Durban (Template:Lang-zu, from itheku meaning "bay/lagoon") is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal. Durban's metropolitan municipality ranks third among the most populous urban areas in South Africa after Johannesburg and Cape Town. It is also the second most important manufacturing hub in South Africa after Johannesburg. It forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism because of the city's warm subtropical climate and extensive beaches. The municipality, which includes neighbouring towns, has a population of almost 3.5 million,[1] making the combined municipality one of the biggest cities on the Indian Ocean coast of the African continent. The metropolitan land area of 2,292 square kilometres (885 sq mi) is comparatively larger than other South African cities, resulting in a somewhat lower population density of 1,513/km2 (3,920/sq mi).[2] It has the highest number of dollar millionaires added per year of any South African city with the number rising 200% between 2000 and 2014.[3]
Archaeological evidence from the Drakensberg mountains suggests that the Durban area has been inhabited by communities of hunter-gatherers since 100,000 BC. These people lived throughout the area of present-day KwaZulu-Natal until the expansion of Bantu farmers and pastoralists from the north saw their gradual displacement, incorporation or extermination.
Little is known of the history of the first residents, as there is no written history of the area until it was sighted by PortugueseexplorerVasco da Gama, who sailed parallel to the KwaZulu-Natal coast at Christmastide in 1497 while searching for a route from Europe to India. He named the area "Natal", or Christmas in Portuguese.[5]
First European settlers
The modern city of Durban dates from 1824, when a party of 25 men under British Lieutenant F. G. Farewell arrived from the Cape Colony and established a settlement on the northern shore of the Bay of Natal, near today's Farewell Square. Accompanying Farewell was an adventurer named Henry Francis Fynn. Fynn was able to befriend the ZuluKing Shaka by helping him to recover from a stab wound he suffered in battle. As a token of Shaka's gratitude, he granted Fynn a "30-mile [50 km] strip of coast a hundred miles [160 km] in depth."[6]
During a meeting of 35 European residents in Fynn's territory on 23 June 1835, it was decided to build a capital town and name it "d'Urban" after Sir Benjamin d'Urban, then governor of the Cape Colony.
The Kommissie Trek - 1834.
In January 1832, an Englishman, Dr. Andrew Smith (a staff surgeon at the Cape) and a Mr. Edie of the 98th Regiment departed Grahamstown overland through the Eastern Cape to investigate Natal for its potential. A Boer farmer Willem Berg from Cape Town also accompanied them and their pack mules. At Port Natal about ten weeks later, they met such characters as James Collis and C.J. Pickman, Francis Fynn, Isaacs, Ogle, John Cane and Holstead, all hunting for survival and living extremely rough lives around the bay in reed huts. The three brothers Samuel, James and Joshua Cawood were also there. It was a colourful group of assorted Europeans living in the jungle. Dr. Smith visited the Zulu King Dingaan during his journey.
Dr. Smith and his two companions remained at Port Natal for the next eighteen months having lived with the first inhabitants of the settlement. On their return to Cape Town by ship in Jan.1834, Dr. Smith wrote a glowing report (now lost) describing Port Natal and its environs. As for the impact of discussions William Berg had on the Boers, it proved a crucial turning point in Boer interest to move from the Cape.
Berg stressed how Port Natal and its immediate environs was a land of exceptional farming quality, well watered and nearly devoid of inhabitants and abundant in wildlife such as elephants, lions and leopards. Although the original report on their findings has been lost, Dr.Smith’s expedition to Natal encouraged almost two hundred English Capetonians to send a petition to the English King in London in favour of annexing Port Natal.
The Boer leaders at the frontier towns saw this as an opportunity to make good on their longing to move away from the Cape and British rule. The petition sent to London was later declined in March 1835.
In March 1834 Boer leaders of Uitenhage and Grahamstown discussed a so-called Kommissitrek or “Commission Trek” to revisit Port Natal and the region and properly assess its potential as a new homeland for the Cape Boers disenchanted with British rule. Petrus Lafras Uys was chosen as expedition leader.
In early May 1834, 17 year old Jan Gerritze Bantjes at Graaff Reinet was offered to join the expedition to Port Natal to investigate the possibility of a new Dutch homeland, and, encouraged by his father Bernard Louis Bantjes, word was sent to Uys offering his sons’ clerical and writing skills. Young Bantjes wanted to help establish Dutch independence and get away from British rule at the Cape. J.G.Bantjes was already known in the area as an educated young man fluent in both spoken and written Dutch and English, and due to these skills, encouraged by Uys to join this voyage to Natal. J.G.Bantjes’ writing skills would prove invaluable recording events as the journey unfolded. Bantjes’ journal on the Kommissitrek is now unfortunately lost.
The trek approached Port Natal from East Griqualand and Umtata and Ixopo, crossing the upper regions of the Umtumvuna and Umkomaas rivers. The travel pace was slow due to the terrain, and since it was now getting into spring, the rainy season had begun to swell the rivers. Progress sometimes required days of scouting to locate the most suitable trail. Eventually after weeks of incredible toil, the small party arrived at Port Natal crossing the Congela river and weaving their way through the costal forest into the bay area. They had travelled a distance of about 650 km. from Grahamstown. This trip would have taken about 3-4 months with slow moving wagons. The Drakensberg route via Kerkenberg into Natal had not yet been discovered.
They arrived at the sweltering bay of Port Natal in Dec. 1834 exhausted after the long journey. They would have taken the opportunity to bath in the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and linger on the golden sands thinking this was the paradise they couldn’t let slip away. At Port Natal the trek was welcomed with open arms by the few British hunters and ivory traders there such as John Stubbs, Robert Biggar, John Cane and Henry Ogle including James Collis and Richard Wood among others. The British had primitive dwellings near the Point sand banks in thick costal forest overlooking the entrance to the bay as well as a few scattered hovels at Seaview and Umbilo. After congenial exchanges between the Dutch and British, the party settled in and Richard (Dick) King (1813-1871) was invited to become their guide and Zulu translator.
Dick King (22) and Jan Gerritze Bantjes (17) went elephant hunting with Alexander Biggar (1781-1838) on several occasions who was a professional ivory hunter. Bantjes was fluent in both English and Dutch and Dick and Jan Gerritze soon became well acquainted striking up a friendship during their hunting trips together and the few months at Port Natal.
The Boers set up a laarger in the area what is now the Greyville race course being more open of costal forest and where suitable grazing was available for the oxen and horses, and as far as possible from the foraging hippos in the bay. Several small streams running off the Berea provided fresh water for the trekkers.
The Brits were temporary hunters/traders whereas the Boers were explorers/trekkers looking for a permanent homeland. Their cultural, language and ideologies differed considerably and historical animosities defined the limits of their interactions with one another. Suspicions were usually just below the surface and they regarded one another as competitors for the same resources. The Boers saw the Brits as imperialistic, confrontational and interfering. The Brits saw the Boers as renegades. But the Boers were better suited to long distance, harsh terrain travel through the interior whereas the Brits stayed mostly to costal ports where their ships could call. So with such differences, confrontation was often a mere hair trigger away. Their common adversary though were the hostile black tribes to the north and south.
Alexander Biggar (1781-1838) was at Port Natal as a professional ivory hunter and helped the trekkers with important information regarding conditions at Port Natal. Bantjes made notes of Biggar’s views and were later used in his more comprehensive report on the positive aspects of Natal. Bantjes also made rough sketches of the bay area and Berea of the future City of Durban (the journal now missing) showing the potential for a harbour which could supply the Boers in their potential new homeland.
At Port Natal, Dick King who could speak Zulu, was sent by Uys on the advice of Biggar in late Feb.1835 to Umgungunhlovo to investigate with Dingaan the possibility of granting them land to settle, but when Dick King returned to Port Natal some weeks later, his news was that Dingaan insisted they visit him in person. Uys declined to go. In early April 1835, Johannes Uys, brother of Petrus Uys and a number of comrades with a few wagons, travelled toward Dingaan’s capital at Umgungunhlovo, and making a laarger of wagons at the mouth of the Mvoti River, they proceeded on horseback but were halted by a flooded Tugela River and forced to return to the laager. Jan Gerritze remained at Port Natal with Uys doing basic surveys and making various expeditions as far as the Pietermaritzburg area. Jan Gerritze was optimistic regarding conditions in Natal.
After some weeks, the party which had attempted to reach Dingaan returned to Port Natal. Game was plentiful, the little streams fresh and sweet and times were good in those early days of Port Natal. They swam in the Indian Ocean and sunned themselves on endless golden sands, bartered goods with local tribes and generally made themselves at home. A greater sense of bliss couldn’t have been found anywhere - especially the freedom from British rule. But there was the underlying sense of unresolved issues regarding permanent land. The few hunters at the bay told the trekkers of the potential threat from Zululand and that if anyone intended settling at Port Natal, the land grant issue would first have to be resolved.
At Port Natal, the white population had only about 30 mostly Englishmen excluding the comrades of the Kommissie Trek. With the dry season still in and rivers low, the Kommissie Trek, with a good stash of ivory left Port Natal for Grahamstown in early June 1835 following the same route back to the Cape, arriving at Grahamstown in October 1835 to a great welcome. On Uys’s recommendation, Bantjes set to work on the first draft of the Natalialand Report. Meetings and talks were held in the main church in Grahamstown to much approval and the first sparks of Trek Fever began to take hold. From all the information accumulated at Port Natal, Jan Gerritze Bantjes drew up the final report on “Natalia or Natal Land” that acted as the catalyst which inspired the Boers to set in motion the Great Trek away from British rule at the Cape. The first steps of The Great Trek had begun, and J.G.Bantjes was the pen behind the movement.
[7]
Piet Retief, leader of the Voortrekkers in Natal, negotiated with the Zulu King, Dingane, in order to obtain land for their farming purposes. After negotiations were concluded, Dingane however reneged and had Retief and his entire entourage murdered. Thereafter the Zulus attacked and killed more than 500 Voortrekkers at Retief's laager. The Voortrekkers retaliated, and broke Dingane's power at the Battle of Blood River.
Continued tension between the Voortrekkers and the Zulus prompted the governor of the Cape Colony to dispatch a force under Captain Charlton Smith to establish British rule in Natal, for fear of losing British control in Port Natal. The force arrived on 4 May 1842 and built a fortification that was later to be The Old Fort. On the night of 23/24 May 1842 the British attacked the Voortrekker camp at Congella. The attack failed, and the British had to withdraw to their camp which was put under siege. A local trader Dick King and his servant Ndongeni were able to escape the blockade and rode to Grahamstown, a distance of 600 km (372.82 mi) in fourteen days to raise reinforcements. The reinforcements arrived in Durban 20 days later; the Voortrekkers retreated, and the siege was lifted.[8]
Fierce conflict with the Zulu population led to the evacuation of Durban, and eventually the Afrikaners accepted British annexation in 1844 under military pressure.
British colonial rule and the Union of South Africa
A British governor was appointed to the region and many settlers emigrated from Europe and the Cape Colony. The British established a sugar cane industry in the 1860s. Farm owners had a difficult time attracting Zulu labourers to work on their plantations, so the British brought thousands of indentured labourers from India on twenty five-year contracts.[citation needed] As a result of the importation of Indian labourers, Durban has the largest Asian community on the African continent, and has the largest Indian population outside of India.
Durban's historic regalia
When the Borough of Durban was proclaimed in 1854, the council had to procure a seal for official documents. The seal was produced in 1855 and was replaced in 1882. The new seal contained a coat of arms without helmet or mantling that combined the coats of arms of Sir Benjamin D’Urban and Sir Benjamin Pine. An application was made to register the coat of arms with the College of Arms in 1906, but this application was rejected on grounds that the design implied that D’Urban and Pine were husband and wife. Nevertheless, the coat of arms appeared on the council’s stationery from about 1912. The following year, a helmet and mantling was added to the council’s stationery and to the new city seal that was made in 1936. The motto reads "Debile principium melior fortuna sequitur"—"Better fortune follows a humble beginning".
The blazon of the arms registered by the South African Bureau of Heraldry and granted to Durban on 9 February 1979. The coat of arms fell into disuse with the re-organisation of the South African local government structure in 2000. The seal ceased to be used in 1995.[9][10]
Durban today
Durban looking north from atop the Moses Mabhida Stadium archDurban looking south from atop the Moses Mabhida Stadium arch
Today, Durban is the busiest container port in Africa.[11] The Golden Mile, developed as a welcoming tourist destination in the 1970s, as well as Durban at large, provide ample tourist attractions, particularly for people on holiday from Gauteng. The Golden Mile was redeveloped in late 2009 in time for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. It was resurfaced and widened between Ushaka Marine World and Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Durban's most popular beaches are also located along the Golden Mile. The city is also a gateway to the national parks and historic sites of Zulu Kingdom and the Drakensberg.
With the end of apartheid, Durban was subject to restructuring of local government. The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality was formed in 1994 after South Africa's first multiracial elections, with its first mayor being Sipho Ngwenya. The mayor is elected for a five-year term; however Sipho Ngwenya only served two years. In 1996, the city was changed to Durban UniCity in July 1996 and to eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality in 1999. In July 1996, Obed Mlaba was appointed mayor of Durban UniCity; in 1999 he was elected to mayor of the eThekwini municipality and re-elected in 2006. Following the May 2011 local elections, James Nxumalo, the former Speaker of the Council, was elected as the new mayor.On 23 August 2016 Zandile Gumede was elected as the new mayor [12]
The name of the Durban municipal government, prior to the post-apartheid reorganisations of municipalities, was the Durban Corporation or City of Durban'm.[13]
The Freedom of Expression Institute has reported that there have been problems with the Municipality allowing shack dwellers their legal right to march.[14]
The attack on Kennedy Road informal settlement by an armed mob in 2009 in Durban put local government under sustained scrutiny. It was reported by members of the Abahlali baseMjondolo movement that the attackers were affiliated with the local branch of the African National Congress and associated with the municipal councillor for the ward. It was claimed that the attack was carefully planned and sanctioned by the police department.[15][16] Academic research seems to confirm that the attackers self-identified as ANC members and that ANC leaders at Municipal and Provincial level later provided public sanction for the attack.[17][18]
Following the attack AbM and the KRDC (democratically elected structures)[17] were removed from the settlement[17] and the provincial government replaced these structures with an unelected ANC affiliated Community Policing Forum.[17] The attacks and forced removal of AbM from the settlement garnered national and international condemnation.[19][20][21][22][23]
The government has been under sustained controversy for their eviction of shackdwellers in the Cato Crest area despite a court interdict ordering them not to do so.[24][25] The General Council of the Bar has also expressed concern over the evictions.[26]
Geography
Durban and its suburbs are hilly, except for locations in and around the central business district, the harbour and Umhlanga Rocks.
View of Durban from Innes Road
Panorama of Durban beach from Ushaka pier
Climate
Durban has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classificationCfa), with hot and humid summers and pleasantly warm and dry winters, which are snow and frost-free. Durban has an annual rainfall of 1,009 millimetres (39.7 in). The average temperature in summer ranges around 24 °C (75 °F), while in winter the average temperature is 17 °C (63 °F). Sunrise in Durban on summer solstice occurs at 04:45 and sunset at 19:00; on winter solstice, sunrise is at 06:30 and sunset at 17:20.
The rainy season is in summer which begins in November, ending in mid-April. Summers are sunny, hot and humid during the day, but are relieved by afternoon or evening thunderstorms. The city is also occasionally affected by tropical storms and cyclones during the cyclone season, which is from 15 November to 30 April.
Winters, which are from June to August, are generally warm and sunny.
Geographical distribution of home languages in eThekwini metropole
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No language dominant
Durban is ethnically diverse, with a cultural richness of mixed beliefs and traditions. Zulus form the largest single ethnic group. It has a large number of people of British descent and has the most Indians of any city outside India. The influence of Indians in Durban has been significant, bringing with them a variety of cuisine, culture and religion. Social cohesion in South Africas third largest city is fairly strong despite a negative outlook from a few individuals.[29]
The population of the city of Durban increased 10.9% between 2001 and 2011 from 536,644 to 595,061.[30][31] The number of Black Africans increased while the number of people in all the other racial groups decreased. Black Africans increased from 34.9% to 51.1%. Indian or Asians decreased from 27.3% to 24.0%. Whites decreased from 25.5% to 15.3%. Coloureds decreased from 10.26% to 8.59%. A new racial group, Other, was included in the 2011 census at 0.93%.
The city’s demographics indicate that 68% of the population are of working age, and 38% of the people in Durban are under the age of 19 years.[32]
Crime
There were 1,237 homicides in the Durban metropolitan area in 2015. The murder rate in 2015 was 35.9 per 100,000 people (for comparison, Detroit had a murder rate of 43.9 per 100,000 people in 2015).[33] The murder rate for the whole of South Africa was 33 per 100,000.[34][35] Today, Durban is more dangerous than Johannesburg but much safer than Cape Town which had a murder rate of 65.53 per 100,000 in 2014. This is a radical shift from previous decades when Johannesburg was the most dangerous of these cities and Cape Town the safest.[36]
Criminals usually avoid targeting tourists because they know that the police response will be greater.[37]
There was a period of intense violence in the 1990s and the Durban area recorded a murder rate of 83 per 100,000 in 1999.[38] The murder rate dropped rapidly in the 2000s and has been slowly increasing in the 2010s. Durban is one of the main drug trafficking routes for drugs exiting and entering Sub-Saharan Africa. The drug trade has increased significantly over the past 20 years.[39]
The Durban Metropolitan Area (DMA) has a large and diversified economy with strong manufacturing, tourism, transportation, finance and government sectors. Its coastal location and large port gives it comparative advantage over many other centers in South Africa for export-related industry. Durban's subtropical climate, warm marine current and culturally diverse population has drawn in tourists.
Durban remains the third richest city in South Africa. In 2015, a report by AfrAsia Bank and research company New World Wealth listed Durban among the top cities in Africa with the most millionaires. Durban placed 7th with 2700 millionaires [40]
The city has revitalised its inner areas with the new Durban Point Waterfront development south-east of downtown sporting uShaka Marine World and many new residential and leisure developments. Efforts by the city to clean up the business district, new developments in Point and the 2010 FIFA World Cup stadium north of the CBD (Moses Mabidha Stadium) has aided in the economic turnaround. In 2010, Durban was rated as a Gamma-level global city.
Durban's economic contribution to the region
Natal cotton field (Durban, South Africa) (c.1885).
The Durban Metropolitan Area is the main economic driver in KwaZulu-Natal, contributing over half of the province's output, employment and income. In national terms, Durban is the second most important economic complex after Gauteng, accounting for 15% of national output, 14% of household income and 11% of national employment. Regional development corridors link Durban northwards to Richards Bay and Maputo, and westward to Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg.
Durban has a number of informal and semi-formal street vendors. The Warwick Junction Precinct is home to a number of street markets, with vendors selling goods from traditional medicince, to clothing and spices.[41]
The city's treatment of shack dwellers has been strongly criticised by a report from the United Nations linked Centre on Housing Rights and Evictions[42] and there has also been strong criticism of the city's treatment of street traders,[43][44] street children[45] and sex workers.[46] Durban is known throughout the world for its strain of marijuana called 'durban poison' which was developed in the late 1970s. It is one of the most common strains sold by car guards and street dealers throughout eThekweni.[47]
The Marine parade pools and beach front on Durban's "golden mile" is a very popular tourist attraction in the city particularly around Christmas and New Years day.The Golden Mile: Segway and bike hires provide the best tour and experience of the Durban Beachfront.
uShaka Marine World, consisting of a water theme park and one of the largest aquariums in the world.
The Markets of Warwick—possibly the largest informal street market in South Africa
The Victoria Embankment (also known as the Esplanade) is home to many tourist sites.
Revolving Restaurant is present on the Victoria Embankment
Watercrest Shopping Center—Inanda road in the Hillcrest area
Rinaldo Shopping Centre in Durban North
City View Shopping Centre in Durban Central
The Crescent on Umhlanga Ridge
Sunningdale Centre in Sunningdale Umhlanga
Stadia and sports facilities
Moses Mabhida Stadium. Activities include a Skycar ride or Adventure Walk to the top of the arch with 360 degree views over Durban; Guinness world record Bungee swing; Segway gliding tours of the stadium; Cafes and Restaurants; Monthly I Heart Durban market;
Durban Ice Arena Activities include leisure ice skating, birthday parties, school excursions, sporting events, teambuilding activities, corporate functions and group bookings.
Communications and media
View of Durban harbor
Two major English-language daily newspapers are published in Durban, both part of the Independent Newspapers, the national group owned by Irish media magnate Tony O'Reilly. These are the morning editions of The Mercury and the afternoon Daily News. Like most news media in South Africa, they have seen declining circulations in recent years. Major Zulu language papers comprise Isolezwe ( Independent Newspapers), UmAfrika and Ilanga, the latter being seen to be politically aligned to the IFP. Independent Newspapers also publish Post, a newspaper aimed largely at the Indian community. A national Sunday paper, the Sunday Tribune is also published by Independent Newspapers as is the Independent on Saturday.
A variety of free weekly suburban newspapers are published by the Caxton Group and there are numerous "community" newspapers, some of which are short lived and others which have had stable tenure. The tabloid newspaper group situated in North Coast Road, Durban has also added to the variety of community newspapers. They have ten newspaper publications, three of them in the isiZulu language. Community newspapers target specific areas or zones rooting out and exposing community issues like a magnifying glass. These papers rely solely on advertising revenue and are delivered to each house hold irrespective of race or wealth. Many journalists gain experience at these papers before moving on to other major national publications.
A major city initiative is the eZasegagasini Metro Gazette.[56] It is the official newspaper of the eThekwini Municipality, through which ratepayers and residents are kept informed about local projects, programmes and activities. It is also a forum for readers' views. Published fortnightly, the newspaper hits the streets on Friday mornings, with 400 000 copies distributed in English and Zulu. The publication is an in-house product of the municipality's Communications Department.
The national broadcaster, the SABC, has regional offices in Durban and operates two major stations there. The Zulu language Ukhozi FM has a huge national listenership of over 6.67 million, which makes it the second largest radio station in the world. The SABC also operates Radio Lotus, which is aimed at South Africans of Indian origin. The other SABC national stations have smaller regional offices in Durban, as does TV for news links and sports broadcasts. A major English language radio station, East Coast Radio,[57] operates out of Durban and is owned by SA media giant Kagiso Media. There are a number of smaller stations which are independent, having been granted licences by ICASA, the national agency charged with the issue of broadcast licences.
Durban is home to the Rut Sharks, who compete in the domestic Currie Cup competition as well as in the international Super Rugby competition. The Sharks' home ground is the 56,000 capacity Kings Park Stadium, sometimes referred to as the Shark Tank.
Durban hosted matches in the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup. In 2007 the city hosted nine matches, including a semi-final, as part of the inaugural ICC World Twenty20. The 2009 IPL season was played in South Africa, and Durban was selected as a venue. 2010 saw the city host six matches, including a semi-final, in the 2010 Champions League Twenty20.
The city is home to Greyville Racecourse, a major Thoroughbred horse racing venue which annually hosts a number of prestigious races including the country's premier event, the July Handicap, and the premier staying event in South Africa, the Gold Cup. Clairwood racecouse, south of the city, was a popular racing venue for many years, but was sold by the KZN racing authority in 2012.[59][60]
A professional tennis venue is located at Westridge Park near the Berea. Durban has facilities for water polo, hockey and other sports. Durban and the surrounding areas are also well patronised by professional and amateur golfers, with the golf course at Durban Country Club near the CBD being particularly well known.
An Olympic-standard swimming pool is found in the Kings Park Sporting Precinct. Durban is home to Chad le Clos, the 200 meter butterfly Olympic champion of 2012. The outstanding beach front has played host to numerous surfing competitions such as the Gunston 500 competition and the related Ocean Action festival. Beach volleyball is regularly played on local beaches and powerboat racing has taken place in the harbour.
King Shaka International Airport services both domestic and international flights, with regularly scheduled services to Dubai, Istanbul, Doha, Addis Ababa, Mauritius, Harare, Lusaka and Maputo, as well as eight domestic destinations. New routes to Windhoek and Gaborone will start on 30 October 2016.[61] The airport's position forms part of the Golden Triangle between Johannesburg and Cape Town, which is important for convenient travel and trade between these three major South African cities. The airport opened in May 2010. King Shaka International Airport handled 4.93 million passengers in 2015/2016, up 9 percent from 2014/2015. King Shaka International was constructed at La Mercy, about 36 kilometres (22 mi) north of central Durban. All operations at Durban International Airport have been transferred to King Shaka International as of 1 May 2010, with plans for flights to Singapore, London, Mumbai, Australia, Gaborone, Windhoek, Luanda, Lilongwe and Nairobi.
Durban International Airport was used by the South African Defence Force during the 2010 FIFA World Cup and as a secondary airport to handle overflow. The airport serves as a major gateway for travellers to KwaZulu-Natal and the Drakensberg.
Sea
Durban harbour
Durban has a long tradition as a port city. The Port of Durban, formerly known as the Port of Natal, is one of the few natural harbours between Port Elizabeth and Maputo, and is also located at the beginning of a particular weather phenomenon which can cause extremely violent seas. These two features made Durban an extremely busy port of call for ship repairs when the port was opened in the 1840s. Durban is now the busiest port in South Africa, as well as the third busiest container port in the Southern Hemisphere.
The modern Port of Durban grew around trade from Johannesburg, as the industrial and mining capital of South Africa is not located on any navigable body of water. Thus, products being shipped from Johannesburg outside of South Africa must be loaded onto trucks or railways and transported to Durban. The Port of Maputo was unavailable for use until the early 1990s due to civil war and an embargo against South African products. There is now an intense rivalry between Durban and Maputo for shipping business.
Durban has a very popular cruise industry. MSC Cruises bases the MSC Sinfonia in Durban from November to April every year. Durban is the most popular cruise hub in Southern Africa. Cruise destinations from Durban on the MSC [Sinfonia] include Mozambique, Mauritius, Madagascar and other domestic destinations such as Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. Many other ships cruise through Durban every year, including some of the worlds biggest, such as the RMS Queen Mary 2, the biggest ocean liner in the world.
Naval Base Durban on Salisbury Island (now joined to the mainland and part of the Port of Durban), was established as a naval base during the Second World War. It was downgraded in 2002 to a naval station. In 2012 a decision was made to renovate and expand the facilities back up to a full naval base to accommodate the South African Navy's offshore patrol flotilla.[62] In December 2015 it was redesignated Naval Base Durban.[63]
Rail
Durban featured the first operating steam railway in South Africa when the Natal Railway Company started operating a line between the Point and the city of Durban in 1860.[64]
Durban is well-served by railways due to its role as the largest trans-shipment point for goods from the interior of South Africa. Shosholoza Meyl, the passenger rail service of Spoornet, operates two long-distance passenger rail services from Durban: a daily service to and from Johannesburg via Pietermaritzburg and Newcastle, and a weekly service to and from Cape Town via Kimberley and Bloemfontein. These trains terminate at Durban railway station.
Metrorail operates a commuter rail service in Durban and the surrounding area. The Metrorail network runs from Durban Station outwards as far as Stanger on the north coast, Kelso on the south coast, and Cato Ridge inland.
N3 freeway on its approach to Durban's CBD, with N2–N3 stack interchange in the foreground
The city's main position as a port of entry onto the southern African continent has led to the development of national roads around it. The N3 Western Freeway, which links Durban with the economic hinterland of Gauteng, heads west out of the city. The N2 Outer Ring Road links Durban with the Eastern Cape to the south, and Mpumalanga in the north. The Western Freeway is particularly important because freight is shipped by truck to and from the Witwatersrand for transfer to the port.
The N3 Western Freeway starts in the central business district and heads west under Tollgate Bridge and through the suburbs of Sherwood and Mayville. The EB Cloete Interchange (which is informally nicknamed the Spaghetti Junction) lies to the east of Westville, allowing for transfer of traffic between the N2 Outer Ring Road and the Western Freeway.
The N2 Outer Ring Road cuts through the city from the north coast to the south coast. It provides a vital link to the coastal towns (such as Scottburgh and Stanger) that rely on Durban.
Durban also has a system of freeway and dual arterial metropolitan routes, which connect the sprawling suburbs that lie to the north, west and south of the city. The M4 exists in two segments. The northern segment, named the Ruth First Highway, starts as an alternative highway at Ballito where it separates from the N2. It passes through the northern suburbs of Umhlanga and La Lucia where it becomes a dual carriageway and ends at the northern edge of the CBD. The southern segment of the M4, the Albert Lutuli[66] Highway, starts at the southern edge of the CBD, connecting through to the old, decommissioned Durban International Airport, where it once again reconnects with the N2 Outer Ring Road.
The M7 connects the southern industrial basin with the N3 and Pinetown via Queensburgh via the N2. The M19 connects the northern suburbs with Pinetown via Westville.
The M13 is an untolled alternative to the N3 Western Freeway (which is tolled at Mariannhill). It also feeds traffic through Gillitts, Kloof, and Westville. In the Westville area it is called the Jan Smuts Highway, while in the Kloof area it is named the Arthur Hopewell Highway.
A number of streets in Durban were renamed in the late 2000s to the names of figures related to the anti-apartheid struggle, persons related to liberation movements around the world (including Che Guevara, Kenneth Kaunda and SWAPO), and others associated with the governing African National Congress.[67] A few street names were changed in the first round of renaming, followed by a larger second round.[68] The renamings provoked incidents of vandalism,[69] as well as protests from opposition parties[70] and members of the public.[71]
Buses
The People Mover is a tourist-oriented bus service which runs every 15 minutes and consists of three routes within the central business district and along the beachfront, connecting various attractions.[72]
Several companies run long-distance bus services from Durban to the other cities in South Africa. Buses have a long history in Durban. Most of them have been run by Indian owners since the early 1930s. Privately owned buses which are not subsidised by the government also service the communities. Buses operate in all areas of the eThekwini Municipality. Since 2003 buses have been violently taken out of the routes and bus ranks by taxi operators.[73] This has brought bus operations into disarray. Bus owners have bought into taxi operations using their bus permits to make a living.
Durban has two kinds of taxis: metered taxis and minibus taxis. Unlike in many cities, metered taxis are not allowed to drive around the city to solicit fares and instead must be called and ordered to a specific location. A number of companies service the Durban and surrounding regions. These taxis can also be called upon for airport transfers, point to point pickups and shuttles.
Mini bus taxis are the standard form of transport for the majority of the population who cannot afford private cars.[74][75][76] With the high demand for transport by the working class of South Africa, minibus taxis are often filled over their legal passenger allowance, making for high casualty rates when they are involved in accidents. Minibuses are generally owned and operated in fleets, and inter-operator violence flares up from time to time, especially as turf wars over lucrative taxi routes occur.[77]
Rickshaws
Durban is known for its iconic Zulurickshaw pullers navigating throughout the city. These colourful characters are famous for their giant, vibrant hats and costumes. Although they have been a mode of transportation since the early 1900s, they have been displaced by other forms of motorised transport, and the 25 or so remaining rickshaws mostly cater to tourists.[78]
^Tejada, Ariel Paolo (9 May 2015). "Vigan declared 'Wonder City'". Manila: The Philippine STAR. Retrieved 19 September 2015. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^Eric A. Walker (1964) [1928]. "Chapter I: The discovery". A History of Southern Africa. London: Longmans.
^Eric A. Walker (1965) [1928]. "Chapter VII: The period of change 1823–36". A History of Southern Africa. London: Longmans.
^Ethekwini Municipality Communications Department, edited by Fiona Wayman, Neville Grimmet and Angela Spencer. "Zulu Rickshaws". Durban.gov.za. Archived from the original on 19 May 2010. Retrieved 2 July 2010. {{cite web}}: |author= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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Alexandria, Egypt
Bremen, Germany[82]
Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Chicago, Illinois, US
Daejeon, South Korea
Guangzhou, China[83]
Le Port, Réunion[84][85]
Leeds, UK
Maputo, Mozambique
Oran, Algeria
Rotterdam, Netherlands
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