Durban’s harbour, Berea and Bluff have a long intertwined history as we found when researching this week’s Then & Now feature.
The colonial history of the bay and Durban began on December 24, 1497, when Portuguese captain Vasco da Gama moored overnight in the lee of a headland, probably the Bluff. He named the land “Terra do Natal”.
Over several years, English and Dutch-East Indian ships sailing up and down the coast were wrecked in storms or ran aground. Survivors from as far away as St Lucia made their way to the shores of the bay and the Bluff to settle.
In 1689, a Dutch ship, Noord, became the first ship to cross the sandbar and moor in the Bay of Natal.
In June 1823, an exploratory party to St Lucia under Lieutenants Francis Farewell and James King ran into a severe storm. They made it into the Bay of Natal, mooring off Salisbury Island.
A small advance party under Henry Fynn arrived at Port Natal on May 10, 1824, sailed into the bay, mooring near the site of present-day Maydon Wharf. Fynn set up camp on a sandy flat later used as a market, now Farewell Square.
In July, Francis Farewell joined Fynn with about 26 people. Fynn had made contact with Shaka, the Zulu king, whose suzerainty included the bay area, and he introduced Farewell to the royal Zulu court. The settlement at Port Natal began to flourish, with trade being conducted in ivory, hippo tusks, buffalo hides, cattle and grain.
On August 7, at a meeting with Fynn and Farewell, Shaka granted the English settlers an area of Port Natal of about 6 500km².
In 1835, 15 settlers met at the home of Mr Berkin and named the village D’Urban, after Sir Benjamin D’Urban, then Governor of the Cape, and drew up plans for the new settlement.
In 1843 the 45th Regiment of Foot, also known as the Sherwood Foresters, were garrisoned in Durban, and its Engineer Corps was responsible for building the Great West Road, crossing over the Berea Ridge at the 45th Cutting, opening up the interior for settlement.
In the same year, the first direct mail link between England and Natal was established when the Sarah Bell sailed into the bay.
Durban’s first windmill was built on the Berea Ridge in 1848 near present-day Windmill Road. It also served as a landmark for ships entering the harbour. The first plots were sold in Durban that year.
In 1865, work began on laying down a hard surface on Berea Road, with toll gates being set up at Ridge and Umgeni roads to pay for the project.
Reclamation work began on Durban’s bay area, along with the creation of Victoria Embankment, now Margaret Mncadi Avenue, in 1896.
In May 1930, Durban’s first traffic lights were installed at Pine and Field streets. In 1933, Berea was the site of the first traffic lights with experimental underground sensors at St Thomas and Musgrave roads.
The contributor to the story about Durban on sahistory.org.za has thoughts on the city’s drivers, wryly noting: “Regrettably, despite the time passed since then, Durban’s drivers have still to master the Rules of the Road regarding inoperative traffic lights.”
Having had recent articles on Italian prisoners of war, we found another reference: on September 20, 1943, Italian submarine Ammiraglio Cagni entered Durban Harbour under escort and surrendered to the Allies.
A very popular site to visit on the Bluff is the old whaling station, which opened in 1908. In 1973 harbour police caught five National Union of South African Students members trying to vandalise one of the whaling ships, but were let off with a warning after pleading a severe case of youthful indiscretion. The Union Whaling Station was closed in 1975.
The ridge, now known as Berea, was originally known as Patahoogte (sweet potato heights) because the original track from Durban to Pietermaritzburg skirted the farms of settlers who grew sweet potatoes.
Some of the oldest mansions in Durban were built in this once-forested area. Today, many of these have been converted into offices or have made way for apartment buildings and homes. | Source: www.sahistory.org.za/article/ durban-timeline-1497-1990
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