AT AGE 55, retired Richmond resident Ricky Jugree is emerging as a custodian of his family’s history, that stretches back to indentured Indian migration to colonial Natal in 1897.
Through meticulous research and storytelling, this father of two is ensuring that his family’s journey, one deeply intertwined with the development of KwaZulu-Natal, will not be lost to time.
Jugree, a community and crime activist, created The Richmond Community Facebook page, which has about 40 000 members, and serves as the founder and executive member of the Richmond Neighborhood Watch.
He said in tracing his family roots, the availability of precise indenture numbers would allow descendants today to trace ship manifests, which often included village origins and physical descriptions.
“Digital archiving is essential. These records help us reclaim identities that were once reduced to numbers,” he said.
“My family’s journey, from the arrival of Gangadin and Gujratia Ahir in 1897 to the establishment of a generational home in Richmond, is a vital piece of KwaZulu-Natal heritage. I am honoured to carry the Jugree surname, and to share the story so that future generations never forget the strength that came,” said Jugree.
His great-grandparents arrived in Durban during a peak period of indentured migration.
Jugree’s great-grandfather, Gangadin, was only 22 years old when he arrived from Lucknow in October 1897 aboard the Calcutta XVI under Indenture Number 68813. He was sent to Umzinto to work for the National Government Railway Services, an industry central to the colonial economy.
In the same year, Jugree’s great-grandmother, Gujratia, arrived from Benares on the Calcutta VII under Indenture Number 45957, assigned to the Reunion Estates at the Isipingo Sugar Mill.
These two industries, rail and sugar, said Jugree, were the backbone of colonial Natal.
“My great grandparents’ labour contributed to building this province.”
The family’s roots soon took hold in the KZN Midlands.
Jugree’s grandfather, Hamraj Jugree, was born and raised in Richmond, while his grandmother, Sumalee Rathna, came from Pietermaritzburg.
In 1905, Hamraj Jugree built the family home in Richmond.
“This was a significant achievement for a family of indentured descent. Over time, the house was expanded as 10 children, six daughters and four sons, were born there. All 10 were later married from the same home. That house is not just bricks and timber. It is a living archive of our family’s transitions, celebrations, and survival.”
For decades, the Jugree home served as a cultural hub. Diwali celebrations, prayers, birthdays, and New Year gatherings were all held there.
Sumalee Rathna became especially well known for her baking.
“She was famous for her chili bites and homemade roti. Those recipes are part of our intangible heritage, just as important as property deeds.”
Sumalee also supported the family financially by supplying her chilli bites to a sister-in-law’s café, helping to pay off the family home.
“Beyond cooking, she was a skilled seamstress, sewing clothes for her daughters on a hand-operated Singer sewing machine and teaching them to sew, crochet, and embroider. What started as necessity became art. Many of my aunts became professional dressmakers. That skill was her legacy.”
Hamraj Jugree was known throughout Richmond as a man of quiet strength and remarkable skill.
“He worked as a lumberjack at Scott & Mills, farmed vegetables, developed a plum orchard supplying the Durban market, and hand-built wooden crates for produce. He also cut and supplied firewood, repaired motor vehicles, and crafted furniture and household items by hand. He let his work speak, not his words. He even transported schoolchildren by bus, people trusted him with their children.”
In 1984, Eshwar Jugree, Hamraj Jugree’s son, started the Richmond Indian Child and Family Welfare Association.
“Eshwar was on a mission to provide vital support and guidance to families facing significant hardship. For decades, the organisation has served as a critical safety net for the community, dedicated to protecting the vulnerable and empowering the next generation.
“Through these initiatives, the society was committed to fostering a resilient community where every child had access to the nutrition, safety, and education required to thrive,” said Jugree.
Today, besides the family’s legacy in the community, Jugree said their surname was also rare.
“It is the 2, 979, 664th most common surname in the world, with only 41 people in South Africa bearing the name. Despite its rarity, the surname is well known in Richmond due to the family’s long presence in the area.
“With more than 120 years in Richmond, we are one of the founding Indian families of this town. That makes preserving this history not just a family responsibility, but a community one. My family lived humbly, worked tirelessly, and left behind a legacy that runs deep. This story is for them, for their sacrifices and for every generation that followed.”
As Richmond continues to change, Jugree hopes that documenting stories like his will help anchor the town’s diverse history.
“This is more than a family story. It is a reminder of dignity, labour, and legacy,” said Jugree, who added that most of his family photographs had been destroyed.
The POST
