Johannes Wilhelm Colenbrander

Johannes Wilhelm Colenbrander CB (1 November 1855–10 February 1918) was a Natal-born soldier and colonial official in Southern Africa. Colenbrander served with the Natal Mounted Police and joined the Stanger Mounted Rifles, seeing action in the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War. During the war Colenbrander negotiated the surrender of Zulu Inkosi Zibhebhu kaMaphitha and afterwards worked for him as a secretary and gunrunner. He fought for Zibhebhu during the Third Zulu Civil War but lost all his trade goods and cattle when the war was lost.

Johannes Wilhelm Colenbrander
Colenbrander as Lord Chelmsford in Symbol of Sacrifice, shortly before his death
Born(1855-11-01)1 November 1855
Pinetown, Colony of Natal
Died10 February 1918(1918-02-10) (aged 62)
Klip River, Transvaal, Union of South Africa
Occupationsoldier and colonial officer
AwardsCompanion of the Order of the Bath

Colenbrander worked as a trader in Swaziland for a period before moving to Mashonaland, where he worked closely with the British South Africa Company (BSAC). He won the trust of Ndebele King Lobengula but worked against him to set up the 1893–1894 First Matabele War, to the benefit of BSAC. After the war he was appointed head of a land commission that confined the Ndebele to a reserve of land much smaller than their pre-war territory. Colenbrander led a mercenary unit fighting for BSAC in the 1896 Second Matabele War. He raised another unit which saw action in the 1899–1902 Second Boer War. Colenbrander died in 1918 during filming of a movie about the Zulu War.

Early life

The National Archives of Rhodesia and a publication by the University of Natal give Colenbrander's birth date as 1 November 1855, though other sources give the year as 1856 or 1857.[1][2][3][4] He was born in Pinetown in the British Colony of Natal, the fourth son of Dutch-born parents Theodorus Christiaan Colenbrander and Geraldine Nicolene van Groll.[1][2] Colenbrander's parents had emigrated from Java in the Dutch East Indies to Natal in 1854. Their indigo plantation had failed and they founded the settlement of New Guelderland near Stanger.[5] Colenbrander grew up in New Guelderland and in his youth became recognised as one of the best marksmen and horsemen in Southern Africa.[6][2]

Zululand
Zibhebhu with white mercenaries during the civil war

Colenbrander joined the Natal Mounted Police, an all-white militarised colonial police force, in 1870.[6] When the Stanger Mounted Rifles, a colonial volunteer military unit, was founded in 1875 he transferred to that unit.[4] During the 1879 Anglo-Zulu War he saw action at the 22 January Battle of Inyezane and the 2 April Battle of Gingindlovu.[4][2] At the latter battle he met John Robert Dunn, a British settler in Zululand who had been made a Zulu chief by King Cetshwayo.[2]

Colenbrander became Dunn's secretary in the later stages of the war and negotiated the surrender of Zulu Inkosi Zibhebhu kaMaphitha.[4] Colenbrander won Zibhebhu's trust and stayed on with him in Zululand as a secretary, trader and gunrunner.[4] In 1883 he married Mollie Mullins.[5] During the Third Zulu Civil War Colenbrander fought for Zibhebhu at the head of a party of white mercenaries and contributed to the victory over the supporters of Cetshwayo at the 1883 Battle of Msebe. Colenbrander returned to Natal to recruit more men, but while he was absent, Zibhebhu was defeated in the 1884 Battle of Tshaneni (Mkuze), by the forces of Cetshwayo's son Dinuzulu. As a result of the defeat Colenbrander lost all his cattle and trade goods.[4]

Rhodesia

Colenbrander worked for a period as a trader in Swaziland before moving to Mashonaland upon which the British South Africa Company (BSAC) had territorial ambitions (the BSAC territory later became known as Rhodesia).[4] Mashonaland was ruled, along with Matabeleland by Lobengula of the Northern Ndebele people. Colenbrander worked with Lobengula as an interpreter and accompanied two of his inDuna to England in February 1889 for an audience with Queen Victoria. They left to return to Africa in early April.[7] Colenbrander was appointed BSAC resident at Bulawayo, Matabeleland in 1889.[8]

Although he was an employee of the BSAC, Colenbrander won the trust of Lobengula, such that the King allowed him to represent the kingdom in negotiations with the company. Colenbrander's loyalty lay entirely with the company and he worked to assist Leander Starr Jameson in portraying the Ndebele as aggressors in reports to British officials, allowing the company to fight the First Matabele War.[9] The company was victorious in the 1893-1894 war, bringing Matebeleland under BSAC control. The British authorities insisted on the establishment of a Matabeleland Land Commission to create native reserves for the Ndebele people. The BSAC wanted to force the Ndebele away from their traditional lifestyle and into wage slavery, as part of this effort they had imposed a hut tax, illegal under British colonial law. Colenbrander was appointed head of the commission and assigned the Ndebele a reserve of 6,500 square miles (17,000 km2), significantly smaller than the 10,000–11,000 square miles (26,000–28,000 km2) of prime territory (with additional areas of wasteland) the Ndebele had previously occupied. Some of the land assigned by the commission was blighted by the Tsetse fly.[10] He later served with the British South Africa Police, at one point having a horse shot from under him.[11]

The Ndebele rose against BSAC in the 1896 Second Matabele War, during which Colenbrander was granted the rank of Captain in the Bulawayo Field Force. He raised and led a Coloured mercenary unit, known as the Cape Boys, and, with Cecil Rhodes, helped negotiate the surrender of the Ndebele chiefs.[12][13] After the war Colenbrander remained in the territory, working as a cattle dealer, labour recruiter, mining claims inspector and manager of Redrup's Kop Mine.[12]

Second Boer War

During the Second Boer War (1899-1902) Colenbrander founded and led Kitchener's Fighting Scouts, a unit fighting for the British.[5][11] He later commanded a British column, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel.[14] Colenbrander received the first of numerous mentions in dispatches on 9 July 1901, being named by General Herbert Kitchener for bringing in Boer prisoners during a raid from Pietersburg in early May.[15] He commanded troops that occupied the Boer settlement of Louis Trichardt on 9 May and on 19 November captured Warmbaths capturing 54 prisoners, 28 wagons and 35 horses, mainly from the commando of Christian Frederick Beyers. He remained at Warmbaths to keep the Boer military forces under observation.[16][17][18]

In December 1901, in conjunction with a column under Lieutenant-Colonel Dawkins he captured Boer Commandant Badenhorst and 22 burghers. Colenbrander, working independently, then took the towns of Jericho, capturing 60 prisoners, and Waterval, killing five Boers and taking 29 prisoners in a surprise dawn attack. After the latter he persuaded Chief Linchwe to stand down a war part of 2,000 warriors who were attempting to recapture livestock taken by Boer General Jan Kemp. Colenbrander was concerned that Linchwe's men posed a threat to Boer women and children.[19] In February 1902 Colenbrander's column was ordered south, which allowed Beyers to raid Pietersburg. Afterwards Colenbrander was ordered to Rustenburg to search for Beyers.[20] Beyers beseiged Fort Edward near Louis Trichardt and it was almost forced to surrender, its water supply being cut off. Colenbrander learnt of the attack and moved from Krugersdorp to launch a surprise dawn attack on the besiegers on 29 March, driving them off with three dead and four taken prisoner. Colenbrander afterwards followed Beyers to Pylkop.[21]

On 8 April he launched a successful attack on Beyers' position at Malipspoort. Although a planned encirclement failed to prevent the escape of the Boer force Colenbrander captured the town, much equipment and 119 prisoners, having inflicted nine dead. In pursuing Beyers to Oud Agatha part of Colenbrander's force was ambushed, losing six dead, 12 wounded and 30 captured. After this Beyers' force dispersed and Colenbrander returned to Pietersburg.[22] In May 1902 Colenbrander carried out operations in the Malip Valley, killing one Boer, wounding 21 and capturing 101 before Beyers' arrival for peace negotiations ended operations.[23] Colenbrander was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 26 June 1902 for his war service.[24]

Later life
A still from Symbol of Sacrifice

Colenbrander's first wife died and he married Yvonne Nunn in 1902. He later married Catherine Gloster.[5] Colenbrander died on 10 February 1918 while crossing the Klip River at Henley on Klip, Transvaal. He was working on the making of a film, Symbol of Sacrifice about the Zulu War.[5][2] The Klip stood in for the Tugela River but it was in flood when the scene was shot. The film's producer, I.W. Schlesinger had tried to dissuade Colenbrander from crossing but he insisted on continuing with the scene as written.[25] Colenbrander's horse lost its footing and he was thrown into the water, he swam for the bank but was drowned, with two other actors. The sequence was caught on camera.[26][27] The drownings, which happened on a Sunday, were mentioned in a South African House of Assembly debate as part of an argument against filming taking place on the Christian Sabbath.[25] The loss of Colenbrander seems to have led to Chelmsford being relegated to the role of a minor character in the film.[28]

Some of his papers and correspondence are in the collection of the Bodleian Library and the National Archives of Zimbabwe.[3]

References
  1. Baxter, T. W.; Burke, Eric Edward (1970). Guide to the Historical Manuscripts in the National Archives of Rhodesia. Natural Archives of Rhodesia. p. 85.
  2. Jones, Huw M. (1993). A Biographical Register of Swaziland to 1902. University of Natal Press. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-86980-880-1.
  3. "Colenbrander, Johan William, (1856-1918), frontiersman". National Archives. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  4. Laband, John (2009). Historical Dictionary of the Zulu Wars. Scarecrow Press. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-8108-6300-2.
  5. Dutton, Roy (1 May 2010). Forgotten Heroes Zulu & Basuto Wars including Medal Roll 1877-8-9. Infodial. p. 162. ISBN 978-0-9556554-4-9.
  6. MacBruce, James; Maclean, Joy (1974). The Guardians: A Story of Rhodesia's Outposts, and of the Men and Women who Served in Them. Books of Rhodesia. p. 10. ISBN 978-0-86920-112-1.
  7. Rhodesia, National Archives of; Baxter, T. W.; Burke, Eric Edward (1970). Guide to the Historical Manuscripts in the National Archives of Rhodesia. Natural Archives of Rhodesia. p. 288.
  8. Mainga, Mutumba (2010). Bulozi under the Luyana Kings: Political Evolution and State Formation in Pre-colonial Zambia. African Books Collective. p. 149. ISBN 978-9982-24-052-9.
  9. Galbraith, John S. (28 May 2021). Crown and Charter: The Early Years of the British South Africa Company. Univ of California Press. p. 304. ISBN 978-0-520-36537-7.
  10. Paulin, Christopher M. (2001). White Men's Dreams, Black Men's Blood: African Labor and British Expansionism in Southern Africa, 1877-1895. Africa World Press. p. 203. ISBN 978-0-86543-929-0.
  11. Outpost: Stories of the Police of Rhodesia. Books of Africa. 1970. p. 44.
  12. Gann, Lewis H. (1969). Colonialism in Africa, 1870-1960: The economics of colonialism, edited by P. Duignan and L. H. Gann. Cambridge U.P. p. 575. ISBN 978-0-521-08641-7.
  13. "No. 26830". The London Gazette. 9 March 1897. p. 1392.
  14. Wulfsohn, Lionel (1992). Rustenburg at War: The Story of Rustenburg and Its Citizens in the First and Second Anglo-Boer Wars. L.M. Wulfsohn. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-620-16769-7.
  15. "No. 27331". The London Gazette. 20 August 1901. p. 5478.
  16. "No. 27382". The London Gazette. 3 December 1901. p. 8538.
  17. "No. 27347". The London Gazette. 9 July 1901. p. 4539.
  18. "No. 27398". The London Gazette. 17 January 1902. p. 368.
  19. "No. 27408". The London Gazette. 18 February 1902. p. 1033.
  20. "No. 27419". The London Gazette. 25 March 1902. p. 2061.
  21. "No. 27443". The London Gazette. 17 June 1902. p. 3969.
  22. "No. 27455". The London Gazette. 18 July 1902. p. 4588.
  23. "No. 27455". The London Gazette. 18 July 1902. p. 4589.
  24. "No. 11421". The Edinburgh Gazette. 27 June 1902. p. 647.
  25. Maingard, Jacqueline (13 May 2013). South African National Cinema. Routledge. p. 37. ISBN 978-1-135-12403-8.
  26. Beckett, Ian F. W. (2019). Rorke's Drift and Isandlwana. Oxford University Press. pp. 134–135. ISBN 978-0-19-879412-7.
  27. Knight, Ian (16 October 2008). Companion to the Anglo-Zulu War. Pen and Sword. pp. 134–135. ISBN 978-1-4738-1331-1.
  28. Parsons, Neil (September 2013). "Nation-Building Movies Made in South Africa (1916–18): I.W. Schlesinger, Harold Shaw, and the Lingering Ambiguities of South African Union". Journal of Southern African Studies. 39 (3): 652. doi:10.1080/03057070.2013.827003. JSTOR 42001361. S2CID 143079921.
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