Memorial to Sister Dr. Mary Aidan Quinlan who was murdered on November 9 1952 by a mob near Duncan Village. It was the time of the ANC’s Defiance of Unjust Laws campaign. Several thousand people had gathered on Bantu Square, near Duncan Village, for what was supposedly a religious meeting for which the magistrate had given permission. Hidden in a house nearby, waiting to address the crowd were ANC leaders. At the last minute, the police, suspecting the true purpose, ordered the crowd to disperse, but opened fire before they could do so. Nine were killed and many wounded. The crowd became a vengeance-seeking mob into which, taking a familiar shortcut to her church, drove Sister Quinlan. Her car was overturned and set alight. She was killed and perhaps partly cannabilised. Running battles between police, troops and township people continued into the night. It was said that more than two hundred people were killed. She had devotedly served the Duncan Village community as a medical doctor. Koko Qebeyi, not born at that time, became an anti-apartheid activist and city councillor and arranged for the erection of this monument to a woman who had devotedly served the community of Duncan Village. Catholic Church, Duncan Village, East London. 13 October 2013 (4_A1106)

David Goldblatt
Memorial to Sister Dr. Mary Aidan Quinlan who was murdered on November 9 1952 by a mob near Duncan Village. It was the time of the ANC’s Defiance of Unjust Laws campaign. Several thousand people had gathered on Bantu Square, near Duncan Village, for what was supposedly a religious meeting for which the magistrate had given permission. Hidden in a house nearby, waiting to address the crowd were ANC leaders. At the last minute, the police, suspecting the true purpose, ordered the crowd to disperse, but opened fire before they could do so. Nine were killed and many wounded. The crowd became a vengeance-seeking mob into which, taking a familiar shortcut to her church, drove Sister Quinlan. Her car was overturned and set alight. She was killed and perhaps partly cannabilised. Running battles between police, troops and township people continued into the night. It was said that more than two hundred people were killed. She had devotedly served the Duncan Village community as a medical doctor. Koko Qebeyi, not born at that time, became an anti-apartheid activist and city councillor and arranged for the erection of this monument to a woman who had devotedly served the community of Duncan Village. Catholic Church, Duncan Village, East London. 13 October 2013 (4_A1106), 2013
Silver gelatin on fiber based paper, dibonded
approx. 120 x 98 cm