Adams College is a historic Christian mission school in South Africa, associated with the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa (UCCSA). It was founded in 1853 at Amanzimtoti a settlement just over south of

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

by an American missionary. The settlement there is known as

Adams Mission Adams Mission is a town in eThekwini in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The settlement is situated west of KwaMakhutha and Amanzimtoti and south of Durban. History Established in 1836 as a Medical mission, the settlement was destroy ...

. The college's alumni include Presidents of Botswana and Uganda, several ministers and leaders of the

African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when ...

. It is recognised as a historic school. It has been called Adams School, Amanzimtoti Institute and the Amanzimtoti Zulu Training School.

History

The school was founded in 1853 by the Reverend David Rood, missionary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. The school was located on the glebe of the Amanzimtoti mission and was initially named the Amanzimtoti Institute. Rood had arrived in Natal 20 January 1848 and subsequently established the Ifafa mission station. Rood then transferred to Amanzimtoti following the 16 September 1851 death of mission founder the Reverend

Newton Adams Newton Adams (August 4, 1804 – September 16, 1851) was an American missionary and doctor who worked in southern Africa. Adams worked as a medical doctor in New York City for a short while prior to volunteering to serve as a physician with th ...

, M.D. Adams was much revered and in the 1930s the school was renamed Adams College in his honour. Adams had arrived in 1835 with two other missionaries, but after being rebuffed by the Thabethe tribe which employed local chiefs from numerous nguni clans one noticeable one was headed by inkosi Mtubantuba to donate cattle they had set out to establish three complementary missions. Adams had chosen a site south of

where he founded a "family school" within months of his arrival. The school attracted both adults and children. He was helped by an early convert called Mbalasi who was the widow of Duze Ka Mnengwa KaKhondlo. He had been a Chief of the Makanya killed during the wars with Shaka leaving Mbalasi to care for herself. She and her son Nembula became part of the Adams home.Adams College
, Historic Schools Restoration Project, accessed 3 August 2013 A historic meeting took place here in 1881 when the Reverend

William Cullen Wilcox William Cullen Wilcox (August 6, 1850 – January 26, 1928) was an American missionary to South Africa. With his wife, Ida Belle Clary Wilcox, he "adopted" John Dube, who was to be the first President of the African National Congress and the first ...

was asked to talk to a fatherless student called John Dube about his poor behavior at the school. John was the son of the Reverend James Dube who was the Congregational minister in Inanda. In 1887 John Dube was "adopted" by the Wilcoxes and taken to America to study at

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

.John Dube timeline
SAHistory.org.za, accessed 3 August 2013 Wilcox was to be eventually awarded with a medal by the South African government and Dube was to open his own school, his own newspaper and to be the first leader of what was to become the

. In 1888 Dr. John Mavuma Nembula, a student from Adams, returned to the College from America. He had been sent to America to help with translating a Zulu Bible but he had stayed there and he had become a physician. He was the first Black South African to do this and for a while taught physiology at the college.John Mavuma Nembula
SAHistory.org.za, accessed 8 August 2013 In 1924

Z.K. Matthews Zachariah Keodirelang "ZK" Matthews (20 October 1901 – 11 May 1968) was a prominent black academic in South Africa, lecturing at South African Native College (renamed University of Fort Hare in 1955), where many future leaders of the African ...

was appointed to be the first black head of Adams College where the activist

Albert Luthuli Albert John Mvumbi Luthuli ( – 21 July 1967) was a South African anti-apartheid activist, traditional leader, and politician who served as the President-General of the African National Congress from 1952 until his death in 1967. Luthuli wa ...

was already a teacher. Both of them were active in politics and Matthews was later to be the

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...

Ambassador to the United Nations and Luthuli was to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Between 1933 and 1945

Edgar Brookes Professor Edgar Harry Brookes (4 February 1897–22 April 1979) was a South African Liberal senator and South African representative to the League of Nations. Biography Brookes was born in Smethwick, England in 1897. He attended Maritzburg ...

was the Principal of Adams College. He worked closely with

John Dube John Langalibalele Dube (22 February 1871 – 11 February 1946) was a South African essayist, philosopher, educator, politician, publisher, editor, novelist and poet. He was the founding president of the South African Native National Congress ( ...

Ohlange High School Ohlange High School is a secondary school in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded by John Dube and Nokuthela Dube née Mdima.

to achieve common objectives of improving the lot of native Africans. The school became one of the most important schools for black education. In 1945 the school lost Edgar Brookes, and there was a period of unrest and poor discipline. In 1947 the main building of the school burned down. A new headmaster, Jack Grant, a white academic, arrived from Trinidad in 1948 to refocus the school. The school faced legal opposition from the government as the Bantu Education Act came into force. This act required that South African schools prepare black students for secondary and manual labour. Grant and the school felt that this was unacceptable and argued that they should be allowed to become independent. However the first President and the incumbent President of the ANC were staff from the school and the authorities were adamant. They allowed the nearby

Inanda Seminary School Inanda Seminary School is one of the oldest schools for girls in South Africa. It was founded in 1869 at Inanda, a settlement just over north of Durban, by Daniel and Lucy Lindley, an American missionary couple. History On 20 November 1834 Dani ...

to operate outside the act, but in 1956 the school held a service to mark the end of its operation. The school was sold to the government and the head left South Africa. The important item was the school was not able to be called "Adams". What was then thought to be the end of a leading school was described by ex-staff member George C. Grant in his book, ''The Liquidation of Adams College''. The school was renamed the ''Amanzimtoti Zulu Training School'' as the

Bantu Education Act, 1953 The Bantu Education Act 1953 (Act No. 47 of 1953; later renamed the Black Education Act, 1953) was a South African segregation law that legislated for several aspects of the apartheid system. Its major provision enforced racially-separated educati ...

finally came into effect. Bantu Education was a clearly divisive and paternalist racist campaign that was designed to educate black children for their lowly place in society. Academic subjects were not encouraged as this might deny the country the (black) manual labour it required. The school's name returned to "Adams" when Bantu education was abandoned. During this period the school was poorly cared for during the Apartheid period and buildings were demolished. The school requires some work to achieve its previous successes but in 2007 the school achieved a 93% Matric pass rate in line with Thulani Khumalo the heads priority of "academic excellence".

Music

Both what is now

Ohlange High School Ohlange High School is a secondary school in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded by John Dube and Nokuthela Dube née Mdima.

and Adams were involved with a move to return music to its ethnic roots. The move to a traditionalist approach was backed by

who was at Ohlange and Brookes who was the headmaster here. Esau Fika Mthethwea who was a teacher formed the "Lucky Stars" in 1929 as an ethnic vaudeville troupe of typically eight young teachers who had been trained at Adams. Esau died in 1933 but others took over and the Lucky Stars toured throughout the country and they nearly had a tour of Europe.

Sport

The "Shooting Stars" are one of the oldest football teams in the Durban area. Football was introduced by the missionary schools and the Shooting Stars were able to challenge similar teams at Ifafa, Umbumbulu and Inanda. All of these teams were well established by 1902. George Copeland Grant was on the teaching staff of Adams College where cricket had been introduced in the 1930s. As "Jackie" Grant he had captained the West Indies Cricket team for four tests before becoming a missionary teacher in 1939. When Grant arrived

Ohlange High School Ohlange High School is a secondary school in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded by John Dube and Nokuthela Dube née Mdima.

already had an established team. Grant raised the status of the game around

and made Adams the centre of this new school sport. Cricket was the sport popular with the Indian immigrants to South Africa and the local Durban Indian Cricket Union dated from 1894.

Today

The mission station is called

and it had a population of 600 in 2001. In 2007 Adams College was amongst several schools recognised as "historic schools". Funding of six million rand a year was earmarked for Adams,

Ohlange High School Ohlange High School is a secondary school in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded by John Dube and Nokuthela Dube née Mdima.

Inkamana High School Inkamana High School is in Vryheid, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa. It was started in 1923 and had 200 boarding students in 2009. History Inkamana is recognised as a historic school. It is situated in the heart of the Zululand. Inkamana High Scho ...

and

Vryheid Comprehensive High School Vryheid ( zu, IVryheid) is a coal mining and cattle ranching town in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Vryheid is the Afrikaans word for "freedom". History After Boer farmers, who lived in the Vryheid area, had helped King Dinuzulu defeat his ...

to make them academies focussing on Maths, Science and Technology. Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Njongonkulu Ndungane said that they still needed funds and "little has been achieved since democracy".

Alumni

Mangosuthu Buthelezi Prince Mangosuthu Gatsha Buthelezi (born 27 August 1928) is a South African politician and Zulu traditional leader who is currently a Member of Parliament and the traditional prime minister to the Zulu royal family. He was Chief Minister of the ...

- Prime Minister and political leader * Herbert Chitepo - Chairman of the

Zimbabwe African National Union The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) was a militant organisation that fought against white minority rule in Rhodesia, formed as a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU). ZANU split in 1975 into wings loyal to Robert Muga ...

Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo Herbert Isaac Ernest Dhlomo (1903, Siyamu/Pietermaritzburg (Natal) – 20 October 1956, Durban) is one of the major founding figures of South African literature and perhaps the first prolific African creative writer in English. His elder brother w ...

- writer and poet *

Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma Nkosazana Clarice Dlamini-Zuma (née Dlamini; born 27 January 1949), sometimes referred to by her initials NDZ, is a South African politician, medical doctor and former anti-apartheid activist. A longstanding member of the African National Cong ...

- South African cabinet minister *

- First ANC president and founder member * Enoch Dumbutshena - first Zimbabwean Chief Justice; African descent * Pixley ka Isaka Seme - ANC founder *

Seretse Khama Sir Seretse Goitsebeng Maphiri Khama, GCB, KBE (1 July 1921 – 13 July 1980) was a Motswana politician who served as the first President of Botswana, a post he held from 1966 to his death in 1980. Born into an influential royal fam ...

- President of Botswana *

Ellen Kuzwayo Nnoseng Ellen Kate Kuzwayo (29 June 1914 – 19 April 2006) was a women's rights activist and politician in South Africa, and was a teacher from 1938 to 1952. She was president of the African National Congress Youth League in the 1960s. In 19 ...

- President of the ANC Youth League *

Pius Langa Pius Nkonzo Langa Order of the Baobab, SCOB (25 March 1939 – 24 July 2013) was Chief Justice of South Africa, serving on the Constitutional Court of South Africa, Constitutional Court. He was appointed to the bench in 1994 by Nelson Mandela, h ...

- South African Chief Justice *

Anton Lembede Anton Muziwakhe Lembede (21 March 1914 – 30 July 1947) was a South African activist and founding president of the African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL). He has been described as "the principal architect of South Africa's first full-fle ...

- First president of the ANC Youth League * Albert Lutuli - leader of the ANC and Nobel Laureate *

Epainette Mbeki Nomaka Epainette Mbeki ( Moerane; 16 February 1916 – 7 June 2014), commonly known as "MaMbeki", a stalwart community activist and promoter of women's development, mother of former President of South Africa, Dr. Thabo Mbeki. and widow of polit ...

- mother of former president Thabo Mbeki of South Africa *

Zephania Mothopeng Zephania Lekoame Mothopeng (10 September 1913 – 23 October 1990) was a South African political activist and member of the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC). Early life Mothopeng was born near Vrede in Free State, and he had five siblings. He w ...

- President of the

Pan-Africanist Congress The Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (known as the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC)) is a South African national liberation Pan-Africanism, Pan-Africanist movement that is now a political party. It was founded by an Africanist group, led by Rober ...

Zephania (Zeph) Lekoame Mothopeng
SAHistory.org, accessed 5 August 2013 *

Oscar Mpetha Oscar Mafakafaka Mpetha was born in Mount Fletcher 5 August 1909 and died on 15 November 1994. He was a South African trade unionist and political activist. Personal life Mpetha was educated at local schools and at Adams College. In the 1930s, he ...

* Es'kia Mphahlele (1919-2008) - writer and teacher *

Thomas Nkobi Thomas Titus Nkobi (22 October 1922 – 25 September 1994) was a senior leader of the South African African National Congress (ANC) and a key figure in the Anti-Apartheid movement. Until his death he was the Treasurer General of the ANC and al ...

- ANC Treasurer General 1973–1994 *

Joshua Nkomo Joshua Mqabuko Nyongolo Nkomo (19 June 1917 – 1 July 1999) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and Matabeleland politician who served as Vice-President of Zimbabwe from 1990 until his death in 1999. He founded and led the Zimbabwe African People's ...

- Vice-President of Zimbabwe * Milton Obote - president of Uganda * Stanlake J. W. T. Samkange - educationalist, author, historian * Stella Sigcau - South African cabinet minister * Sizwe C.Sabelo - South African Process Engineers, Owner of Virtual Is Reality.

Notable staff

- transformed the school and was an ambassador to the United Nations * George Copeland "Jackie" Grant - West Indies bowler and cricket captain *

- started his own school and newspaper * Albert Lutuli - Nobel Peace Prize winner *

- headmaster; became the Ambassador to the United States for Botswana

References

{{coord, -30.031042, 30.817777, region:ZA, display=title, format=dms Schools in KwaZulu-Natal Unaccredited institutions of higher learning