arrived on a ship with his family in Natal docks. Escombe criticized Gandhi in the media due to the unpopularity of the Indian immigration at the time. Escombe was instrumental in the creation of the Natal Observatory. In 1882 David Gill, director of the Royal Observatory, Cape of Good Hope, requested the government of Natal to establish an astronomical observatory at Durban, in anticipation of the transit of Venus on 4 December that year. A site for the observatory was chosen in the southwest corner of the Natal Botanic Gardens. Escombe equipped the observatory with an 8-inch refractor from which he personally bought from Grubb for £600. He lived at 15 Beach Grove in Durban in a house designed by Philip Maurice Dudgeon. Legacy He is commemorated with a statue on Francis Farewell Square outside the Durban City Hall. A Durban Harbour tug was named in his honour. A suburb in Queensburgh in Durban is named after him. Notes and references External links 1838 births 1899 deaths British colonial army officers British military personnel of the Anglo-Zulu War Colony of Natal people South African members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at St Paul's School, London Political office-holders in South Africa British emigrants to South Africa