David Stuurman

David Stuurman (c. 1773 – 22 February 1830) was a Khoi chief and political activist who fought against Dutch and British colonial administration. The missionaries report details how Stuurman was tied to a wagon and beaten with a sjambok; after the beating salt was rubbed into his wounds and he was left tied to the wagon in the blistering sun. Richard Collins later wrote that David was suspected, even by some Khoi, to be behind his brother’s death; however, contemporary sources do not seem to mention these suspicions.

By December, Stuurman and others had escaped Robben Island using whaling boats to reach the mainland. Most of them were recaptured, but Stuurman made his way back to the Eastern Cape. After six years in government service, working at military barracks, Stuurman obtained a ticket of leave which allowed him to work for wages. His wife drew up a petition to Queen Victoria for his freedom but nothing came of it, as Stuurman would die before his release was ordered. This cemetery was later resumed for Central railway station. It is likely that his remains were relocated to Bunnerong Cemetery, which is now part of Botany Cemetery, though this is unclear.

Legacy In 2015, a statue was erected at the National Heritage Monument in Pretoria in honour of Stuurman’s memory. During the same year, protesters called for the removal of 112-year old statue of Queen Victoria which stands outside the Port Elizabeth library and replace it with a statue of David Stuurman. However, his remains were unable to be precisely located because a train station was built over the cemetery where he was buried. After years-long negotiations between multiple stakeholders, including Australian and South African authorities, traditional spiritual repatriation ceremonies went ahead in 2017.

On 13 June 2017, a traditional ceremony was conducted in Sydney to repatriate the spirit of David Stuurman. The spiritual repatriation involved the use of umphafa tree branches to carry Stuurman’s spirit. A second spiritual repatriation was conducted at the Sarah Baartman Heritage Centre in Hankey to put Stuurman to rest.