more than a treasure hunt. Back in 1991, in company with a local police officer, I was present at Khambula, when we found an old Zulu picking through the graves there. He was asked why was he doing so? He replied an American had told him there was gold on the bodies of the red soldiers. That story must have spread as about two years later a tunnel was dug into the officers' graves at Khambula - apparently in the search for gold. Vandalism also plays a part, I believe. Whilst the 120th anniversary of war was being duly celebrated at Isandlwana & Rorke's Drift. We found a number of the headstones at the lower cemetery at Fort Pearson had been damaged in what appeared to be a mindless act of vandalism. Perhaps a spokesperson for Amafa might care to give us the current view of the situation. John Y.
9th August 2003	mugu i dey here mugu