RattRace 2009

The 2009 RattRace was, as ever, a resounding success. With the support of SATIB, this year’s main sponsor, the RattRace went off without a hitch and R42,806 was raised in support of the David Rattray Foundation.

The race was won by Craig Carter in 1 hour exactly. He was heavily fined afterwards, not only for winning, but also for being so confident of victory that he made a few cell phone calls along the way. He won three nights for two at Umngazi River Bungalows.

Sixteen local Zulus rode this year; unfortunately two suffered mechanical failure. The first Zulu home was Thokozozi Mkhize who came in sixth with an excellent time of 1 hour and 13 minutes. He won this year’s race on the bicycle he won last year; he’s gathering quite a collection!

The board members of the David Rattray Foundation would like to thank all those who took part, as well as SATIB for their generous sponsorship of the event. A huge amount of fun was had by us all, but more importantly, a fantastic sum was raised which will go a long way in supporting the Foundation’s efforts in the area.

The following is from Nicky Rattray:-

Dear All,

Thank you all once again for your support and enthusiasm at the RattRace last weekend. I really appreciate the effort you all make to be here but most importantly, thank you for entering into the spirit of the weekend as you always do. And thank you for paying your fines with such good grace!

We had a few tense moments during during the thunder storm on Friday afternoon, but luckily the weather cleared and the Night Race went ahead as planned; congratulations are in order to all those who dressed up and particularly to Tanya McKensie who won the dress-up contest with her "Dotty" outfit. Responsibility for organising the route again fell to David Evans and Tanya McKensie, without whom this enormously enjoyable race would never take place. Thanks to their yearly efforts, the Night Race has become a permanent fixture in the RattRace weekend.

We raised R42,806 this year. A great achievement, particularly considering there were slightly fewer cyclists than last year. Thank you to Andrew Murray for his bid to retain possesion of his bicycle (and for not lsoing his sense of humour!) and to Malcolm McCullogh and Mark Read for their efforts to stop him! Once again, special thanks to Chris Harvie, who berated, cajoled, joked and fined his way out of favour with everyone; he achieved this without complaint and we are, as ever, enormoulsy grateful.

I would also like to thank this year's sponsors of the prizes, t-shirts, beaded bikes and water: SATIB, Umngazi River Bungalows, Cleopatra Mountain Farmhouse, Hotel Izulu, Al and Lynley Clarke, Charlie's Spar and Jowetts Cycles.

The date for next year's RattRace is the weekend of the 24th September.

We will be giving preference to all those who took part this year, so if you would like to book for 2010, please contact me at nicky@fugitivesdrift.com before the end of November. It should also be noted that all those who took part in 2008 and were not present in 2009 will be receiving a hefty fine; the same rules apply next year!

With kindest regards,

Nicky

Mathutshana Primary School

On the 30th April 2009, a new classroom block was fomally handed over to the Headmistress of Mathutshana Primary School near Isandlwana.

Thanks to donations and fund-rasing by the Foundation, a new 3-classroom block has been built at Mathutshana Primary School, more than doubling the number of classrooms. The new block was handed over to Mrs. Lindiwe Mabusa (Headmistress) and to the school's governing body by Brian Xaba on behalf of the Foundation. Nicky Rattray and representatives of the local community were also present at the ceremony.

Although the school does not currently have electricity, the new block has full electrcial wiring in anticipation of future electrification and is an excellent model of the Foundation's ultimate goal in the region.

 The new building can be seen here with the red roof.

Details of the Foundation's activities can be found in the latest newsletter from the board members. This newsletter can be downloaded in PDF format here.

Doratogonus Rattrayi

A new species of millipede has been discovered by Michelle Hamer in the Nkandla Forest in Zululand, south of Fugitives' Drift. Michelle has chosen to name the millipede Doratogonus Rattrayi in honour of David Rattray.

This honour is particularly fitting as David had a deep interest in entomology - he held an Honours degree in Entomology from the Univeristy of Natal, Pietermaritzburg. He would also have been particularly pleased that this new entomological discovery was in Nkandla - David spent much time over the years exploring Nkandla and the Mome Gorge where King Cetshwayo is buried.

Below is an extract from Michelle Hamer's paper regarding Doratogonus Rattrayi:-

Type material: Holotype: NMSA 21970, 1 male, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Nkandhla Forest, 28º43’38.592”S, 31º07’58.281”E, 1121 m asl, found in forest along dirt road, 19 November 2001, A. Armstrong & H. Murray. Paratypes: NMSA 21791, 1 male, 1 female, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Nkandhla Forest, 28º43’38.650”S, 31º08’00.155” E, 1121 m asl, 19 November 2001, A. Armstrong & H. Murray. NMSA 21792, 1 male, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Nkandhla Forest, 28º44’44.639”S, 31º08’34.279”E, 1040 m asl, Forest, on trunk of Iphahla tree in forest, 21 November 2001, A. Armstrong & H. Murray.

Etymology: Named for David Rattray, world-renowned Ango-Zulu War historian, and promoter of the oral history tradition of the Zulu people, who through his story-telling inspired people of all ages and from all walks of life. Rattray was murdered at his home, Fugitive’s Drift, in January of 2007.

Diagnosis: Gonopods of D. rattrayi similar to D. avius Hamer, 2000 and D. major (Lawrence, 1965). These three species certainly closely related, sharing serrated process on the median margin of the anterior gonocoxal fold, dense, long setae covering distal region of the anterior gonocoxal fold, broad femoral process curved through 360º, and lamellate, folded proximal region of postfemoral process. In addition, all three species large-bodied, with yellow legs. Doratogonus rattrayi distinguished from other two species by serrated distal margin of femoral process, less curved postfemoral process, and longer, less curved apical, median spine on anterior gonocoxal fold.

On the 11th September, an auction was held at Sotheby’s in London in order to raise money for the David Rattray Foundation. The auction was organised in order to raise money to build three new classrooms at Mathutjana Primary School near Isandlwana, KwaZulu Natal. The auction far exceeded all expectations.

A remarkable total of £114,000 was raised which will allow the Foundation to not only build three new classrooms, but also to fence the school, install water tanks to provide a reliable supply of drinking water and also to extend support to other schools in the area. It is only through the generosity and support of all those involved that this has been achieved.

HRH The Prince of Wales generously donated various items for auction and Damien Hirst contributed two paintings which were certainly amongst the highlights of the auction. Robin Woodhead, of Sotheby’s, gave the Foundation use of the venue while Lord Dalmeny kindly and expertly gave his services as auctioneer. The Foundation also wishes to thank Sue Norrington and Susie Cazenove who organised the event and without whom it would never have been possible. The Foundation is immensely grateful to all.

On the 15th April 2008, Dr. Peter Rattray received an honourary Doctorate from the University of KwaZulu Natal on behalf of his son, David Rattray.

Dr Rattray said the degree was one of the best tributes to a man "..who loved South Africa unreservedly. David had lived among Zulu people most of his life and was steeped in Zulu history and could speak the language."

On presenting the honorary degree, vice-chancellor Professor Dasarath Chetty said David Rattray had been a brilliant and extraordinary orator who shared his deep love and passion for the environment, Zulu culture and the country through his work. "The University of KwaZulu Natal is privileged and takes immense pride in honouring this unique individual, whose work symbolised the very essence of African scholarship."

David's mother, Gillian Rattray, his wife Nicky and three sons Andrew, Douglas and Peter were also present at the ceremony. Nicky said she was "extremely proud that the university saw fit to honour David in this way."

Peter Spence and Sacha Ballard climbed 9 Munros in Scotland to raise money for the Trust and the Mabaso School at Isandlwana. Click here to see how they got on....