Durban - FORMER Independent Media columnist and Durban historian Allan Jackson died of pancreatic cancer on Saturday night.
Jackson, 63, who was the author of Facts About Durban (FAD) emigrated to Australia several years ago.
According to close family friend Andrew Shemmeld, Jackson was a “Durbanite” through and through and was passionate about the history of Durban and surrounds as is evident in his books and websites.
He had it published in three editions. Shemmeld added that other than his books, Jackson also worked and wrote many articles for Natal Newspapers and various other magazines. His computer column in the Sunday Tribune was very popular and ran for many years. Shemmeld said Jackson’s true passion though was in his photography. Jackson also founded Facts About Durban on Facebook.
Shemmeld wrote a eulogy on the Facebook page Facts about Durban.
“Jackson passed away peacefully in palliative care in hospital after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. I was privileged to have him often photograph my family occasions. His artistic flair for photography shines through in his photos of landscape and city scenes. To me, he was a good friend and confidant of 30 plus years and one-time business partner. Rest in harmony, Allan. Your legacy will live on.”
There was an outpouring of condolences for Jackson on Facebook. Nirun Dowlath Shah said he met Jackson on the Durban Flickr meetup group when he first started out in photography. He encouraged Shah to go further.
Photographer Peter Bendheim said, “RIP Allan — you made a difference.”
Derek Austin said, “Allan was very knowledgeable and had an excellent grasp of the English language, something that is sadly lacking in today’s journalists. I started the Facebook group Facts about Durban with Allan’s permission so that we can keep the history of Durban alive.”
Daily News