Assegais, shield, and 23-metre-high cross of the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Afrika, (Dutch Reformed Mission Church to Africans), which stands above Dingane's destroyed capital, uMgungundlovu. The church was burnt down in 1985; Dinganestad, Natal. 1989 (4_6121)

David Goldblatt
Assegais, shield, and 23-metre-high cross of the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Afrika, (Dutch Reformed Mission Church to Africans), which stands above Dingane's destroyed capital, uMgungundlovu. The church was burnt down in 1985; Dinganestad, Natal. 1989 (4_6121), 1989
Silver gelatin hand print
Image: 34.8 x 28 cm

"At KwaMatiwane, the hill of execution where Piet Retief and his men were killed, a monument was erected in 1922. During the dedication the wish was expressed that rather than seek revenge the Afrikaners should bring Christianity to the Zulus. Inspired by this a farmer donated land nearby and a mission settlement, which later became a theological seminary with a church, was built by the NGK's Mission to Africans. That church became too small and another was inaugurated on Dingane's Day, 16 December 1969. It was burnt down in 1985. Some say the fire was caused by an electrical fault, others by the arson of a student The 23-metre-high concrete cross, which, according to the Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa was 'intended to express the victory of the cross over the scene of violence,' towers over Dingane's old capital at uMgungundlovu and the Makhosini Valley, the burial place of Zulu royal ancestors." - David Goldblatt