Saturday, January 30, 2016

Shipwreck survivors 10: a controversial photo




This photo is said to be of the Minerva, wrecked at Port Natal in 1850. However, there is some controversy about it largely because of the date - 1850. If it is indeed of the Minerva it would be the first exterior photograph taken in Natal. Photography was in its infancy and most pictures were taken inside the photographer's studio. There were photographers in Natal in the 1850s but not many of them.

It is more likely that this photo shows the Defiance, wrecked in 1871, but that took place near the Umzimkulu.

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