thoughts to ponder upon

Say it with a sting.....

Citizen Alert ZA
Without fear or favour.

Friday, January 23, 2009
David Rattray - RIP 1958 -2007




David Rattray -RIP 1958 -2007

Last Updated: 1:07AM GMT 29 Jan 2007

David Rattray, who was murdered on Friday aged 48, was a self-taught historian and became an internationally renowned expert on the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879; as a prominent figure in South African tourism, he was instrumental in putting the remote battlefields of the eastern province of KwaZulu Natal on the tourist map.

The battle of Isandlwana on January 22 1879 was arguably the most humiliating defeat in British colonial history; hours later, at Rorke's Drift, 139 British soldiers successfully defended their garrison against an intense assault by 3,000 Zulu warriors. Rattray interpreted Isandlwana as a Zulu triumph rather than as a British disaster, tempering history-book accounts with authentic testimony he had personally collected from the Zulu side.

A fluent Zulu-speaker, he deconstructed the gung-ho version of events that had informed the empire's children for more than a century and infused it with fizzing anecdotes drawn by him from the grandchildren of Zulu survivors, now working the land as farmhands and goatherds.

Rattray used these oral histories as the basis for talks and lectures, not just as a raconteur at his tourist lodge near the battlefield site, but also to specialist and academic audiences around the world. The result was as moving as it was electrifying, for Rattray was a gifted storyteller, and his narrative skills were known to have reduced even visiting top brass from the modern British military to tears.

"To listen to David Rattray narrate the story of Isandlwana was akin to watching the best-scripted, best-directed and best-produced movie Hollywood's finest studios could put out," one South African commentator recalled. "It was goose-bump stuff."

Rattray's remarkable ability to transport his listeners back to the day of the battle, and to recreate its sights and sounds, earned him the accolade of "the Laurence Olivier of the battlefield". It also placed him in great demand as a speaker in South Africa and elsewhere. He addressed capacity audiences at the Royal Geographical Society in London on more than 20 occasions, and was elected a fellow of the Society in 1998.

Rattray's passion dated from his childhood. In the 1960s his father had bought 10,000 acres of bush on the banks of the Buffalo River, including the ford (or drift) across which most of the 55 British survivors of Isandlwana fled. Young David visited during his school holidays, learning Zulu and listening to the stories of a local tribal chief whose father had fought in the battle. What he heard completely changed his view of what had really happened more than 100 years before.

When he was 30, Rattray moved to his family's farm near Rorke's Drift with his wife Nicky to start Fugitives' Drift Lodge, from where they guided tourists around the battlefield sites. In its original state, the guest house had been the home of Johan Potgieter and his family. Rattray's mother Gillian, a noted writer and artist, had immortalised "Mr Pot" in her award-winning book The Springing of the Year (1980), which she also illustrated.

In the early days Fugitives' Drift was slow to attract custom; then, in 1995, a travel article in The Sunday Telegraph brought it to wider attention. As the lodge's facilities expanded and grew, so did Rattray's reputation as one of the country's great storytellers. His account of the Isandlwana massacre struck one visiting journalist as "a timeless indictment of man's stupidity, and yet at the same time a tribute to his nobility of spirit". "He created a picture in the mind's eye," explained another, "in the way that only a great storyteller can do."

David Grey Rattray was born on September 6 1958 at Johannesburg. Educated at St Alban's College in Pretoria, he went on to the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, to read Entomology, graduating in 1982.

It was while looking for beetles and other insects at Umzinyathi House, an old farm near the Zulu battlefields, that Rattray first encountered native Zulus and listened to their stories, piecing together the battle narrative as told from the Zulu point of view.

His interest having been kindled by his childhood visits to the battlefields with his father Peter, a former Johannesburg lawyer, Rattray's fascination with Zulu lore was nurtured by a lifelong friend, Mzunjani "Satchmo" Mpanza, who accompanied him on his expeditions and taught him to speak Zulu.

Such was Rattray's obsession with what he considered to be the untold story of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift that he determined to make it his life's study. This decision was accelerated by the accidental destruction of his beetle collection: when his mother left the door of the cabinet open, other parasites got in and reduced the contents to dust.

He worked as chief executive of the Mala Mala game park before marrying and starting a tourist lodge business in Namibia. This did not prosper, and after the couple's first son was killed in an accident in infancy, they returned to South Africa, settling at the family property in 1989.

Rattray had spent several years writing A Soldier Artist in Zululand, based on paintings by a British officer who had fought at Isandlwana. The pictures had been found in Britain by some guests who had visited the lodge; although they offered them to Rattray as a gift, he insisted that they should share in the royalties of the book, which is due to be published next month.

More than anyone else, Rattray established battlefield tours as a mainstay of the South African tourist industry. He kept snakes on the terrace at Fugitives' Drift for the benefit of guests; he also created a game reserve as part of his lodge complex, and welcomed many dignitaries there, including Prince Philip, the Oppenheimers, the trades union leader Cyril Ramaphosa and Chief Mangosuthu Buthelezi.

In 1997 Rattray met the Prince of Wales when the Prince and his two sons took a short holiday at Fugitives' Drift following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales; Rattray was subsequently invited to Balmoral as the personal guest of the Prince and was invited by him to attend the private funeral of the Queen Mother in 2002.

The Prince also supported Rattray in his fund-raising efforts to modernise a local school overlooking the battlefields and attended an auction at Sotheby's in London in 2000 alongside two Zulu princes and the education minister for KwaZulu Natal. The following year, at the Prince's invitation, Rattray delivered the inaugural lecture in the Laurens van der Post memorial lecture series at St James's Palace.

Rattray was honoured by the Royal Geographical Society in 1999 when he received its Ness award in recognition of his work in widening popular understanding of Zulu culture in southern Africa. In 2002 he returned to London to receive a Tatler travel award for "Vision in Tourism".

David Rattray was murdered by intruders who shot him in his family quarters at Fugitives' Drift. He is survived by his wife Nicky and three sons.
Posted by Tango at 11:57 AM
Labels: David Rattray Murdered RIP
0 comments:
Post a Comment

Links to this post
Create a Link

Older Post Home
Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom) the storage anarchist's EMC blogger search engine
Blog Archive
▼ 2009 (177)
▼ January (177)
David Rattray - RIP 1958 -2007
The IFP blasted the Mpumalanga ANC for spending R2...
Pikoli's axing a cover up
System buckling in cholera fight-South Africa Mpu...
South Africa Mpumalanga-13 of the Masinga family f...
CPF members bust for murder
The hunt is on-More South African Airways staff on...
ANC’s grief at Zondi slaying
Citizen Alert ZA: DJ claims he pranked Malema
Acting crime intelligence head Mulangi Mphego appe...
Kwazulu Natal war continues ANC President Jacob Z...
Cyclists attacked in Irene-Pretoria- Reinstate the...
Cope 'zoo' reincarnated as a puppet
Mphego in court over Selebi affidavit
DJ claims he pranked Malema
Mbeki 'right to sack Pikoli'
Cop hits 223km/h in 80km zone
5 robbers killed in shootout- 4 arrested ---Your T...
"Fight one enemy and that is crime and criminals,”...
'Blood on Sadc hands'- "We have become beggars... ...
Crack squad set up to hunt for killers of German n...
Crocodile deaths baffle Kruger
15 SAA flight, cabin crew members were arrested at...
Tempers flare at hearing into Pikoli sacking
God Bless the people of America and South Africa
Woman attacked in Centane
Mall robbery blamed on ANC
DA Newsletter 20 January 2009
Selebi case was my undoing, says Pikoli
Robbers target farms and homes in Constantia
Noby's family to sue for R10m-police members admit...
Fire this crazy cop, or else ...
Pikoli plans to tell his side of the story
Tourists robbed in Kwazulu Natal -Kosi Bay-Tourist...
Police pledge to rid SA of crime
'Help, I've been shot!'-R511 offramp at Diepsloot ...
Soccer worldcup 2010 -'Bus chaos could disrupt 201...
Zuma Red-carded!
Mayor attacked over cholera deaths at funeral-Lim...
. Anger after Jesus comment Article By: Mon...
Tongue of alleged rapist bitten off-Delmas Mpumala...
ANC to rule until Jesus returns, says Zuma
Gang of 20 armed men -Search on for Illovo robbers...
Widow murdered in cemetery-Kimberley
Russe drink hulle dood ná privatisering
Zuma, ANC 'lacks vision'
No work rewarded richly at Telkom Media
My Special Friends- Heroe's
Spoils of London heist turn up in SA
God Loves America
Corruption in the R50-billion Arms deal in South A...
Moeletsi Mbeki: Africa Was Better Off In Colonial ...
ANC turns against President Kgalema Motlanthe .
All-out bid to save Zuma -Save our Scorpions
Promises can’t fight crime
Harms's double whammy
2010 big shot skips SA
'Grace Mugabe attacked me'
Man killed for necklace, phone-Table View Cape Tow...
German couple attacked on beach-Eastern Cape
SA Police foil restaurant robbery-Seven criminals ...
Five-day reign of terror in Pretoria -Two shot ,on...
How safe is your car at home?
The least of Jacob Zuma's worries - if he becomes ...
Man shot while mowing the lawn
Is this an admission of corruption?
Truck hijacked by hitchhikers
Dangerous criminals re-arrested
Mohlala murder: Man released
The AU should not have to rely on South Africa to ...
The Selebi Files
DA: ANC manifesto is pro-poverty, not pro-poor
'Abductions counter-productive'
A BLAST FROM THE PAST-OPERATION MANDUME-OPERATION ...
Joint assault on crime pays off- Community members...
Motlanthe, Mbeki off to Zimbabwe South Africa/Zim...
Only 8 000 taxis scrapped around the country !
Stolen pounds were on way to Zimbabwe
MTN, Neotel to build 5 000km fibre-optic network
'ANC lurch to left will throw us off course'
Plane plunged in 'graveyard spiral' (It was a team...
Bank sacks staffer for robbing clients
Indian army chief confirms Pakistan troop movement...
Reaction to Zuma court ruling
Probe Judge Chris Nicholson - UDM
Pikoli committee starts work
KwaZulu Natal road blocked in taxi feud
Pikoli committee gets off to shaky start
ANC eyes new target
Two policemen dead after shootouts
Cops subpoenaed for Jackie Selebi info.
Cops seek shot hijack victim
Durban, London cops fight crime together
Ronnie’s support for Robert -Twenty Thousand black...
'SA needs new leadership, ideas'
KwaZulu-Natal-War continues- Four Killed-heavy cal...
The forgotten Wars
'All white dogs in SA will be killed'
South African rand falls on politics, stocks softe...
Suspected London heist car in Durban
ANC 'reckless in recalling Mbeki'
MAN'S BEST FRIEND KILL"S HOUSE ROBBER-"Don't waste...
MAN'S BEST FRIEND CORNERS HOUSE ROBBER-"Don't wast...
Zuma faces charges of racketeering and money laund...
SCA opens the door for new Zuma charges
Judgement day for Zuma
New Mohlala shock
Zuma pledges to root out corruption
Bloulig-boelies
Presidential pardons under fire
Man with 16 guns nabbed at LAX
Politicians---Back off, police chief tells ANC !
Arms deal-- Another arms deal lawsuit?-Petition f...
Man sought after official's 'assassination'
SCA to rule in Zuma case
FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES FOUND ON A PLOT
DA Newsletter 9TH January 2009
Inspector Phillip Msimango's killers get life sent...
Was VIP commander drunk?
Graft case 'would not stop Zuma'
Texan Justice
Woman in marathon rape case bullied
VIP Protection Unit - 111 to face the music for c...
Soccer 2010World Cup-THE murder of Nelspruit counc...
Cyclist stabbed in the neck for her cellphone -'Wh...
Farmer shoots, kills attacker-Apparently the pisto...
'White dogs will be killed'
Mantashe: Accept ANC leaders
Mbeki snubs ANC election launch
Zuma vs Mbeki The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA)...
SA Police Union welcomes VIP probe-The chain of e...
Part of SABC footage 'appears deleted'
We lied - Police VIP unit-Attempted murder charge...
Eblockwatch looks after all www.eblockwatch.co.za...
Our leaders targeted – IFP
Moses was high on drugs: Israeli researcher
No economic shifts expected if ANC wins
Pikoli lawyers feel inquiry was protective of Mbek...
DA says-Fire the Five 'bad' ministers now !!
ANC will sack bad ministers
ATM bombers are back from leave in Limpopo !
'We need a permanent commissioner'-"Whats all the ...
Top ANC man arrested after rape-Reinstate the deat...
Citizen Alert ZA: DA: Teachers may have inflated m...
Mayor’s bodyguard held for murder
DA: Teachers may have inflated matric results
Rebels kill over 400 in DR Congo - at least 50 mur...
Power: some areas still without
Rape ! Eevery 17 Seconds ????????
Senior police officers are being investigated for ...
Killing -Systematic campaign to eliminate Inkatha ...
Mthethwa admits cop corruption
Ex-speaker's murder political?
Six injured in failed robbery
'Gaza will become Israel's cemetery'
VIP unit in scuffle with SABC crew
DA @ Work
"Liberation before Education!" Mampara of the w...
Race is on for struggle heartland
Tycoon’s Wilderness home has residents foaming at ...
" Cuito Cuanavale”.
Zapiro’s sacrilegious caricature is out of line
Cope: 'Drunk' ANC members disrupt meeting
Same Tanzanian foreign nationals gang caught twice...
SA prepares to pay its last respects
Sydney ATM bomb method mimics South African attack...
'Woman employee raped by employers' ( Reinstate t...
Man shot dead after hijacking, rape -(Reinstate t...
Car guards intimidated drivers - police
Has anyone seen this man?
Saheti scores 100%
Support unsuccessful matriculants: SADAG
'Giant in march to democracy'
Websites Hacked in 'Propaganda War'
New Years Greetings from Zapiro
Political Rhetoric 2009
Quality of education below standard – Mkhize
► 2008 (1492)


Comments and Observations

Piet Retief and David Rattray both trusted the "Great Zulu's!"

May they all Rest in Peace!