David Rattray and Fugitives' Drift

"It is hard to believe that it is almost a month since the awful events which led to David’s death; we have all been hugely encouraged and supported by the vast numbers of sympathetic and thought-provoking emails, letters and ’phone calls that have come in from around the world. It is the support of our friends, tour operators and former guests that has enabled us to carry on and to look for ways to ensure that David’s tragic departure was not in vain and that his work continues.

Rob Caskie and his team of very talented lecturers have been studying the themes that have always been pursued in our talks – on the battlefields and around the dinner table – searching for new ways in which we can all make sense of what has happened to us here at Fugitives’ Drift.

David was determinedly positive about the future of this country. He had a profound belief that South Africa was going in the right direction and that, despite the countless hurdles still to be overcome, in the long term, reconciliation between the peoples and races of our country was achievable. We are determined to do what we can to contribute to that process and we will continue to look positively towards the future.

The lectures are now interspersed with new perspectives on the history of our land. As always, we tell the story the way David wanted it told and we have added some new thought-provoking ideas arising from the almost ironic way in which a great Zulu hero (in the words of Dr Mangosutho Buthelezi) died.

We look at great reconciliatory movements of the past. We study the rebuilding of the relationship between English-speaking people and the Zulus after the Anglo-Zulu War, so beautifully epitomised by the story, so loved by David of the capture of King Cetshwayo. We work our way through the dark years of apartheid, ending with the re-emergence of Nelson Mandela and his subsequent courting of the hesitant Zulus. Finally we look at the role played by David and by Fugitives’ Drift in the run-up to the first democratic elections in 1994 and how this lodge became such a focus for those wishing better to understand what then made this great country so unpredictable and yet so full of potential.

Apart from the lectures here at the lodge and around the country, we intend to set up a foundation named after David, which will promote ongoing reconciliation as its central theme and will be a vehicle to raise funds to continue and to step up David’s work here amongst the rural communities of KwaZulu-Natal. We hope that in the years to come, this foundation will grow sufficiently to allow us to broaden its scope and permit us to make a difference nationally. David was on countless committees and was devoted to causes too numerous to mention. It is our intention that, as he would have wished, they should all benefit in some way from this tragedy.

David’s death leaves an aching void which can only be filled by a thoughtful determination to carry on entertaining guests here at Fugitives’ Drift the way he always did with such obvious enthusiasm and enjoyment. We are so grateful to all of those who have been with us over the past weeks and who have proved to us that this is possible.

The police have done sterling work in apprehending the perpetrators and, in case you have any concerns, we all feel just as safe here as we always did. A pointless crime such as this does nothing to undermine the underlying safety of this lodge, so loved by the surrounding communities for whom David did so much.

Thank you for your support. Please pass on the word that Fugitives’ Drift Lodge and Guest House continue to entertain and educate those interested in matters historical and political with the same aplomb as prior to 26th January 2007. We are relying on our supporters to assist us in ensuring that David Rattray’s legacy lives on."

Nicky Rattray and the Fugitives’ Drift team.