Sezela is a small town situated on the mouth of the iSezela River and just off the N2 National Route on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa, approximately 21 km south-west of Scottburgh, 49 km north-east of Port Shepstone, and 76.3 km south-west of Durban.
The town is famous for its large sugar mill.
The river and the town are named after a crocodile. In 1828, the Zulu king, Shaka, hunted down a man-eating crocodile here. The crocodile was called iSezela, meaning “the one who finds by smell”, for it was said that the crocodile hunted like a wild dog following a trail.
Sezela falls within the uMdoni Local Municipality, which is part of the Ugu District Municipality.
Geography
Sezela benefits from the long, favourable shorelines of the Indian Ocean. The fishing grounds are rich in resources, and the annual Sardine run is enjoyed by both locals and visitors. Sezela’s famous fishing grounds are: Dazingaan; Shad Cutting (a place where shad get stranded when tide goes out); Mamba Drain (from here locals frequently spot black mambas swimming in this channel); Mill Rock (these rocks are directly opposite the mill); Bowman Rocks (ex local engineer Donald Bowman’s favourite fishing rock); Ruben Bay (a boy by the name Ruben drowned in this bay); “A” Frame (named after the A-shaped steel structure of the nearby railway siding); Manning Bay, Raja’s Corner and Washing Rocks (which locals use to wash their clothes).
History
In 1915, the Reynolds Brothers opened a sugar mill at Sezela. This was later purchased by C. G. Smith, then by Illovo Sugar, and finally by Associated British Foods. In his book, Duncan du Bois describes in detail the ill treatment of the Indian indentured labourers who were brought from India to work in the mill. The workers had the choice to return to India after their indenture contract had expired, yet they chose to stay behind to develop this ‘unknown area’ into Sezela. Sezela was the only Indian settlement alongside the sea in those early years of the Indian colonisation of Natal.
As the town (village) developed, the citizens were initially separated by a race/employment band. Originally, all management positions were reserved for the white race, per Apartheid legislation. Sezela was subdivided into districts: New Dheli; Oceanvale; Lower Sezela; and Upper Sezela (sadly, the latter two districts no longer exist).
Sezela boasts two country clubs (Club Blue Horizon and Sezela Country Club) and two primary schools (once called Sezela State Aided Indian and Sezela Primary, the names of the schools were changed after 1994 to acclimatise with the new political atmosphere). The state-aided school was heavily subsidised by the local sugar mill. The school, in honour of the subsidy, named their athletics ‘houses’ after the pioneer sugar magnates.
On 13 August 1954, a whaling vessel belonging to The Union Whaling Company of Durban ran aground on the rocks of Umdoni Point. Due to a windstorm and rough seas, the SS Uni X lost a propeller and, in the windstorm, was blown towards the shore. Thirteen Sailors were rescued by the Scottburgh Life Saving Club. When the tide is low, one can clearly see some of the remains of this wreck. Parts of this ship are currently on display at Sezela and Selborne Country Club.
