The first Indian people, 197 men, 89 women and 54 children, arrive in Natal

Date: 16 Nov 1860
Updated: 20 Jul 2026

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.

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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

Cite this entry

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/ss/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/ss/ref/E-0069593 (Accessed: 23 July 2026).

South African History Online, The first Indian people, 197 men, 89 women and 54 children, arrive in Natal [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ss/ref/E-0069593, (accessed 23 July 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/ss/ref/E-0069593. Accessed 23 July 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/ss/ref/E-0069593.