Embedded Files
Coming soon: 'The Crown, the Chief and the King' by Susan Nind-Barrett & Gary Richardson:
Discover the remarkable life of John Dunn, the white Zulu chief whose story spans the turbulent frontier between colonial Natal and Zululand during the Anglo-Zulu War. This site is curated by author Susan Nind-Barrett, whose acclaimed book Chief with Ears the Sunlight Shines Through explores Dunn’s extraordinary journey through loyalty, politics, and survival.
Here you will find historical photographs, insights into Zulu history, and behind-the-scenes material from the upcoming hardback edition The King, the Chief and the Crown, co-authored with Zulu historian Gary Richardson.
Whether you are a student of South African history, a descendant of Dunn, or simply curious, you are welcome here.
John Dunn
John Dunn
He did not just witness history — he created it!
The son of British immigrants to South Africa. An extraordinary man who could have walked straight out of the realms of fiction. A man whose life was in the heart of the Zululand bush as a close friend, advisor and confidante of the Zulu King Cetshwayo.
John Dunn was a white man who became a Zulu chief—an extraordinary figure who moved between worlds during one of the most turbulent periods in southern African history.
Born in the Cape Colony in 1834 and raised on the wild frontier of Natal, Dunn hunted buffalo, brokered peace with Zulu kings, and defied colonial expectations. His life story is one of resilience, ambition, loyalty and betrayal—woven into the very fabric of Zulu and British colonial history.
“History rarely remembers the men who lived between the lines. But John Dunn lived there—boldly, dangerously, and with remarkable clarity.”
Here you will find insights, images and extracts from ongoing research into his life, including material from my book.
Chief with Ears the Sunlight Shines Through
- The Lost History of John Dunn
Print and Kindle versions vailable on Amazon
Chief With Ears the Sunlight Shines Through
The lost history of john dunn
by Susan Nind-Barrett
Chief With Ears the Sunlight Shines Through
The lost history of john dunn
by Susan Nind-Barrett
Written with a refreshingly new perspective of John Robert Dunn, The Chief with Ears the Sunlight Shines Through is biography is of an extraordinary man who could have walked straight out of the realms of fiction. A man whose life in the heart of the Zululand bush as a close friend, advisor and confidante of the Zulu King, influenced both the Zulu nation’s destiny and that of colonial Britain. Born into a fledgling society in nascent South Africa, Dunn’s life choices were not predestined by a noble birth, education, wealth or political affiliations, they were thrust upon him as a means of survival.
The son of British immigrants, Dunn was left orphaned and destitute in raw frontier country. Courageously, he rose from obscurity to international notoriety and political importance via his close personal relationship with the Zulu king, Cetshwayo kaMpande. His political, economic and military activities spanned decades balanced precariously between British imperial supremacy and the power of an independent Zulu kingdom. After successfully maintaining his neutrality in both the British and Zulu political arenas for decades, the dawn of the Anglo-Zulu War changed everything. Spoiling for war, the British Government issued conflicting political ultimatums to Dunn and Cetshwayo, forcing Dunn to abandon his neutrality and choose between those he considered his brothers on both sides.
Renowned for his lavish hunting excursions and grand dinner parties, Dunn was the most entertaining and graphic raconteur, regaling his guests with tales of his perilous adventures. British government officials, senior military officers and European aristocracy sought invitations to his homestead in the heart of Zululand. Admired by those who lived and fought alongside him but constantly condemned by European society for being a polygamist. Controversy continued to cast a never diminishing shadow over his whole life. John Dunn’s fascinating story, that touched the heart of a Zulu king and intrigued a British queen, is narrated with detailed real life and eye-witness accounts which unfold on every page of The Chief with Ears the Sunlight Shines Through.
John Dunn talking with Dabulamanzi
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse