Jeff Guy Launches New Book at Ceremony Remembering Killie Campbell

BY: .

The Campbell Collections commemorated the life and work of its founder Dr Killie Campbell in September by co-hosting the launch of a new book by historian and UKZN Emeritus Professor Jeff Guy on Theophilus Shepstone.

Titled Theophilus Shepstone and the Forging of Natal: African Autonomy and Settler Colonialism in the Making of Traditional Authority and published by UKZN Press, the book is said to question many of the established views on the enigmatic colonial administrator and his policies.

The commemoration of the life and work of Killie Campbell started last year when the first Dr Killie Campbell Memorial Lecture was held at the Durban Art Gallery to coincide with the opening of the second leg of artist Barbara Tyrrell’s “Iqholo le Afrika” exhibition.

During this year’s commemoration, the KwaZulu-Natal Historical Society awarded the Killie Campbell Bursary to UKZN history student, Mr Kathay Pillay. Dr Killie Campbell contributed to the KwaZulu-Natal Historical Society, which is the oldest “heritage and conservation” society in Southern Africa.

Mrs Joyce Myeza, Head of UKZN Special Collections, of which the Campbell Collections is a part, welcomed the audience, which included members of the Campbell family – Mrs Tara Campbell Foster, who flew down from Johannesburg to attend the event, Mrs Jane Campbell Bedford and her sister Delia Campbell Francis. The Campbells made a pledge to the Campbell Senior Museologist Mr Vusi Buthelezi to support the Friends of the Campbell Collections, UKZN.

Myeza articulated the relevance of commemorating Dr Killie Campbell in the 21^st century. ‘South Africans chose September month as a “Heritage Month”. This is what can be termed a natural coincidence as Killie was born on 9 September and died in her old age on 28 September. Therefore, the Campbell Collections, as the brain child and the priceless result of the tireless effort of Dr Killie Campbell, has every reason to commemorate and celebrate September as a heritage month and as part of “Celebrating Durban”, the city to which she made an immense contribution.’

Myeza described Killie Campbell as a woman who loved her country and displayed an unprecedented love for her province. ‘The evidence is visible in the city,’ she said.

Guy echoed Myeza’s sentiments, advising the audience to “just look around you” for evidence of Campbell’s contribution. 

-          Vusi Buthelezi