'Durban' (
Zulu: ''eThekwini'' (
IPA: ) is the second most populous city in
South Africa, forming part of the
eThekwini metropolitan municipality. It is the largest city in
KwaZulu-Natal and is famous as the busiest
port in Africa. It is also a major centre of
tourism due to the city's warm
subtropical climate and
beaches.
According to the
2001 Census, the city has a population of 3.2 million.
[ eThekwini Municipal Profile 2006 ] Durban's land area of is comparatively larger than other South African cities, resulting in a comparatively lower population density of .
History
It is thought that the first known inhabitants of the Durban area arrived from the north around
100,000 BC, according to
carbon dating of
rock art found in
caves in the
Drakensberg. These people were living in the central plains of KwaZulu-Natal until the
expansion of Bantu people from the north sometime during the last millennium. Little is known of the history of the first residents, as there is no written history of the area before it was first mentioned by
Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, who came to the KwaZulu-Natal coast while searching for a route from Europe to India. He landed on the KwaZulu-Natal coast on
Christmas in
1497, and thus named the area "Natal", or Christmas in
Portuguese.
The modern city of Durban dates from
1824, when a party of 25 men under
British Lieutenant F. G. Farewell arrived from the
Cape Colony and established a settlement on the northern shore of the
Bay of Natal, near today's
Farewell Square. Accompanying Farewell was an adventurer named
Henry Fynn. Fynn was able to befriend the
Zulu King Shaka by helping him to recover from a stab wound he suffered in battle. As a token of Shaka's gratitude, he granted Fynn a "25-mile strip of coast a hundred miles in depth." During a meeting of 35 white residents in Fynn's territory on
June 23,
1835, it was decided to build a capital town and name it "d'Urban" after
Sir Benjamin d'Urban, then governor of the Cape Colony. .
Voortrekkers established the
Republic of Natalia in 1838 just north of Durban, and established a capital at
Pietermaritzburg. Fierce conflict with the Zulu population led to the evacuation of Durban, and eventually the
Afrikaners accepted British annexation in 1844 under military pressure. A British governor was appointed to the region and many settlers emigrated from Europe and the Cape Colony. The British established a
sugar cane industry in the
1860s. Farm owners had a difficult time attracting Zulu labourers to work on their
plantations, so the British brought thousands of
indentured labourers from
India on five-year contracts. As a result of the importation of Indian labourers, Durban became the largest
Asian community in South Africa.
In 1948, the
National Party was elected on a platform of
racial segregation laws, which later came to be collectively known by the
Afrikaans word
apartheid. As a consequence of the
Group Areas Act, which classified all areas of the country and city according to race, formerly multi-racial suburbs were either purged of unlawful residents or destroyed. Many Zulu men migrated to
Johannesburg to work in
gold and
diamond mines, and a nominally-independent
homeland for Zulus,
KwaZulu, was established in 1977 around
Zululand. This created tension between the Zulu-dominated, National Party supported
Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and the anti-apartheid party and supposedly
Xhosa-dominated
African National Congress (ANC).
Terrorism and
necklacing continued throughout the province in the
1980s as both parties competed for dominance. Political violence grew exponentially in the early
1990s during the downfall of the apartheid system. Large
massacres became frequent on both sides. Fortunately, the successful
multi-racial elections in 1994 eased tensions dramatically, particularly after the ANC made the IFP leader,
Mangosuthu Buthelezi, minister of Home Affairs.
Durban Today
Today, Durban is the busiest container
port in Africa, the world's 9th busiest port, and a popular tourist destination. The
Golden Mile, developed as a welcoming tourist destination in the 1970s, as well as Durban at large, provide ample tourist attractions, particularly for people on holiday from Johannesburg. It lost its international holiday pre-eminence to Cape Town in the 1990s, but remains more popular among domestic tourists.
Geography and Climate
Demographics
Geographical distribution of home languages in Durban.
s account for 68.30 percent of the population, followed by
Asians or Indians at 19.90 percent,
Whites at 8.98 percent and
Coloureds at 2.89 percent. 48.9 percent of the population is under the age of 24, while 4.2 percent are over the age of 65. The median age in the city is 25 years old, and for every 100 females, there are 92.5 males. 27.9 percent of city residents are
unemployed. 88.6 percent of the unemployed are black, 18.3 percent are Coloureds, 8.2 percent are Asians or Indians, and 4.4 percent are White.
63.04 percent of Durban residents speak
Zulu at home, 29.96 percent speak
English (roughly representing the Indian and White populations), 3.43 percent speak
Xhosa, 1.44 percent speak
Afrikaans, 0.7 percent speak
Sotho, 0.2 percent speak
Ndebele, 0.1 percent speaks
Northern Sotho, and 0.93 percent of the population speaks a non-official language at home. 68.0 percent of residents are
Christian, 15.5 percent have no religion, 11.3 percent are
Hindu, 3.2 percent are
Muslim, and 0.1 percent are
Jewish. 1.9 percent have other or undetermined beliefs.
10.0 percent of residents aged 20 and over have received no
schooling, 13.3 percent have had some
primary school, 5.7 percent have completed only primary school, 34.6 percent have had some
high school education, 26.8 percent have finished only high school, and 9.6 percent have an education higher than the high school level. Overall, 36.4 percent of residents have completed high school. The median annual income of working adults aged 15-65 is
ZAR 20,695. Males have a median annual income of ZAR 24,851 versus ZAR 16,927 for females.
Economy
The Durban Metropolitan Area (DMA) has a large and diversified economy with strong manufacturing, tourism, transportation, finance and government sectors. Its coastal location and large port gives it comparative advantage over many other centres in South Africa for export-related industry. Durban's mild climate, warm marine current and culturally diverse population has also provided a drawcard for tourism to the region.
There has, however, been little growth in the number of jobs provided by DMA's formal sector over the past 20 years. The manufacturing sector, which is second only to government in the number of jobs provided, has been shedding jobs as firms restructure and become more capital intensive. High rates of crime have become a disincentive to growth in tourism and many other sectors. Despite a dynamic and growing small and micro business sector, the DMA has very high rates of unemployment, reaching over 30% in some areas of the city. There are still few economic opportunities in the former township areas.
Durban's economic contribution to the region
The Durban Metropolitan Area is the main economic driver in KwaZulu-Natal, contributing over half of the province's output, employment and income. In national terms, Durban is the second most important economic complex after Gauteng, accounting for 15% of national output, 14% of household income and 11% of national employment. Regional development corridors link Durban northwards to Richards Bay and Maputo, and westward to Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg.
Informal Sector
The inability of the formal sector of the economy to provide sufficient employment opportunities for Durban's growing population has led to the development of a fast growing informal sector. It is thought that about 16% of the labour force is active in the informal sector. Very few people in the informal sector appear to be involved in manufacturing activities. Most people provide services for low pay (such as domestic work) followed by trading, catering and accommodation. It is expected that future growth will occur in the trading sector. There are some 20,000 street traders in Durban including a Muthi Trade of regional importance. A shack dwellers' movement
Abahlali baseMjondolo that draws most of its membership from this sector has begun to vigorously contest the city's treatment of the poor. A number of its members have laid charges against the police alleging illegal arrests, assaults, evictions and, in E-Section Umlazi and the Siyanda shack settlement, killings.
Tourism
★ The
Golden Mile
★
Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World
★ The Victoria Embankment (also known as The Esplanade) is home to many tourist sites.
★ The
International Convention Centre (ICC) - the leading conference centre in Africa for the last 5 years, and rated 4th in the world in 2005.
★ The Natal Playhouse Theatre Complex
★ The local history museum
★ The Maritime Museum
★ The Tourist Junction
★ The BAT centre
★ The Durban Art Gallery
★ The KZNSA Gallery
★ The African Art Centre
★ Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre
★ Catalina Theatre
★ Kwasuka Theatre
★
uShaka Marine World, one of the largest Aquariums in the world.
★
Sahara Stadium Kingsmead is a major
test match and
one-day cricket venue.
★
Kings Park Stadium (Now known as ABSA Stadium) is host to the Internationally renowned
Sharks Rugby Team.
★ Botanical Gardens
★ Umgeni Bird Park
★
Gateway Theatre of Shopping
★ The Umhlanga Explorer (http://www.umhlanga-explorer.co.za)
Communications and media
Two major English-language daily newspapers are published in Durban, both part of the Independent Newspapers, the national group owned by Irish media magnate Tony O'Reilly. These are the morning editions of "The Mercury" and the afternoon "Daily News". Like most newsmedia in South Africa, they have seen declining circulations in recent years. Major Zulu language papers comprise "Isolezwe" ( Independent Newspapers), "UmAfrika" and "Ilanga", the latter being seen to be politically aligned to the IFP. Independent Newspapers also publish "Post", a newspaper aimed largely at the Indian community. A national Sunday paper, the "Sunday Tribune" is also published by Independent Newspapers as is the "Independent on Saturday".
A variety of free weekly suburban newspapers are published by the Caxton Group and there are numerous "community" newspapers, some of which are short lived and others which have had stable tenure.
A number of lifestyle magazines are published in Durban, some of which have national circulation. A major city initiative is MetroBeat magazine, a colour publication which is sent to some 400,000 households monthly with a readership of over 1.6 million. As a local government publication, it is a unique initiative and rates in the top ten consumer publications in South Africa as far as circulation is concerned.
A major English language radio station,
East Coast Radio (
[1]), operates out of Durban and is owned by SA media giant Kagiso Media. The national broadcaster, the SABC, has regional offices in Durban and operates two major stations here, the Zulu language "Ukhozi FM" with a huge national listenership of over 5 million, and Radio Lotus, aimed at "Indian" listeners. The other SABC national stations have smaller regional offices here, as does TV for news links and sports broadcasts. There are a number of smaller stations which are independent, having been granted licences by ICASA, the national agency charged with the issue of broadcast licences.
Although advertising agencies and communications companies here are smaller than in Gauteng province, where most national corporate head offices are located, there is a full complement of services on offer to support retail trade and other sectors of the marketplace.
Sports teams and stadiums
Durban is home to two
rugby union teams, the
Natal Sharks, who compete in the domestic
Currie Cup competition, and the
Sharks, who compete in the international
Super 14 competition. Both teams play out of the 56, 000 capacity
Kings Park Stadium - currently known also as the
ABSA Stadium for sponsorship reasons.
Durban is also host to the 'Dolphins', the provincial cricket team. Shaun Pollock, Lance Klusener and Barry Richards all come from the Dolphins (although it was formally called Natal). Cricket in Durban is played at the world famous 'Kingsmead Cricket Ground'. It was here that Graeme Pollock and Barry Richards slaughtered the Australian bowling in 1969.
Durban is one of cities of
2010 FIFA World Cup. The stadium has not been built yet. On
January 29,
2006, Durban hosted a race in
A1 Grand Prix, driven on a street track. It is rumoured that Durban will bid for the
2018 Commonwealth Games and the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The city is home to
Greyville Racecourse, a major
Thoroughbred horse racing venue which annually hosts a number of prestigious races including the country's premier event, the
July Handicap, and the premier staying event in South Africa, the
Gold Cup.
Transport
Durban downtown
Air
Durban International Airport services both domestic and international flights, with regularly-scheduled service to
Swaziland,
Mozambique, and
Mauritius. The airport handled four million passengers in 2005, up over 15 percent from 2004. Plans are at an advanced stage for the construction of a new airport, to be known as
King Shaka International Airport, at
La Mercy, about north of the
Central Business District, and 15 kilometers north of
Umhlanga Rocks.
The airport serves as a major gateway for travellers to KwaZulu-Natal and the
Drakensberg.
Sea
Durban has a long tradition as a
port city. The
Port of Durban, which was formerly known as the Port of Natal, is one of the few natural
harbours between
Port Elizabeth and
Maputo, and is also located at the beginning of a particular weather phenomenon which can cause extremely violent seas. These two features made Durban an extremely busy port of call for ship repairs when the port was opened in the
1840s. The Port of Durban is now the busiest
port in South Africa, as well as the busiest
container port in the
Southern Hemisphere.
The modern Port of Durban grew around trade from
Johannesburg, as the industrial and mining capital of South Africa is not located on any navigable body of water. Thus, products being shipped from Johannesburg outside of South Africa have to be loaded onto
trucks or
railways and transported to Durban. The Port of Maputo was unavailable for use until the early
1990s due to
civil war and an
embargo against South African products. There is now an intense rivalry between Durban and Maputo for shipping business.
Salisbury Island, part of the Port of Durban, was formerly a full
naval base until it was downgraded in 2002. It now contains a naval station and other military facilities. The future of the base, however, is uncertain, as there is increasing demand to use Salisbury Island as part of the port facilities.
Rail
Durban is well-served by
railways due to its role as the largest trans-shipment point for goods from the interior of South Africa.
Shosholoza Meyl, the passenger rail service of
Spoornet, operates two long-distance passenger rail services from Durban: a daily service to and from Johannesburg via
Pietermaritzburg, and a weekly service to and from
Cape Town via
Kimberley and
Bloemfontein. These trains terminate at
Durban Railway Station.
Metrorail operates a
commuter rail service in Durban and the surrounding area. The Metrorail network runs from Durban Station outwards as far as
Stanger on the north coast,
Kelso on the south coast, and
Cato Ridge inland.
Roads
One
national road starts in Durban and one passes through it: The
N3, the busiest national road in South Africa, which links Durban with
Johannesburg; and the
N2, which links Durban with
East London, and
Port Elizabeth before ending in
Cape Town. The N3 is particularly important as goods are moved by truck from Johannesburg to be shipped out of the Port of Durban. The N3 starts in the Central Business District, and interchanges with the N2 at the Westville Four-Level Interchange, officially known as the E. B. Cloete Interchange, which is informally nicknamed the
Spaghetti Junction due to the complicated nature of the interchange. The N2 runs through the entire city from north to south, and is known locally as the "
Outer Ring Road".
Durban also has a system of
freeway and
dual carriageway M-roads, which connect different parts of the city. The
M4 exists in two segments: The northern segment starts as an undivided highway at
Ballito—where it separates from the N2—passing through
Umhlanga Rocks, becoming a dual carriageway just south of that town, and ending at the northern edge of the Durban CBD. The southern segment of the M4 starts at the southern edge of the CBD, connecting it with Durban International Airport, where it reconnects with the N2. The
M7 connects the N2 and the
Durban South Industrial Basin with the N3 and
Pinetown via
Queensburgh. The
M19 connects the N2 with Pinetown via
Westville. The M13 acts as an alternative to the N3, which is tolled at Mariannhill, as well as feeds traffic through
Gillitts,
Kloof, and
Westville.
Buses
Remant Alton, which bought the recently privatised
eThekwini Municipal Bus Company, operates scheduled bus services throughout the Durban metropolitan area. Remant Alton is barely functional, has lost key individuals, suffered the loss of 56 buses in a fire, and had many of the remainder impounded due to unroadworthiness. This has left Durban with no functioning public transport system. Several companies run long-distance bus services from Durban to the other cities in South Africa. http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20070420104248892C358861
Taxis
Durban has two kinds of taxis:
metered taxis and
minibus taxis. Unlike many cities, metered taxis are not allowed to drive around the city to solicit fares and instead must be called and ordered to a specific location.
There are a number of companies which service the Durban and surrounding regions.
These taxis can also be called upon for airport transfers, point to point pick ups and shuttles.
Minibus taxis are the standard form of transport for the majority of the population who cannot afford private cars.
[1] Although essential, these taxis are often poorly maintained, and are frequently not road-worthy. These taxis make frequent unscheduled stops to pick up passengers, which cause accidents when drivers to the rear are unable to stop in time.
[2][3] With the high demand for transport by the working class of South Africa, minibus taxis are often filled over their legal passenger allowance, making for high casualty rates when minibuses are involved in accidents. Minibuses are generally owned and operated in fleets, and inter-operator violence flares up from time to time, especially as
turf wars over lucrative taxi routes occur.
[4]
Rickshaws
Durban is also famous for its iconic
Zulu Rickshaw pullers navigating throughout the city. These colourful characters are famous for their giant, vibrant hats and costumes. Although they have been a mode of transportation since the early 1900s, they mostly cater to
tourists.
Suburbs
:''Main article:
List of Durban suburbs''
Educational institutions
Private schools
★
Al-Falaah College
★
Clifton School
★
Eden College
★
Crawford College La Lucia
★
Crawford College North Coast
★
Durban Girls' College
★
Highbury Preparatory School
★
Hillcrest Christian Academy
★
Holy Family College
★
Kearsney College
★
St Henry's Marist Brothers' College
★
Maris Stella School
★
Orient Islamic School
★
St. Mary's D.S.G.
★
Thomas More College
★
Roseway Waldorf School
★
Star College
Public schools
★
Atholton Primary School
★
Bonela Primary School
★
Carrington Primary School
★ Chelsea Preparatory School
Chelsea Preparatory School celebrates its 75th birthday this year
Chelsea homepage
★
Durban Girls' High School
★
Durban High School (
DHS)
★
Durban North College
★
Foresthaven Secondary
★
George Campbell School of Technology
★
Glenwood High School
★
Hillcrest High School
★
Kloof High School
★
Kloof Junior Primary School
★
Kloof Pre Primary School
★
Kloof Senior Primary School
Maris Stella
★
Mowat Park High School
★
New Forest High School
★
Northlands Girls' High School
★
Northwood School
★
Pinetown Boys' High School
★
Port Natal High School
★
Ridge Park College
★
Sastri College
★
Westville Boys' High School
★
Westville Girls' High School
★
Wingen Heights Secondary School
★
Gelofte High School
★
Werda High School
Tertiary institutions
★
University of KwaZulu-Natal
★
Durban University of Technology
Solvista Secondary School
Sister cities
Durban's
sister cities are:
★
Alexandria,
Egypt
★
Chicago,
Illinois,
United States
★
Eilat,
Israel
★
Leeds,
England (
United Kingdom)
★
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil
★
Guangzhou,
China
Partner Cities
★
Rotterdam,
The Netherlands
See also
Durban Art Deco
References
1. Transport
2. South Africa's minibus wars: uncontrollable law-defying minibuses oust buses and trains from transit
3. Transportation in Developing Countries: Greenhouse Gas Scenarios for South Africa
4. Taxing Alternatives: Poverty Alleviation and the South African Taxi/Minibus Industry
★
Municipal Demarcation Board
★
[2]
★
Independent Electoral Commission 2004 election results
External links
★
Official Durban city website
★
Durban Art Deco Directory
★
Durban harbour
★
Google Maps
★
durbanscouts.za.net Events, culture, news and information from Durban
★
Business in Durban
★
Durban Accommodation Directory
★
Durban Shack Dwellers' Organisation
★
South Africa Today A YouTube Channel giving news updates on SA's high crime situation for tourists, business and media. Based in Durban, South Africa.
★
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