Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal

Origin of the name The name Verulam is derived from Verulamium, an ancient Roman settlement located approximately 30 kilometres north of London. Verulamium itself took its name from Verlemion, a Celtic Iron Age settlement whose name translates as "the settlement above the marsh." Following the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, it grew into one of the largest towns in Roman Britain before being attacked and destroyed by the Saxons around AD 600–700. The medieval town of St Albans was subsequently built upon its ruins. Founding (1850) The founder of Natal's Verulam was William Josiah Irons, a native of St Albans, who established the Christian Emigration and Colonisation Society with the aim of settling non-conformist — predominantly Wesleyan — emigrants in Natal. Irons initially secured the patronage of the Earl of Verulam, whose father had previously served as Member of Parliament for St Albans, and named the proposed settlement in his honour. In May 1849, Irons dispatched his brother Theophilus to Natal as advance agent to prepare for the settlers' arrival. Irons subsequently partnered with emigration promoter Joseph Charles Byrne, whose Natal agent John Swales Moreland assisted in land allocation. Byrne & Co. acquired the 22,500-acre landholding of the defunct Natal Cotton Company, and it was on a portion of this that the new settlement was established. On 23 January 1850, the first vessel carrying Irons's settlers, the King William, arrived at Port Natal (present-day Durban) with 275 passengers, of whom 48 were Wesleyans. After weeks of negotiations over land repossession, the site was formally inspected on 6 March 1850. The town site was chosen on the south bank of the uMdloti River — a location consistent with Irons's stated criteria for "an eligible situation, not far from the sea-port of D'Urban, contiguous to a high road and near a river." On 13 March 1850, led by Thomas Champion, the first party of settlers arrived at the site by ox-wagon. At the place where the town was to be established, Champion raised a dark blue flag bearing the word "VERULAM" in gold letters — an event regarded as the formal founding of the town. Verulam was then the third formal settlement established in the Colony of Natal, after Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The surrounding Cotton Lands also accommodated other Byrne & Co. immigrants, their villages being Mount Moreland to the east and New Glasgow to the north, neither of which developed into a town. Early development Within a year of the settlers' arrival, Verulam's first chapel — a wattle-and-daub structure under thatch — had been erected, the first such building constructed beyond the boundaries of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. The settlement comprised 52 families (152 individuals) occupying 23 houses, with 50 one-acre allotments under cultivation and livestock holdings including 200 cattle and 80 pigs. The first public school, the Verulam Day School in Chapel Street, opened in 1853 under the superintendence of Thomas Champion. By 1854, it had 40 pupils, including approximately 14–15 African children from the Verulam Native Christian Society. The school became exclusively for white children in 1859, following the establishment of a school at the Verulam Native Mission. A library was opened in November 1856, and in 1858 a lecture and reading room was constructed for what had become known as the Verulam Library and Literary Institute, after Irons had sent out an initial stock of books valued at £6 in 1850. By 1857, due to its position on the main traffic route between Durban and areas to the north, Verulam had grown into the third-largest town in the Colony. The first Indians arrived in Verulam in 1861, employed as labourers on white-owned farms. By 1890, the town's population comprised 451 whites, 273 Indians, and 349 Africans. Agricultural experiments Prior to the founding of the town, the region had been the site of attempts to establish a cotton-growing industry. Following Britain's annexation of Natal as a district of the Cape Colony in 1845, Cape merchants formed the Natal Cotton Company in 1847, acquiring the same 22,500-acre tract of land for cotton production. The venture failed entirely — not one ounce of cotton was produced — and the grant lapsed. Despite this, the trials confirmed that cotton could grow in Natal's climate. Subsequent experiments with arrowroot, tobacco, tea, and coffee were undertaken before sugar cane ultimately proved viable as the region's dominant agricultural crop. Local government By 1882, Verulam had officially acquired town status. Its first town board held its inaugural meeting on 7 September 1882, with Thomas Groom serving as the inaugural chairman. The town was administered by an all-white town board until 1967. On 4 December 1964, Verulam was proclaimed an Indian area under the apartheid government's Group Areas Act. In anticipation of this change, a local affairs committee of three Indian members had been elected in October 1961 to advise the town board on matters affecting Indian residents. In September 1967, the first all-Indian town board was appointed by the Administrator of Natal. By 1969, town board members were elected by popular vote, and Dick Naicker was appointed as town clerk. The pace of development following the transfer of administration into Indian hands was substantial. Roads in the central business district were tarred, a sewerage system installed, a town planning scheme adopted, and residential and industrial areas proclaimed. Several new suburbs emerged around the CBD as affordable plots attracted residents from surrounding areas. Borough status The town's growth was such that within a decade of the 1967 transition it had acquired borough status. In the same year as the first borough council elections, a council of 12 members was elected, with YS Chinsamy as mayor. Internal divisions among councillors led the Natal Provincial Administration to dissolve the council in 1980. The borough was downgraded to town board status, and a caretaker board of three members was appointed. Fresh elections were held in August 1980, resulting in the election of SGV Subban as mayor, a position he held for the following eight years. During Subban's mayoralty, significant infrastructure was developed, including Verulam's first swimming pool, the new Market Plaza, the development of Orient Park, a new library, a low-cost housing scheme, and industrial development at the Missionlands area. Subsequent mayors included Cllr L Palliam (1988–1990), Cllr R Munsamy (1990–1991), and Cllr R Rambaran (1991–1996). Incorporation into eThekwini The final years of the borough period were occupied with negotiations for Verulam's incorporation into the new post-apartheid local government structures. These negotiations resulted in the amalgamation of Verulam with Umhlanga and Tongaat into the Durban Northern Transitional Local Government sub-structure, and subsequently the North Local Council. Verulam formally ceased to be an independent borough and became part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in 1996. 150th anniversary On 13 March 2000 — exactly 150 years after the town's founding — the Verulam Historical Society held a commemorative function at the Verulam Day Care Centre, followed by an exhibition of historical photographs. Later in the year, the Durban North Local Council formed the Verulam Celebrations Committee, which organised a series of events including a street party, arts and crafts exhibitions, a community awards ceremony, and a float parade through the town. The Anniversary Park was formally opened on 23 November 2000. An extensive history write up Amber Ramdass, a retired school principal has written a longer article on the history of Verulam which can be found in the reference. All credits to him for this section as this section was based on his work and is credited as such. ==Demography==