The Ganesha Temple – also known as Vinayagar or Pillayar Kovil – was the first temple in South Africa to be built in (1898), with bricks and mortar. The shrine stands along the main North Coast Road, about a kilometre away from the main barracks settlement.

The Ganesha Temple was the first to have an elaborate gopuram (temple tower) which served as an entrance to the main temple. The architecture of the temple is of a typical South Indian design. The Ganesha/Vinayagar Temple celebrates the annual Vinayagar Sathurthie or Ganesha Sathurthie prayer during the month of August / September. A flag bearing the insignia of a mouse – the vaganam or vehicle of Lord Ganesha – is hoisted. The celebration takes place over a period of six to nine days. Vinayagar or Ganesha is the remover of obstacles and Lord of knowledge and wisdom.

As the story goes, a piece of land was donated by the mill company to a Mr. Reddy – a recruiter for the sugar company – who brought Indian indentured labourers from India. It was apparently a verbal, but binding agreement between Mr. Reddy and the company. He occupied the land until his permanent departure to India. According to temple committee elders, Mr. Reddy gave the property to the Temple Committee to build a Ganesha/Vinayagar Temple. However, because the agreement was not in black and white, the sugar company reclaimed ownership of the property. In the 1960’s, the Temple Committee approached the company to take back the property left by Mr. Reddy. The company refused to accept any claim to the land.

Credit has to be given to Kristappa Reddiar, an indentured labourer, who built the Ganesha Temple.

The Kavady Festival

The Kavady celebration is the biggest religious festival at the Siva Soobramoniar Temple. A kavady is a cylindrical wooden structure, which devotees of Siva Soobramoniar carry on their shoulders. The structure represents equilibrium, the essence of life balance, moderation and harmony. A sense of unity takes precedence during the ten-day Kavady celebration. Devotees get together, petty differences forgotten, and an atmosphere of divinity prevails. Lord Soobramaniar is worshipped as a deity of love, beauty, courage, and a symbol of protection. The Lord frees devotees from the shackles of suffering and mental imbalance.

In 2009, the temple needed to be repaired and revamped. The Temple Committee called in the expertise of builders and artisans from India who replaced and restored the icons and murthies, in keeping with the original design. The asbestos roofing of the sanctum and veranda was removed and a concrete slab was laid on the roof with new icons.