Anglo-Boer War refugee document issued in Natal for a British/foreign refugee fleeing Johannesburg

This is an Anglo-Boer War relief and refugee document issued in Natal (Durban) for a British/foreign refugee fleeing the Transvaal around 1899–1900.

Document Details & Transcription

Header: [UITLA]NDER COMMITTEE, DURBAN. / REGISTRATION CERTIFICATE. / No. 1227

Occupation & Employer: Written in pencil as "Wife of William Sharp"

Full Transvaal Address: "22 Central Rd. Fordsburg" (a prominent mining neighborhood in Johannesburg)

Full Natal Address: "53 Windermere Rd., Greyville" (Durban)

Printed Conditions: "has duly registered her Name on the Books of the Uitlander Committee, Durban, and has supplied the above information... This Certificate does not establish any right of priority of return. This Certificate will have to be produced to the authorities and exchanged for a [permit to return]..."

Historical Context & Significance

The Uitlander Exodus (1899): In the months leading up to the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War in October 1899, tens of thousands of Uitlanders (foreign, mostly British, workers and residents living in the Transvaal goldfields) fled Johannesburg and Pretoria. Trains crammed with refugees headed to coastal ports under British control, predominantly Durban, Pietermaritzburg, and Cape Town.

The Relief Committees: Upon arrival in Natal, bodies like the Durban Uitlander Committee were formed to track refugees, coordinate temporary housing, distribute emergency financial relief, and maintain registered lists of displaced residents awaiting permission to return once British forces captured Johannesburg.

Fordsburg Connection: Fordsburg was a key working-class suburb of early Johannesburg established shortly after the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand. Its residents were among the hardest hit by the sudden shutdown of the gold mines during the war.

275mm x 100mm

In distressed condition. Incomplete.

R2,000