Ballito is an affluent coastal town situated along the N2 National Route in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa, approximately 24 km south of KwaDukuza (formerly Stanger) and 40 km north of Durban.
Dolphins and Whales are common on this stretch of the North Coast shoreline, hence the nickname Dolphin Coast.
Ballito falls within the KwaDukuza Local Municipality, which is part of the iLembe District Municipality.
Located at the entrance to the Dolphin Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, Ballito is roughly bordered by Shaka’s Rock to the north and Zimbali to the south.
The region of Ballito is subdivided into various suburbs, namely, Ballito proper, Ballitoville, Shaka’s Head, Umhlali Golf and Country Estate, Port Zimbali, and Zimbali Estate, and it incorporates the neighbouring settlements of Shaka’s Rock, Salt Rock, Umhlali, Sheffield Beach, and Tinley Manor Beach.
Before 1 December 2023, vehicle registration plates in Ballito started with NT – N for Natal, T for Lower Tugela, a river that lies about 45 km to the north.
History
Ballito was established in 1954 as a private township by the Glen Anil Development Corporation/Investments, which was headed up by Dr Edward (Eddie) Rubenstein (1903–1972). The town’s name was borrowed from a glossy advert for Ballito hosiery made by Ballito Hosiery Limited of St. Albans, England. The area was originally a portion of a sugar cane farm at Compensation Beach, owned by Basil Townsend.
In 1954, the Sunday Tribune printed an advertisement for Ballito Bay, which invited potential investors to the North Coast with prices of land from R790.00 (£SA395). By 1964, the zonings for Ballitoville’s residential buildings, hotels, and a caravan park had already been incorporated into the town plan known as Compensation Beach, which stretched out from Willard Beach to Clark Bay, Salmon Bay, and Port Zimbali.
A brochure was published, including the first marketing pictures of Ballito, to attract holiday makers to invest in the area, incorporating the slogan “Buy, Build & Play at Ballito Bay, The Caribbean of the North Coast – Natal”. Ballito, Salt Rock, and Shaka’s Rock are favourite holiday destinations for local South Africans, and also foreign tourists on their way to Zululand and the historic Anglo-Zulu War battlefields.
Jack Nash (1914–2016) wrote a personal history, from the early beginning of Ballito through to 1986, after which he left the area. It includes descriptions of some of the early pioneers and characters of the town. They include his father-in-law, Reg Fripp, who built many of the early houses. Nash, who lived in Amber Valley until shortly before his death in Howick, was the estate agent for Glen Anil in Ballito and became the chairman of the Ballito and the North Coast Publicity Associations. Nash’s wife, Gaye Nash née Fripp, the young ballet dancer holding the “little ball” or ballito above her head in the full-page press release publicising the new township in the Sunday Tribune of 23 November 1954, still lives in Howick.
