The South African War of 1899-1901 - also known as the Boer War - was described as a 'whiteman's war', which was something of a surprise to the displaced black population of South Africa. But as an imperial war, with British troops fighting South African Boers, it actively excluded Indian soldiers of the British empire.With the exception of the Natal Indian Ambulance Corps created by Mahatma Gandhi
This war was 'famous' for many things, including its terrible role as originator of Concentration Camps.
And yet, in Australia at least, it has hardly entered the popular or creative imagination. There's the film Breaker Morant, and there are other novels and stories, but it is not a strong 'memory' in popular imagination, which seems to flit from the early 1890s over to the First World War.
It remains a rich site for scholars and historians, however, and Robert Eales was taken by the story of activist and witness Emily Hobhouse. She was an Englishwoman who travelled to South Africa, to agitate for better conditions for the women and children incarcerated by the British in camps.
With the recent acknowledgement and addition of possibly as many as 30,000 blacks (servants and farm workers), the number of dead in the camps now are estimated at over 50,000.
She was an outspoken activist, who incited both support and scorn. She was labelled a traitor and, in a moment of great drama, was carried off a ship in the very seat she was sitting in, and sent back to England.
Surely this would make a great historical novel, or even a feature film?
Robert Eales spoke to Kate Evans about his research, and together they speculated on what else might be done with this story.