Kloof is a leafy upper-class town, that includes a smaller area called Everton, located approximately 26 km north-west 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. Once an independent municipality, it now forms part of greater

area of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. The word ''Kloof'' (''cf.'' cleft) means '

gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

' in Afrikaans and the area is named after the deep ravine formed by the Molweni stream ''(stream of high cliffs)''. The Kloof Gorge is part of the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve. It is a predominantly English-speaking area. Kloof features several upmarket shopping centres and the

Kloof Country Club Kloof is a leafy upper-class town, that includes a smaller area called Everton, located approximately 26 km north-west of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Once an independent municipality, it now forms part of greater Durban area ...

, founded in 1927. It is known as a mist-belt with winding roads and tree-surrounded mansions.

History

Details of the history of Kloof has been written by

Richmond Farm

This part of

was originally a farm 'Richmond', whose survey was ordained by the first Lieutenant-Governor of Colony Sir Martin West, following his 1845 appointment to the post; he also named it, after

Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond General Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, 4th Duke of Lennox, 4th Duke of Aubigny, (9 December 176428 August 1819) was a Scottish peer, soldier, politician, and Governor-general of British North America. Background Richmond was born to Ge ...

( Yorkshire, England). The land Kloof occupies formed the Richmond Farm No. 999: this was purchased by William Swan FIELD, the first Collector of Customs (position he held until 1852) for Natal Colony, in 1845 for an amount of £245. He was also one of the first Magistrates of

. In 1845 his brother John Coote FIELD and his family settled on the farm, having arrived from the Cape Colony on the ''Pilot''. The farm was eventually transferred into J C Field's name by Deed of Transfer in 1867, at a declared value of £1,401 pounds & 10

shilling The shilling is a historical coin, and the name of a unit of modern currencies formerly used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, other British Commonwealth countries and Ireland, where they were generally equivalent to 12 pence o ...

s. The original farmhouse, called Richmond House, was built by J C Field in 1854 to replace an earlier wattle & daub house. The 'Richmond' section of the farm passed to his son John Coote FIELD the Second in 1880 on the occasion of his marriage, who partially demolished the original Richmond House and rebuilt another homestead nearby. J C Field the First died in 1896, and upon the death of his widow in 1901 the Farm was divided amongst the surviving heirs: for each son, for each daughter, and the homestead plus to his youngest son Benjamin Cromwell Colenso FIELD. Current surviving relatives of J C Field still reside in the highway area: John Padley Field (adopted) and his daughter Kathleen Merle Field.

Kloof village

The further subdivisions and sale of portions of Richmond Farm No. 999 by the Field heirs after 1901 resulted in the birth of Kloof as a residential area: numerous plots were sold to wealthy Durban residents and businessmen, who built country house retreats close to the city, but (due to its 550 m

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

elevation) removed from the Durban humidity and heat. These were particularly favoured by their wives and children during the long hot summer holidays. From the 1890s onwards the appearance of the area therefore changed significantly, from its previous '

sandstone sourveld Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) b ...

' grassland to its current heavily wooded flora. Kloof was originally called 'Krantzkloof' by J C Field the First, after the nearby Kloof

Gorge A canyon (from ; archaic British English spelling: ''cañon''), or gorge, is a deep cleft between escarpments or cliffs resulting from weathering and the erosion, erosive activity of a river over geologic time scales. Rivers have a natural tenden ...

, but this name was later changed to 'Kloof' at the special request of the General Manager of the Railways, since due to a name similarity with Kranskop there had been significant confusion and misdeliveries of railway goods: the Railway Station was therefore renamed, and the town with it. The current Station building is a replacement of an earlier one, built in 1896, and it remained operational until the closure of this branch of the Durban-

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; Zulu: umGungundlovu) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It was founded in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. Its Zulu name umGungundlovu ...

railway line to passenger traffic in the 1970s. The building is now being utilised as a popular bar restaurant; it is also the main terminus of the

Umgeni Steam Railway The Umgeni Steam Railway is a gauge heritage railway at Inchanga, near Durban. The Durban to Pietermaritzburg line was built in the 1880s; it runs through a long tunnel at Drummond built in 1878, which is probably the oldest tunnel in use ...

. As roads improved, an increasing number of people began permanently living in Kloof and during the 1960s and 1970s, the development of the traditional Kloof houses occurred. These consisted of large houses that were built on stands of at least . Many of the houses have slate roofs, a swimming pool, small guest houses and tennis courts and they are often tucked away amidst the trees.

Geography

Kloof is mostly located on the Kloof Plateau which lies just above Pinetown. The town extends from the top of Field's Hill and borders Winston Park,

Gillitts Gillitts is a town in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa. Overview It is about inland from the Durban city centre at an elevation of 1800 feet (600 m ASL). Although Durban is semi-tropical and very humid, Gillitts is above the humidity a ...

, Forest Hills and Hillcrest. These suburbs are collectively known as the Upper Highway Area or the Outer West region of

. Kloof is bordered by

and Everton in the west, Molweni in the north, Waterfall in the north-west, Wyebank in the north-east, Pinetown in the east and Winston Park in the south.

Transport

The M13 highway (built in the 1940s) intersects Kloof connecting the town to Pinetown, Westville and

to the east and

, Hillcrest and

(via the N3) to the west. As from 16 June this forms part of the route of the annual Comrades Marathon, an approximately ultra-marathon run between

and

since 1924.

Schools

Kloof has a

state school State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...

network that consists of

Kloof High School Kloof High School is a public, co-educational high school located in Kloof, near Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. History Kloof High School opened in February 1960 under the first headmaster, Mr G. Goodwin. The 127 students were taught ...

, Forest View Primary School, Kloof Senior Primary School, Kloof Junior Primary School and Kloof Pre-Primary School. There are also several private schools located in Kloof including

Thomas More College This is a list of legal and educational institutions named Thomas More. Legal institutions *Thomas More Building at the Royal Courts of Justice in The Strand, London ** Thomas More Courts, courts of the Chancery Division of the High Court of Ju ...

and St Mary's Diocesan School for Girls. In the broader area there is also

Highbury Preparatory School Highbury Preparatory School is a South African private school for boys located in Hillcrest (eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality), KwaZulu-Natal. History Highbury was founded in 1903 by Sibella Douglas McMillan. It was named after Highbury House ...

in Hillcrest and Kearsney College in

Botha's Hill Botha's Hill (locally , ) is a small town outside Hillcrest in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It remains a peaceful beautiful hill where regular country style food and craft markets are held. It is the gateway to the Valley of a Thousand Hills. Ke ...

Wildlife

The many trees that define Kloof provide for an abundance of birds, including the Crowned eagle. Other wildlife has been preserved in greenbelt areas such as the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve, which includes the Kloof Gorge, and the Everton Conservancy. The Reserve is centered on the main gorge cut by the eMolweni River, and extends in total 532 ha (1,315 ac). It was established by the

Natal Parks Board Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is a governmental organisation responsible for maintaining nature conservation, wildlife conservation areas and biodiversity in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Their headquarters is in Queen Elizabeth Park situated on th ...

in 1950. The area around the gorge was once the habitat of

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

s and a leopard features prominently on the Kloof crest. (The stuffed leopard in the Durban Museum reportedly was shot in the area). Chacma baboon were once re-introduced to the reserve, but unfortunately, after becoming troublesome, were removed. Bushpig may also be found in the reserve. Both would likely have formed part of the diet of the leopard. Many

porcupine Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizont ...

are still present in open areas like the local

Kloof and Upper Highway SPCA Kloof is a leafy upper-class town, that includes a smaller area called Everton, located approximately 26 km north-west of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Once an independent municipality, it now forms part of greater Durban area ...

grounds. Genets are often found in forest areas frequent trees looking for prey.

Climate

Average yearly rainfall is , based on records which date back to 1935. The rainy season is from the October to March summer months, while winters tend to be very dry. Summer temperatures range from , with winter temperatures between .

Botanical gardens

Private botanical gardens which were established by a well-known horticulturalist are now the gardens of a hotel known as the Makaranga Lodge after tall trees planted in the gardens. Visitors are able to arrange guided tours.

The golf course

The

includes a highly rated 18-hole golf course, which was the only golf course outside of Durban for many years. The M13 highway runs parallel to it.

Places of interest

The Krantzview Nature Reserve is also home to popular rock climbing routes which are used by beginners and experts. It is one of the stomping grounds of sport and traditional rock climbing and if you are more of a spectator, the gorge has easily accessible hiking trails that lead to breath-taking views.

Shopping

*Delcairn Centre *Field's Shopping Centre *Maytime Shopping Centre *The Village Mall
Kloof & Upper Highway SPCA
(Tea garden, Nursery, Secondhand shops, Animal Shelter, Trail walks)

Activity centres

(golf course, tennis and squash courts, cricket oval, and facilities) * Krantzkloof Nature Reserve and Kloof Gorge *Kloof Methodist Church *Kloof Baptist Church *Kloof Tennis Club *St. Agnes Anglican Church, the church building, dating from the 1950s, was built on a piece of land on the farm section 'Glenholm', owned by T. S. P. Field and donated by him to the Anglican Diocese of Natal. *Our Lady of Mercy Catholic Church * Virgin Active gym (formerly Health & Racquet Club)
Kloof Harvest ChurchMemorial Park
(Also known as the dog park)
West Point Church

Famous residents: past and present

* Ladysmith Black Mambazo * Peter Brown, politician *Sir

William Firth The Hon. William Firth (21 July 1768 – 25 February 1838) was a Canadian lawyer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada. Son of merchant William Firth and his wife Elizabeth, Firth studied law and became a barrister. He married Anne Wat ...

*Sir Guy Hulett, sugar baron * Marguerite Poland, author *

Bobby Skinstad Robert Brian Skinstad (born 3 July 1976) is a former rugby union professional player who has represented the South African national team, the Springboks. He played in the positions of flanker and number eight. Education Skinstad lived in Kloof ...

, Springbok rugby player * BJ Botha, Springbok rugby player * Mike Hoare, Irish mercenary *

Alan Paton Alan Stewart Paton (11 January 1903 – 12 April 1988) was a South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' and '' Too Late the Phalarope''. Family Paton was born in Pietermaritzbu ...

, writer and leader of the Liberal Party of South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s *

Simon Lessing Simon Christopher Lessing, Order of the British Empire, MBE, (born 12 February 1971) is a British triathlete who won five International Triathlon Union (ITU) world titles (1992, 1995(2), 1996 and 1998). He also won races at Ironman 70.3, 70.3 ( ...

, world triathlon champion * Wally Hammond England and Gloucester cricketer died in Kloof 1 July 1965

References

Sources

* *''The Highway Mail'', 1 June 2011. *''The Hilltop'', 2 June 2011. *''Independent Electoral Commission (South Africa)'', 9 June 2011.

External links

Kloof Community WebsiteKloof Pre-Primary School WebsiteKloof Junior Primary School WebsiteKloof Senior Primary School WebsiteKloof High School WebsiteKrantzkloof Nature Reserve WebsiteKloof Conservancy WebsiteOfficial Councillor WebsiteRotary Club of KloofOur Lady of Mercy Catholic ParishKloof & Upper Highway SPCAMemorial Park
{{Authority control Suburbs of Durban Populated places established in 1903 Climbing areas of South Africa 1903 establishments in the Colony of Natal Afrikaans words and phrases