Isipingo is a town situated south of

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, South Africa and currently forms part of

eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality is a metropolitan municipality created in 2000, that includes the city of Durban, South Africa and surrounding towns. eThekwini is one of the 11 districts of KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. The majo ...

. The town is named after the Siphingo River, which in turn is thought to be named (in the

Zulu language Zulu (), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu language of the Nguni branch spoken in Southern Africa. It is the language of the Zulu people, with about 12 million native speakers, who primarily inhabit the province of KwaZulu-Natal o ...

) for the intertwining cat-thorn shrubs ''(

Scutia myrtina ''Scutia myrtina'' is a species of plant in the family Rhamnaceae. It is commonly known as cat-thorn. Description ''Scutia myrtina'' is a variable plant that may grow as a shrub or tree of 2-10 m tall with trunk diameter to 30 cm or ...

)'' present in the area, or the river's winding course.

History

Dick King Richard Philip King (1811–1871) was an English trader and colonist at Port Natal, a British trading station in the region now known as KwaZulu-Natal. He is best known for a historic horseback ride in 1842, where he completed a journey of i ...

went to

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ...

in 1828 and was awarded a large stretch of land between the Umlaas/uMlaza and Mbokodweni rivers at present-day Isipingo Rail, an area where he had already acquired some farmland and built himself a house. King managed a sugar mill in Isipingo until his death in 1871 and was buried in the town. In May 1853, the

Natal Mercury ''The Mercury'', formerly ''The Natal Mercury'', is an English-language newspaper owned by Independent Media (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of Iqbal Survé’s Sekunjalo Investments and published in Durban, South Africa. Content The paper focus ...

reported that Mr Jeffels of Isipingo ventured into sugarcane cultivation and is erecting buildings for sugar manufacturing. The indenture system was used from 1860 to supply cheap Indian labour to the sugar cane farms in Isipingo and the surrounding areas. In 1880, the railway line named the ''South Coast Line'' extension from Rossburgh in Durban to Isipingo Rail was completed and opened. Between 1893 and the outbreak of the Second Boer War, the South Coast Line was extended 44 km (27 mi) from Isipingo Rail to

Park Rynie Park Rynie is a small resort town on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was established in 1857 and possibly named after Renetta (nicknamed Rynie) Hoets, wife of one of the John Phillip Hoffman, partner in the firm Nosworthy ...

. In 1962, the Natal Provincial Council made a decision to incorporate Isipingo Rail and Isipingo Beach into the Borough of

Amanzimtoti Amanzimtoti is a coastal town just south of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The town is well known for its warm climate and numerous beaches, and is a popular tourist destination, particularly with surfers. The annual sardine run attracts m ...

, a seaside town 10 kilometres further south and 1963, Isipingo Rail and Isipingo Beach were declared Indian Group Areas. By government decree, Isipingo Beach and Isipingo Rail would be amalgamated into a single Indian area, to be called Isipingo. In 1972, Isipingo was no longer under the administration of Amanzimtoti and instead was governed by the Isipingo Town Board, an all-Indian self-governing local authority and later in 1974 achieved Borough status. The elite apartheid era suburb of Isipingo Hills was then created.

World War II plane crashes

During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the Coastal Command (

Southern Air Command SAAF Southern Air Command was a formation of the South African Air Force, active from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. Throughout its existence, it had its headquarters at Silvermine, in the Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ...

) deployed

10 Squadron SAAF 10 Squadron was a squadron of the South African Air Force. It was formed as a fighter bomber unit on 1 April 1939 and was deployed in a coastal defence role as part of Coastal Command SAAF until 1943. It was disbanded after the threat of Japanes ...

at Durban and Isipingo – this unit functioned as a torpedo bomber/ coastal reconnaissance squadron. They operated from runways that had been cut out of sugarcane fields- it was in this area that the main runway of the now defunct

Durban International Airport Durban International Airport (formerly Louis Botha Airport) was the international airport of Durban from 1951 until 2010, when it was replaced by King Shaka International Airport, to the north. The airport is co-located with AFB Durban. Hist ...

was later built. The squadron headquarters is now home to the Amanzimtoti Country Club (originally named Isipingo Golf Club). In 1942 the squadron returned to its defense purposes and were re-equipped with Mohawks and Kittyhawks. There are several incidents of Kittyhawk crashes near Isipingo: * 5009 - crashed near Isipingo on 19 June 1944, 2Lt C. V. J. Giddey survived * 5010 - crashed near Isipingo on 7 December 1943 * 5013 - caught fire in flight and crashed near Umbilo on 1 November 1943, 2Lt F. E. Hamm survived * 5014 - stalled after takeoff and crashed near Isipingo on 2 October 1943, 2Lt K. L. Clur survived * 5021 - crashed near Isipingo on 4 October 1943, 2Lt R. A. Hamlyn killed * 5027 - crashed near Isipingo on 22 December 1943, 2Lt A. N. Blake killed * 5082 - crashed near Isipingo on 18 December 1944

Geography

Isipingo is surrounded by Reunion and the defunct

to the north, the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

to the east,

Athlone Park Athlone Park is a small coastal suburb located between Durban and Amanzimtoti in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Geography Athlone Park lies on the mouth of the uMbokodweni River, approximately 19 km south of Durban and 7 km north of Ama ...

and Umbogintwini to the south and

Umlazi Umlazi is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, located south-west of Durban. Organisationally and administratively it forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and its South Municipal Planning Region. It is the fourth largest ...

to the west. Isipingo is divided into seven neighbourhoods, the most established and notable ones being Isipingo Rail (inland alongside the railway) and Isipingo Beach (on a high ridge of sand at the mouth of the Siphingo River) which are separated by the flat industrial area of

Prospecton Prospecton is an industrial suburb located south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. History Since 1931, the open flat undeveloped land of Prospecton which separates the two residential areas of Isipingo, Isipingo Rail inland and Isiping ...

. Isipingo Hills and Malaba Hills are built on the hilly inland area north of the Siphingo River around Isipingo Rail and Lotus Park, Orient Hills and Malukazi are located on the hilly inland area south of the Siphingo River. Isipingo Rail, the commercial and retail hub of Isipingo serves as the area's Central Business District.

Economy

The Isipingo Central Business District is an important retail and transport hub, with many national retailers present. Significant wholesale stores also exist in the Isipingo area. The adjoining major industrial area of

is the location of one of South Africa's largest automobile assembly plants, that of

Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...

. The facility, covering almost , is a place of employment for many Isipingo residents.

Amenities

The amenities of Isipingo include a police station, a

SASSA Sassa is a frazione in the Province of L'Aquila in the Abruzzo region of Italy. After the 2009 L'Aquila earthquake, it has a population of about 2500 inhabitants considering small villages around this frazione. The frazione of Sassa is compos ...

office, two libraries which are the Provincial Isipingo Civic Library in Orient Hills and the Isipingo Beach Library, a private hospital named Isipingo Hospital in Isipingo Hills and three shopping centres which are all in Isipingo Rail namely Isipingo Main, Isipingo Junction and the Isipingo Retail Development (a new retail development on the railway station completed in 2020). The area has access to fine beaches, Reunion Park Beach, Isipingo Beach River Mouth, Tiger Rocks Beach and Dakota Beach, which are regularly frequented by bathers and fishermen, especially during the

sardine run The KwaZulu-Natal sardine run of southern Africa occurs from May through July when billions of sardines – or more specifically the Southern African pilchard ''Sardinops sagax'' – spawn in the cool waters of the Agulhas Bank and move northwar ...

Transport

Rail

Isipingo's railway station is located in Isipingo Rail and is served by the commuter railway service of

Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 12th ...

. It lies on the ''South Coast Line'' which connects to Reunion and Durban in the north-east and Umbogintwini,

, Kingsburgh,

Umgababa Umgababa is a rural community area with a large marketplace for tourists in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It forms part of eThekwini. Etymology The river valley's name ''uMgababa'' is of Zulu origin meaning ''the place of jealousy'', its origin ...

Umkomaas Umkomaas, a small coastal village on the subtropical south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa was formed when a harbour was built in 1861 to export sugar. The village rests beside the mouth of the navigable uMkhomazi River, also known as the Mk ...

Scottburgh Scottburgh () is a coastal resort town located on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It situated south of the mouth of the Mpambanyoni River ''(confuser of birds).'' History Named after Natal Colony Governor John Scott, in 186 ...

and Kelso in the south-west.

Roads

Isipingo Rail is served by its main artery road, ''Phila Ndwandwe Road'' (previously ''Old South Coast Road'') which begins at the intersection with the M30 Griffiths Mxenge Highway in

and ends at the M35 Wilcox Road in Isipingo Hills. The Isipingo area is also served by a number of other arterial routes such as the N2 national highway which runs through Prospecton and links to

and

KwaDukuza KwaDukuza is a municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In 2006, the municipal name was changed to KwaDukuza (which incorporates small towns such as Stanger, Balito, Shaka's Kraal, but the Zulu people in the area called it "Dukuza" well befor ...

in the north and

and

Port Shepstone Port Shepstone is a large town situated on the mouth of the Mzimkhulu River, the largest river on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa. It is located halfway between Hibberdene and Margate and is positioned 120 km south of Durban. ...

in the south, the R102 linking to Reunion and Durban in the north and Amanzimtoti in the south, the M35 ''Willcox Road'' linking to Umlazi Mega City in the north and Umlazi in the west and ''Mfundi Mngadi Drive'' to Umbogintwini and

KwaMakhutha KwaMakhutha is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, located south-west of Durban and means "at the Makhutha location". Geography KwaMakhutha is situated approximately 29 km south-west of Durban and forms part of the eThekwini Metropoli ...

to the south. Isipingo Beach has limited access and can only be accessed through ''The Avenue East'' via the R102 in Prospecton.

Religious sites

There are a number of Hindu temples, four mosques; Isipingo Hills Musjid, Isipingo Beach Musjid, Taleemuddeen Maddrassa Mosque, and Musjid Muqarrabeen, Masjid Mehboobia in Isipingo rail and numerous Christian churches.

Landmarks and important sites

*Isipingo Temple, founded in 1870, dedicated to the Goddess Marieaman *The grave of

. *

manufacturing plant in Prospecton. *SAPREF Oil Refinery (owned by

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard ou ...

and BP) *The town also a has a transit camp on the main road, created as a result of the FIFA World Cup 2010. *Numerous Hindu Temples including Isipingo Hindi Sabha in Isipingo Hills, Dharam Mandhir in Lotus Park and Shree Hanuman Mandhir in Orient Hills

Notes and references

External links

Isipingo Secondary alumni website
{{eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality Populated places in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality KwaZulu-Natal South Coast