John Dunn was born Port Alfred , Cape Colony in 1833 and was 3 years old when his parents moved to Port Natal (now called Durban in South Africa).

At a early age, he lost his father who was trampled to death by an elephant and his mother died a few years later. He started to earn a living by working for transport riders and hunters. His love of hunting and his skill with a rifle took him across the Tugela River into Zululand on a regular basis, where he became fluent in the language and was befriended by local chiefs. Their hospitality often included offering him a wife, and though he was previously married to Catherine Pierce, he accepted a total of 48 Zulu wives during his lifetime, much to Catherine's disgust.

The battle of succession fought between king Mpande's sons Mbuyasi and Cetshwayo was a bloody one, forcing John Dunn and other white settlers to flee back to Natal. After the battle, he re-crossed the Tugela to ask the winner, Cetshwayo, to return the cattle that had belonged to the settlers. Cetshwayo agreed, and also requested that John Dunn become his advisor in matters related to the British. Again, John Dunn's skill in arms no doubt stood him in good stead. His cattle were returned, and he was allocated land near present-day Mtunzini.

On 18 October, 1872 King Mpande died aged 74, and Cetshwayo became king. Though Mpande and Cetshwayo had successfully resisted attempts by the Boers and the British to encroach on their territory, the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 forced John Dunn to pick sides, and he picked the British.

On 11 January 1879, British troops crossed the Tugela river, near Fort Pearson , after the British had presented Cetshwayo with an ultimatum he could not accept. It is said that John Dunn's skill at arms contributed greatly to British successes in the south,. In the north the British, anticipating Cetshwayo's refusal of the ultimatum, had already crossed the river, to be surprised and soundly beaten at the Battle of Isandlwana.

On 1 September, 1879, Zululand was annexed into Natal. John Dunn was given the largest piece of land of all 13 kinglets in the subdivision of Zululand, and closest to Port Natal, serving as a buffer zone between the British and the less-trusted kinglets.

John Dunn died on 5 August, 1895, having married 49 wives and fathered 117 children.

See also

http://www.chsscout.net/rescenter/docs/printing/bp-vars-zululand.htm Soldiering Zululand Archives From Baden-Powell