A Return to Paradise and its People - Durban

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THERE’S SOMETHING FOOLISH ABOUT REDUCING thousands of years of history to just a few pages. And this is particularly the case in the multicultural society of Durban, where many important contributing strands are bound to fall by the wayside. But a little historical context will nonetheless prove useful to visitors to Durban who would like to understand, in some way, how the city has evolved into its current form. The timeline of human habitation in Durban goes back to long before the advent of recorded history in the region. While some of the earliest remnants of humanity are found in the nearby Drakensberg, it is now established that prior to the arrival of the Nguni people and subsequent European colonialists, the area was populated by the original people of Southern Africa – now collectively called the Khoi/San. Then, on Christmas day in 1497, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama passed the mouth of Durban Bay and promptly named it Rio de Natal (Christmas River), presuming that several rivers flowed into the bay. Back then, before the intrusive advent of industrialisation, the bay was separated from the sea by a sandbar. In the vast waters of the bay and the mangrove swamps on its edges, crocodiles, hippopotamuses and flamingoes spent their days. Beyond the bay lay a ridge of hills which was home to elephants, hyenas and lions until about a century ago, and which now houses Durban’s immediate suburbs. Over the subsequent years, Rio de Natal came to be a popular stop-off point for explorers and traders, mainly because the bay offered one of the few protected anchorages on the southern coast of Africa. 10 HISTORY COLONIAL IMPRINT Durban still bears the imprint of George Cato’s original three-street town plan, to which only two main parallel streets have been added, before the city’s grid structure surrenders to the more convoluted layout of its surburbs. Like many African cities, Durban still wears the vestiges of its colonial origins, with beautiful low rise neo-classical buildings dominating its centre, attended by a throng of colonial-era statues. Similarly, the Album: city itself Introducing is still named after Shiyani its founder, NcgoboBenjamin D’Urban, although it is also referred to by its Zulu name, eThekwini.
In 1823, the first European settlement arrived on the ship, The Salisbury, under the command of Lieutenant James King, with the aim of trading up and down the South African coast. While inclement weather forced the vessel to anchor in the sheltered area off the coast of Durban, her accompanying ship, the Julia, sailed over the sandbar and surveyed the bay. King immediately recognised the importance of the bay and returned to England to try and garner support for an English settlement. He was unsuccessful, and soon sailed back to Port Natal, as it had come to be called by the Europeans. King then befriended King Shaka Zulu who granted him land around the bay, and sent him to England with two of his chiefs on a diplomatic mission. But the party got no further than Port Elizabeth and King returned to Port Natal once more, moving to the Bluff across the bay, where he died of dysentery in 1828. This rough, uncertain life frequently had lethal results and at one point the number of settlers at the bay was no more than six. At a meeting in 1835, attended by the full complement of settlers at the time – 15 in all – a town was proclaimed, and named in honour of the Governor of the Cape, Sir Benjamin D’Urban. Despite initially grandiose plans, little development took place in this early settlement. Dwellings of rudimentary mud and wattle nestled in the coastal bush, and a full 12 years after the proclamation, there were still no streets. Although the settlers maintained cordial relations with the powerful founder of the Zulu nation to their north, matters changed for the worse when Shaka’s successor Dingane took over. Under Shaka’s rule, the Zulus considered the area to be their territory but had tolerated the white settlers whose trading habits were useful to them. Whereas THE CITY HALL Built in 1910 in the neo-baroque style, the City Hall was inspired by the Belfast City Hall in Northern Ireland. This handsome sandstone building is adorned with allegorical sculptures in the neo-classical style representing art, music, literature, commerce and industry. The hall, with its sumptuous interior and beautiful acoustics, is used as a venue for cultural and social events and regularly hosts concerts by the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra. The building houses the Mayor’s Parlour as well as the City Library, the Natural Science Museum and the Durban Art Gallery. 11
Page 1 and 2: DURBAN A Return to Paradise and its
Page 3: to durban
Page 9: Published by eThekwini Municipality
Page 14 and 15: Shaka had instructed his citizens t
Page 16 and 17: MAHATMA GANDHI Mahatma Gandhi arriv
Page 18 and 19: WITH THE 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP CAME T
Page 20 and 21: CENTRAL DURBAN WIDENING THE HARBOUR
Page 22 and 23: GALLERIA SHOPPING CENTRE in Amanzim
Page 24 and 25: NORTH DURBAN BRIDGE CITY Bridge Cit
Page 26: 24 Local Exporters www.southafrican
Page 29 and 30: ISLAM arrived in South Africa as ea
Page 31 and 32: Religion and Colonialism Religion p
Page 33 and 34: THE HARBOUR Durban’s economic imp
Page 35 and 36: GATEWAY Built on 28 hectares of pri
Page 37 and 38: Targeting the Townships One of the
Page 39 and 40: THE DURBAN CURRY is the single cuis
Page 41 and 42: L’EDICOLA ITALIAN DELI is one of
Page 43 and 44: Organic Food in Durban The market f
Page 45 and 46: THE FASCIST ARCHITECTURE of aparthe
Page 47 and 48: DESIGN WORKSHOP : SA are the celebr
Page 49 and 50: The 2014 UIA Architecture World Con
Page 51 and 52: THE PAINTED BUSES If you’re a ped
Page 53 and 54: EGG DESIGNS is an interior and prod
Page 55 and 56: I HEART MARKET is a roving market w
Page 57 and 58: IMRAAN COOVADIA writes novels that
Page 59 and 60: City Paper eThekwini Municipality p
Page 61 and 62: AMY-JO WINDT makes work that combin
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DANNY NOVELA walks the streets of D
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Art in the City’s Public Building
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THE SOUTH JERSEY POM-POMS hark back
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GUY BUTTERY uses unorthodox playing
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DJ TIRA , aka Mthokosisi Khathi, is
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Jazzy Rainbow 93 Smiso Nkwanyana Ro
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FLATFOOT DANCE COMPANY , named for
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Dancelink started with the aim of r
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MBONGENI NGEMA , progenitor of the
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CLAIRE MORTIMER is one of Durban’
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MASOOD BOOMGARD is a talented local
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The Grey Street Cinemas are signifi
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THE KWA MUHLE MUSEUM Once the offic
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The Durban System was the first inc
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DURBAN’S BOTANIC GARDENS was esta
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The Ethekwini Parks Department is r
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HASHIM AMLA made cricketing history
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Moses Mabhida Stadium While this wo
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TAXI SIGNALS If you see a stranger
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100 WHERE TO STAY DURBAN HAS A FULL
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102 GOVERNANCE AS WITH ALL CITIES A
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TRANSPORTATION THE KING SHAKA INTER
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106 TOURIST SERVICES Tourist Juncti
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108 Photo Credits Welcome to Durban
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A Return to Paradise and its People - Durban

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