Durban, also known as eThekwini – from the isiZulu word itheku meaning “bay, lagoon”, is a coastal city located on the east coast of South Africa in the KwaZulu-Natal province.
Overview
| Country: | South Africa |
| Province: | KwaZulu-Natal |
| Municipality: | eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality |
| Established: | 24 August 1824 |
| Named After: | Benjamin D’Urban |
| Nickname(s): | Dubane |
| Mayor: | Cyril Xaba (ANC) |
| Deputy Mayor: | Zandile Myeni |
| Total Area: | 2,556 km² (987 sq mi) |
| Population: | 4,239,901 (2022) |
| Population Density: | 1,659/km² (4,296/sq mi) |
| Time Zone: | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal Code (street): | 4001 |
| PO Box: | 4000 |
| Area Code: | 031 |
About Durban
Durban is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the KwaZulu-Natal province.
Situated in the province of KwaZulu-Natal on the east coast of South Africa, on the Natal Bay of the Indian Ocean, Durban is the busiest port city in sub-Saharan Africa.
Durban is the seat of the larger eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, which covers an area of 2,556 km² (987 sq mi) and had a population of 4,239,901 in 2022 , making the metropolitan population one of Africa’s largest on the Indian Ocean.
With warm weather all year round, Durban welcomes visitors to a relaxed, outdoor lifestyle where beaches, barbecues, seafood and curry restaurants, clubs and upmarket accommodation establishments provide everything an out-of-towner could wish for while on holiday.
Durban is South Africa’s self-styled ‘playground’, where year-round warm weather encourages visitors to make the most of the province’s outdoor lifestyle.
Also known as ‘Surf City’, Durban is renowned for its magnificent bathing and surfing beaches, which stretch along the city’s beachfront from Durban harbour in the south to the upmarket suburb of Umhlanga in the north.
An expansive paved promenade offers access to the best of these beaches – the Golden Mile – where joggers, cyclists, dog owners, surfers, bodyboarders and walkers enjoy early-morning and late-afternoon exercise.
Visitors cannot miss Durban’s striking Moses Mabhida Stadium, host venue to top-notch sporting events, Segway tours, a city-viewing SkyCar and bungee swing.
Closer to the harbour, uShaka Marine World, a world-class water park, aquarium and restaurant complex overlooks the ocean and offers hours of entertainment for the whole family.
Culturally, Durban exhibits a mix of Indian, Zulu and post-colonial influences, reflected in the city’s architecture and cuisine. Curries, seafood and fusion food are popular at beachfront restaurants, Wilson’s Wharf, and at the gourmet hot spots and coffee shops that line Florida Road and Helen Joseph Road.
The art deco-style Suncoast Casino complex, flanking the promenade, houses seafood and curry restaurants, movie theatres, a casino and coffee shops – with secure on-site parking and semi-private beach access.
Shopping is best enjoyed at Durban’s out-of-city malls: the Gateway Theatre of Shopping in Umhlanga; the Pavilion in Westville; and the Galleria in Amanzimtoti. An overwhelming choice of shops in air-conditioned comfort makes spending money a most enjoyable pursuit.
Half an hour inland from the city, the Valley of a Thousand Hills promises a taste of African culture, while further into the countryside the Midlands Meander features about 150 art-and-craft outlets for city-dwellers in search of fresh air and home-made fare.
Adventure activities are well catered for in and around this coastal city, with deep-sea fishing charters, dolphin viewing, jet-skiing, quad biking, scuba diving, hiking, mountain biking, canoeing, boat cruises and much more readily available.
Racial makeup
According to the 2022 Census, 72.2% of the population in Durban describe themselves as Black African, 19.7 as Indian/Asian, 6% as White, and 2.5% as Coloured.
Languages
According to the 2022 Census, the first language of 62.8% of the population is isiZulu, while 26.8% speak English, 3.9% speak isiXhosa, 1.7% speak Afrikaans, 1.1% speak isiNdebele, and 3.7% speak other languages.
History of Durban
Durban has been at the frontline since time immemorial. Its timeline for human habitation dates long before the advent of recorded history.
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, several thousand years later, 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.
The area then looked very different to what we see today. A sand bar guarded the entrance to the bay, the vast mangrove swamps were home to many hippos, crocodiles and birds. The banks and hills were teeming with wildlife, such as elephants, rhino and lions.
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, but for the time, remained undeveloped.
In 1823, the first European settlement arrived on the vessel 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 Salisbury to shelter in the roadstead off 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. Despite his efforts he was unsuccessful, and so he returned to Port Natal as it had come to be called by the Europeans.
King befriended King Shaka Zulu who granted him land around the bay as a gift, and sent him to England with two of his chiefs. 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. As a result of that friendship, King Shaka had ceded land to the settlers and the Old Fort (now a museum) was built.
Over the preceding years, only a few people settled in the area and at a meeting in 1835, attended by the full complement of settlers at the time – 15 in all – a town was proclaimed, and named Durban in honour of the Governor of the Cape, Sir Benjamin D’Urban. In the late 1830s and early ’40s the Boers clashed with the British over control of Durban.
After King Shaka’s death his successor, King Dingane, was not as benevolent to the Europeans as Shaka was, showing animosity and aggression towards them. In 1838 the Voortrekkers began to arrive from the Eastern Cape, laying claim to Natal. Enroute they had encountered warring Zulu’s that massacred many of the Voortrekkers.
In 1842, the British sent troops to maintain order in the area, but came into conflict with the settling Voortrekkers.
In 1844, the British annexed the southern portion of Natal to their already existing Cape Colony. This annexe was significantly boosted in the early 1850s, when several thousand settlers arrived courtesy of an Irishman named Byrne, who had once visited Durban, and who hoped to make money by shipping in settlers to this difficult paradise.
Farming sugar was the primary crop here during the 1800’s, which proved to be a very labour intensive activity. The Zulus were found to have a rebellious nature and were uncooperative labourers. So, in 1860 the British imported the first of several thousands of indentured labourers from British India to work in the sugarcane fields. Along with the indentured workforce came free Indian businessmen who set up their businesses in the area.
Durban had remained a backwater settlement until a young immigrant named George Cato arrived and planned the development properly.
George Cato designed Durban properly with three main streets, each 100ft wide – enough to turn a wagon and 16 oxen (the reason why city centre roads in South Africa are so wide).
In 1860, a railway linked the harbour with the small town, and within 30 years, it reached all the way to Johannesburg, as the town of Durban began to expand from the swampland to the cooler hills of the Berea.
The discovery of gold was a major boost to the port, and the discovery of coal in Dundee resulted in many ships using the port for bunkering. The progress of the port led finally to the troublesome sandbar at the harbour entrance being removed.
By 1900, Durban had a sewerage system, hard roads and water. The railroads attracted people from the then Transvaal province to visit on their holidays, establishing it as the popular holiday destination it is to this day. Today, Durban is South Africa’s third largest city, its harbour of prime importance to South Africa’s economy and tourism industry.
In 1932, a number of satellite suburbs were incorporated into the town and in 1935, Durban was granted city status.
In the years after World War II, the history of Durban was defined largely by the implementation of apartheid, and the struggle for equal humanity that ensued. Today, this legacy has resulted in the construction of extensive shack settlements throughout the region.
In 1949 this was the site for the skirmishes and peace making between the Zulus and the Indian community in Durban in 1949. The remains of the late Queen Thomozile kaNdwandwe Zulu (King Goodwill Zwelithini’s mother) are buried at uMkhumbane/Cato Manor site.
In 1994 South Africa had its first democratic election, which changed forever the tone and flavour of Durban. In 1996 Durban was further enlarged to become the Durban Metropolitan Region, or Durban Metro, by including large areas both north, south and west of the city.
Four years later, in 2000, a further expansion resulted in the inclusive Durban Unicity, which was renamed eThekwini derived from the Zulu word iTheku which means a bay or lagoon.
Indian Cuisine in Durban
The British were so fed up with the Zulus thrashing them, they convinced many Indians that Natal was a much nicer section of the British Empire than anything India had to offer. Thankfully the Indians brought with them their mothers’ recipes for breyani, chicken tikka masala and tandoori, lamb vindaloo, rogan josh, rotis, sambals and chilli bites to spice up the grey British fare.
A local Durban variant is the bunny chow – half a loaf of bread hollowed out and stuffed with the curry of your choice. In some fine-dining circles it has been refined as the gourmet bunny, but a steaming curry filling is non-negotiable. If, when in Durban, you want to sound like a local, you order ‘a bunny, bru&’.
