National Heritage Resources Act, 1999 (Act No. 25 of 1999)

Notice No. 1017

25 September 2020

GG 43734

Department of Sports, Arts and Culture

South African Heritage Resources Agency

By virtue of the powers vested in the South African Heritage Resources Agency, in terms of section 27(5) of the National Heritage Resources Act (No. 25 of 1999) SAHRA hereby declares the historical portion of the Phoenix Settlement, including the Sarvodaya House, Kastur Bhuvan House, Printing Press Building, and Museum, on the remainder of Portion 498 of the Farm Piezang Revier FT, Indanda; eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal as a National Heritage Site.

Statement of Significance

“The historical portion of the Phoenix Settlement is closely associated with Mahatma Gandhi's last decade in South Africa, his personal transformation (including race), his formulation of Satyagraha and his connection and understanding of liberation struggles in South Africa.

It is recognised that Gandhi was a product of the era in which he was raised, that his political concerns in South Africa focused primarily on the plight of British Indians, that he volunteered to serve the ambulance corps for the British as a demonstration of loyalty to the empire in two important anti-colonial events in South Africa and that, in the early years of his stay in South Africa, he used disparaging British colonial language in respect of Africans. However, it is also recognised that during the last decade of his stay in South Africa, Gandhi went through a personal transformation in his thinking regarding the colonial orientation of his youth. He posed many questions to himself as he experienced increased victimization by South African authorities. He tended to the wounded Zulu while he served in the ambulance corps and became interested in learning more about the racial discrimination endured by Africans and other people of colour. His early remarks about Africans were replaced by comments of admiration, support and a clearly expressed vision of a future South Africa that would be free of race. Gandhi’s period in South Africa and his work within the South African Indian Congress, their alliance with South African Native National Congress (ANC), and the African People’s Organization, was a political, and philosophical learning curve.

The Phoenix Settlement, devoted to Gandhi’s philosophy of Sarvodaya (The Welfare of All) and the principles of Satyagraha, has played an important spiritual and political role throughout its long history by promoting social justice, peace, and equality. Gandhi established the settlement as an experimental communal farm, one guided by respect for all people, and as a challenge to colonial norms of segregation, languages and religions. He used a printing press and newspaper as a means to mobilize resistance and promote ethical and moral human development. He believed that communities like Phoenix advocating communal living would form a sound basis for decolonisation and the struggle against social injustice. These principles continue to be honoured through the work that the Phoenix Settlement does both within the surrounding community and abroad. Gandhi’s own transformation, search for truth and enlightenment, principles of fairness, justice, non-violence and peace towards all people, continues to be a beacon of inspiration today and into the future.”

Schedule

The demarcation of the site is as follows:

Boundary Co-ordinates:

END