Curries Fountain gets heritage status: How a Durban sporting ground became a symbol of resistance - IOL

Curries Fountain Stadium in Durban has been declared a provincial heritage site. The iconic ticket office and floodlights are recognisable landmarks.

The Research of Curries and Surroundings (Rocs) project, once based at the Durban University of Technology (DUT), identified Curries Fountain as one of South Africa’s iconic historical and political landmarks. The Rocs team have written several books on the historical significance of the site. 

Sport, Arts and Culture MEC Mntomuhle Khawula said the stadium is regarded as a site of exceptional historical, cultural and social significance to the people of KZN and South Africa. According to historical records, the grounds were named after Durban’s first reliable water source, established by Councillor H.W. Currie on the site in 1878.

According to research, Currie sank a well and installed pumps below the Botanic Gardens. From 1913, the site became associated with mass open-air meetings, including gatherings linked to the historic Durban strikes and later anti-apartheid gatherings.

Heritage Month - which is being commemorated in KwaZulu-Natal in September - has been punctuated by the declaration of Curries Fountain Stadium in Durban as a provincial heritage site on Tuesday by KZN Amafa and Research Institute.

According to the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), Heritage Month is being commemorated in September under the theme: “Celebrating our living Heritage: Strengthening the ties that bind us.”

The department said it provides an opportunity for South Africans to reflect on their shared history, celebrate cultural diversity, and strengthen a collective sense of belonging grounded in the constitutional values of human dignity, equality, non-racialism, non-sexism, and the spirit of Ubuntu. Heritage Day will be observed on September 24. 

Former football players and members of the Curries Fountain Heritage Preservation Foundation at a recent gathering in Durban.

Research on Curries Fountain shows that negotiations to develop it as a sporting venue began in 1920, and in 1924 it was formally designated as a sports ground under the Durban Indian Sports Ground Association. 

It became an important venue for multiple sport codes, and social, recreational and labour movement activities, while also playing a vital role in the struggle for non-racial sport. The Curries Fountain Heritage Preservation Foundation was formed in October 2024 to advocate for Curries to be declared a heritage site. The project was led by Maya Singh, a former principal and South African Council on Sport (SACOS) member.

For Singh the declaration is both an emotional milestone and a call to action. He said the declaration must be seen as a beginning rather than an ending - of a new responsibility "to protect, restore and breathe new life into Curries Fountain, while ensuring that young people understand the extraordinary history that happened on this ground".

"This is an immensely proud and emotional moment for all of us who have fought to protect the history and heritage of Curries Fountain. Its contribution to non-racial sport and our broader social history cannot be underestimated," he said. 

Maya Singh, the president of the Curries Fountain Heritage Preservation Foundation.

Singh said the foundation now wants to see the precinct restored and revitalised while preserving its unique heritage. The vision is not to create a monument to the past, but to make its past work for the future.

"Our vision is to see Curries Fountain once again become a place where talent is nurtured, communities come together, and history inspires the future. Those who lived through apartheid understand what Curries Fountain represented. Younger South Africans may know its name without fully understanding its significance,” he said.

Prem Vayapuri, a former director of school sport, coaching and high performance, said the field that fought for freedom must now become a field that inspires the future. He said Curries Fountain’s extraordinary story has finally been officially recognised.

“For more than a century, this iconic Durban sporting ground has been far more than a place where games were played. It has been a field of dreams, a stage for sporting heroes, a platform for resistance and a gathering place for communities fighting for dignity and equality,” he said.

Vayapuri will remember the stadium as a place where sport broke barriers, a place where racism was fought and for the 1990 relaunch of the ANC Women's League following its unbanning.

Curries Fountain Stadium in Durban has been declared a provincial heritage site by KwaZulu-Natal Amafa Research Institute.

Khawula said the site also served as a centre for resistance to apartheid and now stands as a symbol of reflection that mirrors the province’s rich intangible heritage.

“It became a place that documents the history of sport among communities who experienced racial exclusion, while demonstrating how those communities used sport and sporting spaces to build identity, community and resilience,” he said.

Khawula said the institute recognises that heritage conservation is most meaningful when it contributes to the preservation of collective memory and ensures that significant places remain accessible to present and future generations.

The declaration of the site represents an important step in recognising and protecting a place that holds historical, cultural and social significance, ensuring that the heritage significance of Curries Fountain Stadium is formally recognised and protected for future generations, he said.

Khawula said the government had progressively reoriented the heritage sector towards inclusivity, redress, and cultural democracy.

“These efforts have enhanced the visibility of indigenous languages, music, rituals, traditional healing practices, craftsmanship, and oral histories, while supporting the transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next," he said.