The great natural harbour of KwaZulu-Natal where Durban stands today was called the harbour Rio de Natal (‘Christmas River’) by the Portuguese navigators of the 15th century because it lay on the coast discovered on Christmas Day 1497 by Vasco da Gama. The entrance was narrow and shallow, but once inside a ship could anchor in safety.

Dense coastal forest and mangrove swamps surrounded the bay and hippos, crocodiles and variety birds lived in and on the water. Elephants and other big game wandered through the dark forests of the shore. Pirates, slave traders and shipwrecked crews all landed on the shores of KwaZulu-Natal in search of food and water or trade and sanctuary.

In November 1823 a party of traders from the Cape, led by Henry Francis Fynn, found their way to the harbour and liked it so much that the next year they returned and built a settlement in the bush where the railway station now stands. This was the beginning of the city which was named in honour of Sir Benjamin D’Urban on 23 June 1835.

The town grew quickly without any support from the British government who had officially disowned it. Life was always precarious and the boundaries of the Zulu country were fewer than 100 kilometers to the north and the Zulus regarded the whole of KwaZulu-Natal as their raiding ground. Initially it was tolerated by the Zulus because they found it convenient to trade there and the land was ceded to the traders but a Zulu garrison was established in a military stronghold named uKangel’ amaNkengana (‘watch the vagabonds’).

The traders had to live with the uncomfortable feeling of being watched and when the Voortrekkers arrived in 1838, the traders welcomed them gladly and were greatly relieved that they were people of their own kind. Feeling very confident the traders took up arms against the Zulus and sixteen traders and about 6oo of their African followers died in the clash on 17 April 1838 at Ndondakusuka.

News of these disturbances brought the British to KwaZulu-Natal and on 3 December 1838 a British force landed at the harbour and found about 25 Voortrekkers and a few traders living there. The traders who had not fled had joined the Voortrekkers in the Battle of Blood River and fought against the Zulus on 16 December 1838 in revenge for the massacres at Ndondakusuka earlier that year.

When the friction in the area had settled down the British withdrew their forces but had to return in May 1842 and this time they built what is known as the Old Fort as a permanent stronghold. This was fort which the Voortrekkers besieged for 34 days and from there Dick King left on his celebrated 1000 kilometer ride to Grahamstown, in only ten days, with a plea for reinforcements. The fort was relieved on 26 June 1842 and after some indecision on the part of the British they eventually annexed Natal to the Cape Colony on 31 May 1844.

The Voortrekkers withdrew from the area and made their homes in the Transvaal and Orange Free State. Natal was open to British settlers and free to develop into a separate colony and ultimately became a province of South Africa. From its romantic beginning Durban grew to become a municipality in 1854 and a city in 1935. It is the principal cargo port on the continent of Africa and a centre for industry and a major holiday venue which is very popular among most South Africans.

Berea - The ridge which overlooks Durban harbour and the city centre is known as Berea. The name originates from 1835 when Captain Allen Gardiner established a mission on the northern end of the ridge and named it after the place mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles. The ridge was densely covered with coastal forest and bush and elephants including other wild animals roamed the area. The ridge is completely built up today and all that remains of the forest are the trees which shade the streets and gardens. Eish SA has many bed and breakfast and guesthouse listings in this area under the accommodation category.

The botanic gardens on the eastern side of Berea were created in 1848 on land originally occupied by an ivory hunter named John Cane. The gardens cover 20 hectares and contain local and exotic trees and an orchid house. There is a rose garden in Jameson Park on the summit of the Berea ridge. The campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal dominates the skyline of the western end of the Berea ridge.

Bluff - The 4 kilometer bushy ridge on the southern side of the harbour is known as the Bluff, or to the Zulus as isiBubulungu (‘the long bulky thing’). Lieutenant James King, who was one of the pioneer traders and founders of Durban, had his home on the Bluff. The Bluff today is a largely residential area and Marine Drive runs along the seaward side and leads to a viewing site on the eastern end. From here there is a panorama of the harbour and city.

Durban Harbour - The almost completely land-locked bay of Durban harbour was once a lagoon and today it is a principal cargo port in Africa. The Zulus call the harbour the Thekwini (‘lagoon’). The potential of the harbour was apparent from the beginning and it had a serious handicap which was a narrow entrance with a shallow bar of sand. Once across the bar a ship could anchor in completely sheltered water, but passing through the entrance was hazardous.

Between 1845 and 1885 a total of 66 large oceangoing ships were wrecked on Durban beach having been caught by storms or sudden winds because they were unable to cross the sand bar. There was much discussion as to what to do about the shallow entrance and several engineering schemes were attempted in an effort to deepen the bar. By 1855 the high tide depth of less than 5 meters and no large ships could cross it safely, it had become a major crisis.

At last in 1895 two cumbersome bucket dredgers reached Durban from Europe. They removed 9 928 348 tons of spoil from the harbour entrance and by 1898 the depth was slightly more than 6 meters. Today the depth of the harbour bar is 13 meters at low tide with an additional 15 meters at high tide and the largest of vessels can enter the harbour safely.

The Prince Edward Graving Dock is 352 meters long and the offshore oil terminal can handle tankers of up to 203 000 tons. These tankers bring crude oil which is processed in two refineries in Durban, or pumped via a pipeline to a third refinery at Sasolburg, in the Free State.

Kloof - The road to Pietermaritzburg climbs 550 meters above sea level in the first 27 kilometres out of Durban. At this point the hills are covered with trees and there are gardens full of flowers and lush indigenous. A deep ravine cuts through the hills and in this ravine runs a stream known as the Molweni (‘stream of high cliffs’) and it rushes down through rapids and cascades to a waterfall. This ravine is the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve and is 447 hectares in size. The suburb of Kloof (‘ravine’) lies 5 kilometers from the reserve and is known to be one of the most attractive suburbs in the hills above Durban.

Mount Edgecombe - The seat of the Earl of Mount Edgecombe in Cornwall, England, is the source of the name of this sugar town and it lies in a tropical garden setting of pretty flowering plants and tall indigenous trees. A handsome Hindu temple graces the suburbs northern border and William Campbell, a renowned sugar pioneer, settled in the area in 1850 on an estate he named Muckleneuk. Mount Edgecombe now has a stunnung golf course.

New Germany - Immediately inland from Durban the country rises steadily and within 20 kilometers reaches an altitude of 400 meters. New Germany dates back to 1848 when a party of 183 German immigrants arrived there to settle on a cotton farming estate named Westville after the lieutenant-governor Martin West. Cotton farming proved to be unsuccessful in these parts but the settlers successfully grew vegetables and flowers. The town of New Germany is a centre for various industries.

Old Fort - In 1842 Captain Thomas Smith led a small British force up the coast from Pondoland to occupy Port Natal and he selected a site in Durban for a fortified camp. On 5 May the British were besieged by the Voortrekkers who were short of supplies and hopelessly outnumbered. The garrison would have been overwhelmed had it not been for Dick King’s marathon ride to fetch help. Today the Old Fort stands amid gardens planted with many species of cycads. In one corner of the grounds stands the Memorable Order of Tin Hats (M.O.T.H.).

Old House Museum – The museum was built in 1849 by a settler named John Goodricke and later became the home of Sir John Robinson who was the first prime minister of Natal. After being restored it was opened in 1954 as a museum and it contains a dining room, a bedroom and kitchen all furnished with authentic pieces and ornaments from the middle of the 1800s. There are paintings and engravings of early Durban an extraordinary old French clock with a great number of dials giving all sorts of climatic information. Another exhibit is a sundial which was made in Europe in 1700 and this was a bit doff because it would have only been able to work in the northern hemisphere.

Pinetown - The old road from Durban to Pietermaritzburg is a scenic drive. A number of inns and pubs were built along this route and The Wayside Hotel was one of them. It was a place where stage coaches could change horses and passengers could freshen up. The inn was built in 1849 and during the next year a town was laid out around it and named Pinetown after Sir Benjamin Pine. Pinetown has many industries and a large population of commuters who work in Durban because they prefer to live in an area with a lower humidity than Durban. Eish SA has many bed and breakfast and guesthouse listings in this area under the accommodation category.

Point - The spit of sand which forms the northern arm of the harbour was originally named Point Fynn, after Henry Francis Fynn, who led the first settlement of traders in Natal. It is now simply known as the Point, and is built up with harbour buildings, warehouses and the Addington Hospital. The Point ends at the North Pier which is a favourite spot for fishermen and provides a fine view of Durban beachfront.

Early in 1859 a company was formed to build a railway line from the Point to Durban, all of 3 kilometres away and from there to the Mgeni (Umgeni) River for the transport of stone. A 24-horsepower steam train was imported from Britain in pieces and assembled by its driver, Henry Jacobs. The maiden journey was on 23 June 1860 and the train ran from Durban to the Point with the chairman and directors riding on the footplate while waving at the crowd, this was a huge moment. From then onwards the train had three scheduled return trips each day with passengers paying one shilling first class and 6d second class. If the locomotive broke down the train was pulled by oxen and there were no refunds to passengers.

Queensburgh - Many Durban workers build their homes on the inland hills to escape the humid climate of the city. Several residential areas were developed where the air was cool and the humidity lower thus creating a green world of trees and flowering plants. In 1924 five of these hillside residential townships namely, Malvern, Escombe, Northdene, Moseley and Cavendish, combined to form a local authority called Queensburgh and in 1954 Queensburgh became a municipality.

Umhlanga Rocks - The main coastal road to Zululand provides a scenic drive up the coast and crosses the uMgeni River in the suburb of Durban North. After 20 kilometers the road reaches the holiday resort of Umhlanga Rocks where one can find an impressive cluster of luxury hotels and guest houses. The nightlife is with a small concentrated area of bars and restaurants. In 1972 the residential suburb of La Lucia amalgamated of the resort of Umhlanga Rocks and municipality of Umhlanga was established.

West Street - The principal street of Durban was named after Lieutenant governor Martin West who administered Natal from 1845 to 1850. The street begins on the beachfront and leads westwards through the centre of the city. The post office in West Street was built in 1885 and the town hall was completed in 1910 and its clock is the official timekeeper in Durban. It is almost an exact replica of the Belfast city hall in Northern Ireland and faces a square named after Lieutenant Francis Farewell, one of the traders who founded the city in 1824.

At the intersection of West and Church Streets there is a plaque marking the spot where Winston Churchill addressed the people of Durban. He was given a hero’s welcome after his escape from a Boer prisoner-of-war camp in Pretoria back in 1899.

Westville - In 1847 two Germans named H. Jaraai and P. Jung bought 6000 hectares of ground 6 kilometres west of Durban. They named the farm Westville in honour of Martin West, the British lieutenant-governor of Natal, and tried to grow cotton and coffee there, without much success. Today Westville is a suburb for people working in Durban and has a huge shopping centre.