This statue of John Ross is found in front of John Ross House on the Victoria Embankment, Durban. It was erected to honour the 14 year old boy who, together with a Zulu contingent, walked to Delagoa Bay, some 600 km distance, to get medical supplies for early settlers of Port Natal.
John was only 10 years old when his ship, the Mary, was wrecked off the Zululand coast in 1825.
The boy survived and settled at Port Natal, which later became Durban.
He became one of the first white people to meet and befriend the great Zulu king Shaka Senzagakhona, partly thanks to his distinctive red hair.
He achieved hero status when the settlers at Port Natal were struck down with sickness and lacked supplies and medicines to survive.
Aged just 12, and escorted by 30 Zulu warriors, he set out on a six-month 600-mile trek to the Portuguese settlement of Delagoa Bay to raise the alarm.
It is certain that without his help, the small community of settlers would have died
