Umzinto, officially renamed eMuziwezinto, is a town on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa, situated along the P197-3 and R612 roads and on the banks of the Mzimayi River, approximately 67 km south-west of Durban.
“Umzinto” is said to be derived from the Zulu word “umenzi wezinto”, meaning “the kraal [or place] of accomplishment”.
According to an urban legend, the town’s name derived from a visit by two men, one of whom was named Um. On encountering a stream, the men decided to cross it, but Um did not notice the crocodile lurking beneath the surface. Subsequently, Um was attacked by the crocodile and bitten in half. “Um’s in two!” his friend exclaimed. The legend has been ascribed to Jonathan Swift, but Swift died in 1745, decades before the British encountered the region.
Formerly a sugarcane-growing town established as the centre for a sugar mill, Umzinto falls within the uMdoni Local Municipality, which is part of the Ugu District Municipality.
Before December 1st, 2023, vehicle registration plates in Umzinto began with “NX”, where the “N” represented Natal. The exact meaning of the “X” remains unclear, as this vehicle registration code also covered areas such as Scottburgh, Park Rynie, and Umkomaas. The plates have now been updated to the provincial code “ZN”, which stands for KwaZulu-Natal.
Suburbs
- Alexandra
- Archibald
- Asoka Heights
- Billie Farm
- Braemar
- Dumisa
- Esperanza
- Gandhinagar
- Hazelwood
- Hibiscus
- Humberdale Farm
- Nishaat Gardens
- Riverside Park
- Roshen Heights
- Roseville
- Sanathan
- Shayamoya
- Sonti
- St. Patricks
- Umzinto CBD
- Umzinto Heights
History
The first public company in Natal was established at Umzinto on 6 July 1846. The sugarcane fields on the outskirts of Umzinto are owned and run by The Crookes Brothers, a JSE-listed company. Umzinto was named the last town in Durban in 1963.
The town was called “Alexandra County”, which was also a collection of several towns such as Scottburgh, Park Rynie, Pennington, and Sezela, during the Apartheid era.
Geography
Umzinto lies just inland from the coastal village of Park Rynie, in hilly countryside and to the north of the uMzinto River, after which it is named. The nearest settlements to Umzinto include Park Rynie (8 km), Amandawe (10 km), Scottburgh (12 km), Amahlongwa (16 km), and Pennington (16 km).
Map
Economy
Today, Umzinto has become a small yet bustling town that serves as a service centre to the surrounding rural communities.
Typical of many small South African towns, Umzinto has a singular main road, Nelson Mandela Road, that forms the backbone of the town, lined by several national and local retailers and businesses.
Umzinto was once home to three large textile mills, namely, Alitex, Bally Spinning Mills, and MYM Textiles, which used to export abroad. Today, only one survives and nolonger as productive as it used to be. Consequently, this has affected the economy of Umzinto negatively.
Education and Community
Schools:
- Umzinto Primary School
- Braemar Primary School
- Umzintovale Primary School
- Scholar Amoris School
- Umzinto Islamic School
- St. Anne’s Primary School
- St. Patrick’s Primary School
- Umzinto Secondary School
- Roseville Secondary School
Umzinto also houses a Darul-Uloom called “Madrassa Da’watul Haq” that has produced many graduates who have memorized the entire Quran.
Community Halls:
- Sanathan Hall
- Islamic Cultural Centre
- Umzinto Town Hall
Places of Worship:
- Wayside Chapel
- Sai Ashram Temple
- Sri Shiva (S.S.) Temple
- Sanathan Dharma Temple
- St. Anne’s Catholic Church
- Gandhinagar Church
- Esperanza Temple
- Umzinto Mosque
- Eagle Mountain Christian Fellowship
- Sri Vishu Temple
- Jaame’ Masjid
Infrastructure
Railways
Until halfway through the 1980s, Umzinto was the southern terminus of the Umzinto – Donnybrook narrow gauge railway and had transshipment facilities to a Cape gauge branch line to Kelso, along the railway to Johannesburg.
Road
Nelson Mandela Road (P197-3) is the north–south main road connecting Umzinto with Esperanza and Amandawe that passes through the Umzinto CBD and provides access to the R612 Regional Route, while the R612 is an east–west regional route connecting Park Rynie with Ixopo that bypasses Umzinto to the south and provides access to the N2 freeway (to Durban and Port Shepstone) by-passing Umzinto to the east.
Umzinto can also be accessed by turning off the R612 onto Park Rynie Road from the south-east.
