The rebirth of the History of Curries Fountain

By Esivani Naidoo
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The Launch of the Photographic Exhibition of the History of Curries Fountain brought together previously disadvantaged veterans of sport and politics. The Launch was held on Thursday 17 September 2015 and was two-fold. The first part was a ribbon cutting ceremony and veiling of photographs which took place at the Curries Fountain Sports Development Centre boardroom by Miss Rohini Naidoo. It was a nostalgic experience as photographers from the 60s and 70s, Rafs Mayet and Ranjith Kally got to showcase pictures taken during the struggle era when people of colour did not have facilities for these activities to take place. This led to these communities flocking to Curries Fountain. Sports and politics were some of the more famous activities that took place. Guests were afforded the opportunity to view the iconic photographs captured by the legendary unsung photographers.

Thereafter, guests were engaged in a talk with Miss Rohini Naidoo, who shared her personal sentimental memories of her history with Curries Fountain. It became clear to anyone with no knowledge of the rich history of the Stadium what a vital role it played in the struggle era.

The function was graced with the presence of Head Researcher of ROCS (Research of Curries and Surrounds) and donor of the photographs (also Manager of Durban University of Technology Campus Planning Department), Mr Len Rosenberg; photographers Rafs Mayet and Ranjith Kally; Head of Sport, Recreation and Culture Unit, Mr Thembinkosi Ngcobo and Speaker of Ethekwini Municipality, Cllr Logie Naidoo.

​The photographers were presented with certificates of appreciation to acknowledge their sterling efforts to capture events of that took place during a volatile era. 
Mr Thembinkosi Ngcobo and Miss Rohini Naidoo, both made a commitment to use the resources within their Departments to ensure that the history of Curries Fountain is long lived, as well as ensuring there will be a future for sustainable development programmes.