South Coast

Dr Newton Adams arrived in Port Natal in 1835 and first established a mission in Umlaas, but in 1844 moved to the Amanzimtoti Reserve, the present site. The Mission was set up under the auspices of the American Board of Missions. The school was known as the Amanzimtoti Boys Seminary, Amanzimtoti Institute and then the Adams College whilst under the tenure of Dr Edgar Brookes in 1934. The Bantu Education Act renamed the college Amanzimtoti Zulu Training School in 1953 but reverted to Adams College when the Act was repealed. The teachers training facility was also closed. The College has an alumni that includes Rev. John Dube, Dr ZK Mathews, Inkosi Albert Luthuli, Joshua Nkomo, Nkosazana Dhlamini- Zuma, Dr Mangosuthu Buthelezi and Judge Pius Langa. The College is in a poor shape with many of the buildings derelict, despite the investment in funds preceding Nelson Mandelas visit in 2000. This album has images of many of the early buildings that remain, residences, the Congregational Church, honours Boards and the Adams Senior Primary School on a campus nearby.

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Amanzimtoti & Doonside are popular holiday destinations and residential areas. This gallery has aerial views of the beaches, the beaches and entertainment areas , new & old shopping areas and local sports facilities at Hutchinson Park.

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Bazley Beach, only 90 kms from Durban on the South Coast is the home of the well renowned MacNicol's Caravan and Camping Resort. The MacNicol family have been running this resort on the north bank of the Ifafa Lagoon for over 30 years and built up a great reputation as a family resort catering to the SA domestic market. The resort has access to the extensive Ifafa Lagoon and direct access onto the endless beaches. The resort has fully serviced caravan sites and a combination of Bungalows and Log Cabins. There are activities for bird lovers, trails, shore & lagoon fishing along with the wide open beaches for swimming. The resort has entertainment activities, pools recreational hall, volley ball, pubs, canoeing, and a shop, to mentions a few more of the attractions. Contact : macnicol@scottburgh.co.za or see www.macnicol.co.za

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Clansthal provides very little access other than to residents, but is a premier beach resort with some exceptional beach homes, one of which is featured here. The most outstanding feature is the red & white lighthouse which was erected here in 1905. This section of coast would be treacherous without the lighthouse thanks to the well known Aliwal Shoal close offshore. It is also a favourite dive site. The lighthouse is still manned and is presently under the care of a 33 year old veteran Keeper, Raymond Wyeness.

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Harding in the Alfred County and in close proximity to the Ingele mountains is today a trading town. The gallery has images of the many churches such as the St James and Aitcheson and St Andrews churches. There are images of the old town hall, stone court buildings, the Country Club and the street views of the town.

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Hibberdene is a small village on the KZN south coast that consists of strip shops on each side of the R102. The southern side of the CBD is the Mzimayi river. Inland and to the north are residences, hotels and clubs for the locals.

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Sezela, Ifafa & St Elmos Mission are on the KZN South Coast. Sezela is the site of the Sezela sugar mill, this area being a major sugar growing area.

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Izingolweni, on the N2 between Port Shepstone & Harding is a small trading and administrative centre.

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Kingsburgh and Warner Beach are residential and holiday resorts to the south of Durban. This gallery has images recording the current status of the beach and commercial areas. Also included is the Illovo River north bank picnic site and the Winklespruit Caravan Park that is severely neglected.

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Margate is the largest holiday town on the South Coast. This gallery features images of the CBD, the beaches and also images taken from the air.

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Marina Beach, Trafalgar, Mpenjati and Bushy Vales are all resorts on the lower KZN South Coast.

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Lake Eland is a leisure resort based on the Oribi Flats and also overlooking the steep gorges of the Umzimkulwana river that flows into the Umzimkulu river which enters the sea at Port Shepstone. The views at the resort are a main feature of the resort, along with an extensive zip line, swing bridge over part of the Gorge, Bushman caves, camp site, lakeside cabins and a chapel for the many weddings that use the resort as a venue. The resort also has game such as zebra, giraffe and also the small oribi antelope, a relatively rare species.

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Paddock is a small village on the N2 between Port Shepstone & Harding. This gallery has images of the near bye Elim Mission Church, the old quaint trading stores and houses in the village and the railway station. The railway station served the line from Harding to Shepstone and more recently the popular Banana Express, a tourist outing. Disputes relating to ownership has unfortunately resulted in the closure of the line.

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In The late 1800's the Reynolds family arrived in Natal and acquired land in Pennington and built their Manor House Lynton Hall in 1895. Frank Reynolds, who was a great friend of the Prime Minister, General Louis Botha, built what has became known as Botha House on the estate for the use by his friend. The foundations were started in June 1919 but the house was incomplete when Louis Botha died in September 1919. The house was completed in May 1920 and Annie Botha moved into the house , the use of which she had for her lifetime, and the public the use of the remainder of the estate upon which the present Umdoni Golf Estate exists. The house has extended views over the Indian Ocean and now has 6 suites for use by the public as a B & B. This album has images of the interior and exterior of the house, and the grounds and memorabilia contained within the house. Contact number : 039-9751227

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Port Edward is on the southern border of KZN. the gallery has images of the Old Pont and bridge over the Umtamvuma River. Port Edward village straddles the main road to the Eastern Cape Wild Coast. There are images of the village, beach and prominent lighthouse.

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This gallery has street scenes of the towns and villages on the south coast. Some of the features include the Port Shepstone lighthouse, railway station, old Shepstone Hotel, beaches & harbour mouth, Spillers Wharf, Dick King monument, Country Club and aerial views of Port Shepstone. Also featured is the St Faiths Maris Stella Church about 10 kms outside of Shepstone and the abandoned Catholic St Elmos mission, at Umzumbe.

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St Faiths - Maris Stella, to the North West of Port Shepstone is one of the many Trappist Missions established by Francis Pfanner in the late 1800's and early 1900's. This Mission comprises the chapel and also has a small school associated with it which was established in 1909. All of these Missions fell under the control of the "mother" mission established at Marrianhill.

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Ramsgate beach is between Margate and Port Edward and is one of the favourites for family holidays. This gallery has images of the beaches, the commercial area and some of the iconic establishments in the area.

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Royston Hall, about three kilometers upstream from the mouth of the Umzimkulu River has had a bird’s eye view of the activities along the riverbank for more than a century. This Crown property was granted by public auction to John Henry Woods in 1897 and then sold to owner of the Curry Shipping Line, Charles Hitchens, in 1898.The house was completed in 1902. Built by George Sinclair and his son Colin, the house was to be used as a beach cottage by Hitchen’s wife. She rejected the home as being too remote and not on the beach, and it was sold to Hugh Lancaster Corbett in 1904. He sold it to Durban born and Durban High School educated John Royston, who was the 4th son of William Royston of Bellair. He only took transfer in 1919, having lived in the house since 1906 and farmed along the Old St Faiths Road.The south bank had a bridle path along which horses drew barges and tugs from the lime and marble, upstream quarries, and to ‘Nomansland’, now Transkei, and to the old Cape Colony. The old river crossing at Batstones causeway, about 500 metres upstream was used by ox-wagons, that utilized the north bank directly below Royston Hall to access the roads leading north to Durban, or along the Old St Faith’s Road to the interior. This road was the original road to the house, but it was washed away in the 1959 flood. This old crossing was then superseded by the shared road/rail bridge that ran from the now Port Shepstone Country Club on the north bank, across to Spillers Wharf, on the south bank. Floods in May 1959 took care of this combined link and it was replaced by the road/rail bridge at the river mouth. Much later the high-level N2 bridge adjacent to the Batstones Bridge, was constructed. As if all this action was not enough, in 1983, the local Natal Portland Cement Company built two tunnels of 810m and 140m, almost under Royston Hall. They now haul lime intermittently, with 3 locos and 43 trucks, from Simuma Lime Works to the Coedmore factory close to Durban. The property was spared the expected destruction as the underground material was soft shale and required no blasting that would have damaged the home. Brigadier General John (Jack) Robinson Royston, (29 April 1860 - 29 April 1942), a highly respected cavalryman, moved into the house in the early 1900’s and named it ‘Mount Romani’, after the battle he had led at Mount Romani against the Turks in the Gaza strip, Palestine in 1917. Royston had first seen service in the Anglo Zulu War with Lord Chelmsford in 1879, the Anglo Boer War (1899-1902) and the Bhambatha Rebellion of 1906. During WWI, he was operational firstly in South West Africa and later in North Africa. He was awarded the DSO in 1902 and the Order of St Michael and George (CMG) in 1903, after the Anglo Boer War. He was nicknamed ‘Galloping Jack’ by the Australian troops in WWI as commander of the 3rd Australian Light Horse Brigade. His fearless and yet seemingly irresponsible actions on horseback gained him notoriety and respect, after valiantly “charging up and down the trenches throughout the night, encouraging his boys to hold their positions and that at dawn a victory, would soon break.” Royston married his first wife, Lillian (nee Hough) in 1903, who died in 1926 having born him a son, John who died childless in 1971, and daughters Marjorie who died in 1928 and Vivian who married John Stranack. Royston in 1937 married Mildred Wright who lived there after the 82-year-old, Royston’s death in 1942, only to be murdered by the gardener, Mdudulwa Ngwazi, on 2 September 1959. Mildred had returned unexpectedly and found him helping himself to her property. The stained-glass front door adding ambience to the front hall. Mildred was strangled on the stairway leading to the upper bedrooms and her body hidden in an alcove. Mdudulwa was charged, found guilty and hanged for his crime. The lounge with one of the three Grand Piano's imported into SA by mining magnate, Barney Barnato. Royston was first buried on the property. His body was exhumed in 1974 and was reinterred in Durban’s Wyatt Road Military Cemetery next to his friend, General Molyneaux. Royston had made it a condition of his will that the property never be sold and should be handed down the male family line. Seth Stranack, the only remaining male descendent had this clause overturned by the courts, as he was living in the United States and had no intention of returning to South Africa. This allowed the property to be sold. The property was empty for 15 years after Mildred’s death and was cared for by Royston’s godson Charles Foxon until acquired from Seth Stranack by the Blankenberg family in 1974. By now the house was in a derelict state requiring restoration. The Blankenberg’s built the pool and did the first major restoration of the property. The house was next acquired by NPC in 1981 and used as an engineer’s residence and site office whilst the tunnels were built. The tennis courts and club house on a level site leading down to the river were used for storage and no longer exist, other than the tall palm trees marking the pathway. Two years later, in 1986, the house was acquired by big game hunter and former coffee farmer from Kenya, Richard Kotovich. The house was extensively damaged by a fire in 1988 and restored by the Kotovich family who were the owners at the time. The third-floor bedroom was not replaced after the fire. The home was acquired from the NBS Bank by Veronica Greene and Patrick Collins in 1994 after Kotovich’s bankruptcy. The current owners Ria and Roderick Hackland acquired the property in 2009 and the property, now known as Royston Hall, was converted to an upmarket guesthouse and home for the Hacklands, who treasure the property and its important heritage. They are worthy owners of this heritage home, having previously owned and run the Umtentweni Hotel. Ria is an accomplished interior designer. Ria had wished to acquire the property from NPC many years before, a dream delayed, but finally realized. This Victorian Manor with an added annexure of 4-bedroom suites is in a private 14.8-acre indigenous forest nature reserve. The Manor has two entrance halls, patios, library, dining room and lounge on the ground floor and four of nine bedrooms atop the grand wooden staircase, on the first floor. The Manor has nine guest bedrooms, and the one suite or annex is used as the Hacklands personal bedroom en-suite. The 650m2 house was listed with the National Monuments Council in 1997 as a Conservation Worthy Property. The house has Oregon Pine sash windows, floors and stairway and a large bay window with views over the Umzimkulu River. Victorian lamps with porcelain bowls for fuel, hang from the ceilings and stained-glass in the doors enhance the mansions ambiance. The Rhodesian Teak doors of the annex were procured from a deconsecrated and demolished Chapel in the Knysna district.

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Scottburgh and Park Rynie are busy holiday destinations on the KZN South coast with many old buildings. Renishaw is a small village close to Scottburgh which origonally was a sugar mill owned by the Crookes family.Their private graveyard & church overlooks Scottburgh

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Shelley and St Michaels beaches are premier holiday beaches on the South Coast.This gallery features the beaches , commercial areas ,the Shelley Boat launch site and also some of the churches like the Bethanien Lutheran church.

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Southbroom is the more residential holiday and retirement area of the south coast. The area has the crocodile farm, old Bizana river bridge, beaches, clubs and the Golf courses. This gallery covers much of these highlights.

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This album has images of South Coast Bridges which includes, Bayhead, Umlaas Canal (Umlazi River), Isipingo, and Umhlatuzana (into the Bay).

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This album features the road (R102 & N2), and rail bridges between Scottburgh and Sezela on the KZN south coast. Crossings include, Mahlangwana, Mpandinyoni, Umgagbaba, Umzinto and Widenham bridges.

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Umgababa and Illovo are residential areas on the coast, south of Durban. This gallery has aerial images of the area, images of some of the bridges and of an ANC - SACP struggle monument.

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Umkomaas, 49 km south of Durban on the N2, was started in 1861 as a harbour to export sugar which is grown widely in the surrounding hinterland. In the 1950\'s a large paper plant (Saiccor) was established on the Umkomaas river and a large Italian construction community arose. The Umkomaas River rises near Giants Castle in the Drakensberg and is one of the few undammed rivers in KZN. The Town is the launch spot for diving adventures to the coral reef, Aliwal Shoal a distance 5km away.

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The Umkomaas Bowling Club is based in Moodie Street adjacent to the Golf Club and was established in 1923. The Club has two greens, a club house and a pub. This album has images of the Club along with the Honours Boards and memorabilia inside the Clubhouse.

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The Umkomaas River is probably one of the most pristine rivers in KZN, running unhindered from the Drakensburg mountains to the sea at Umkomaas village. This album has images of the Umkomaas Canoe Marathon which is held annually and is considered one of the most challenging white water races in S.A. Many of the images are taken in the vicinity of Hella Hella and St Josephines Bridge and some of the establishments providing access to the river for canoeing and rafting. The late Dr Ian Player advocated that this river should never be dammed and remain one of the few unspoilt rivers in KZN. The scenery speaks for itself.

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Umzinto which is about 10 kms west of the N2 ,south of Scottburgh is split into a north & a south section. Umzinto is essentially a trading town but it has many old buildings , such as the St Patricks Church established in 1861. The churches graveyard has graves from many of the founders of other local resorts such as the Penningtons and Bayzleys.

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Uvongo is a prime beach resort on the south coast and has the Uvongo River entering the sea after a plunging water fall close to the beach. This gallery has photos of the area, beaches including aerial views, and images of the local facilities and memorials.

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Centocow (Czestochowa) was founded in 1888 by Abbot Francis Pfanner on the banks of the Umzimkulu River near Creighton, with funds donated by a Polish princess. Centocow formed one of the satellite missions under the umbrella of the Marrianhill Monastery. The first church was built in 1892 and is now a gallery & Museum. Due to the growth of the congregation a second church dedicated to the Sacred Heart was built, starting in October 1910 and completed in December 1913. In 1936 a hospital was built and named St Apollinaris named after the parish priest Father Apollinaris Schwamberger. Centocow in 1954 became part of the Umzimkulu diocese and the Marrianhill brothers and sisters left. This album has images of the Churches, residences, hospital and support structures built over the inter leading years.

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Abbot Francis Pfanner who founded Marrianhill Mission in 1882, established Emaus Mission in 1884 and spent the last 15 years of his life here when he died in 1909. The house he built in 1904 and his life is commemorated on a plaque.

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This Mission Station near Umzimkulu was also established in the 1880's by Abbot Francis Pfanner. Several hundred Brothers and Nuns worked at this mission station, but other than the Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, the rest of the extensive structures lie derelict or burnt, including the school adjacent to the Mission. This album has images of most of the structures and the Cathedral which captures its sad state.

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This album has images of the Maria Hilf Trappist Mission established by Abbott Francis Pfanner and of a separate church in the area established by B Dhlamini in 1963. Abbott Pfanner was responsible for the establishment of the satellite Missions for Marrianhill near Pinetown.

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