The first Indian people in South Africa are reported to have arrived on board the Truro from Madras to work in the sugar cane plantation in Port-Natal. The group was made up of 197 men, 89 women and 59 children. They were indentured labours. The reason the Dutch imported labour is because the black Africans were unwilling to work for them. Most Indian people returned to India at the end of their term, but a few others stayed behind. Those that stayed quickly established themselves as Industrial and railway worker, clerks and interpreters. Today The City of Durban in Kwazulu-Natal has the highest population of Indian people outside of India.
eventREF E-0069593Revised
16 November 1860
The first Indian people, 197 men, 89 women and 54 children, arrive in Natal
- Updated
- 20 Jul 2026
How we know this
- 01Ancestry 24 Indentured Indians Immigrants to South Africa [online] Available at: https://ancestry24.com [Accessed on 2 October 2013]
- 02Zulu A History of Indian Settlement in KwaZulu-Natal [online] Available at: www.zulu.org.za [Accessed on 2 October 2013]
Last updated · 20 Jul 2026
South African History Online. (2011, November 11). The first Indian people, 197 men, 89 women and 54 children, arrive in Natal. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0069593
South African History Online (2011) 'The first Indian people, 197 men, 89 women and 54 children, arrive in Natal', South African History Online, 11 November. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0069593 (Accessed: 14 October 2026).
South African History Online, The first Indian people, 197 men, 89 women and 54 children, arrive in Natal [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0069593, (accessed 14 October 2026).
"The first Indian people, 197 men, 89 women and 54 children, arrive in Natal." South African History Online, 11 Nov. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0069593. Accessed 14 Oct. 2026.
South African History Online. "The first Indian people, 197 men, 89 women and 54 children, arrive in Natal." South African History Online. November 11, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0069593.
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