History

According to the documents that I have found, John Dunn was born in Port Alfred in 1834. His exact birth date has not been documented very accurately. His parents were Robert Newton Dunn and Ann Harold Biggar. John was the third of five children, one son and 4 daughters.

Robert came to South Africa with the Darniell Party on the good ship the
'DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH'
(Daniell Ships log)

His mother Ann Harold Biggar came with her father and brothers on a ship called "Weymouth". Captian Alexander Biggar had his own party that commissioned the ship to find their fortunes in South Africa.

Both ships originally landed in Cape Town where most of the people settled. At that time the British had only colonised the Cape and had not ventured into the hinterland and over the years moved up the east coast toward Durban. Robert had registered as a merchant trader and came to South Africa to find his fortune. He used to be in the upholstering business and at the time the line of work was in decline. There is also some information that Robert came to S.A. to send back curios for the Safron Waldon Museum. I understand that Ann Harold Biggar and Robert Newton Dunn were married in Grahamstown, after which, Robert was offered an opportunity to have shares in a trading company in Port Natal. This he accepted and the whole family moved.

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