Phoenix is a South African town about 25 kilometres northwest 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 ...

Central, in KwaZulu-Natal,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It was established as a town by the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

government in 1976, but it has a long history of Indian occupation. It is associated with the

Phoenix Settlement Inanda or eNanda ( isiZulu: ''pleasant place'', also possibly, ''level-topped hill'') is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa that is situated 30 km north-west of the Durban CBD; it forms part of eThekwini, the Greater Durban Metropolita ...

, built by

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

. In 2021, riots broke out in KwaZulu-Natal after the imprisonment of former president

Jacob Zuma Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma (; born 12 April 1942) is a South African politician who served as the fourth president of South Africa from 2009 to 2018. He is also referred to by his initials JZ and clan name Msholozi, and was a former anti-aparth ...

. The riots also occurred in Phoenix and armed citizen militias were formed. There were violent clashes between the community and rioter from nearby settlements like Inanda, which caused the deaths of 36 people and increased racial tensions between Indian and black communities in the area.

History

The township was founded initially as a sugarcane estate. After the passing of the Group Areas Act, a law which designated specific regions for occupation by specific races, Phoenix became an Indian township. Sections were initially labelled as precincts or units, and then later renamed with proper street addresses.

2021 KZN riots

Following the imprisonment of former president

for contempt of court, riots broke out in KwaZulu-Natal on July 9, 2021. Phoenix was among the towns affected. Shops were looted and property was vandalised. Due to a lack of police response during the riots, citizen militias formed to patrol the town and set up roadblocks to prevent rioters from entering the area and looters from absconding with stolen goods. Physical altercations then occurred between the Phoenix community and interlopers from the nearby predominantly black community of Inanda. Police Minister

Bheki Cele Bhekokwakhe "Bheki" Hamilton Cele (born 22 April 1952) has been the South African Minister of Police since February 2018. He was National Commissioner of the South African Police Service for two years, until misconduct allegations led to his su ...

claimed that 20 deaths happened in Phoenix as a result of such clashes. The riots exacerbated racial tensions between the Indian and black communities in the area, and led to accusations of racism at the Indian community by the black community. Fake reports of further violence and killings sprung up on social networks in the aftermath. Following the unrest, supporters of Zuma marched to protest the Phoenix killings.

Places in Phoenix

Until the early 1990s, Phoenix was divided into 'units' by the local government. These units have since been given street and area names, such as: * Corngrove road * Magmore place * Grove End (Unit 17) * Stanmore (Unit 18) * Eastbury (Unit 7) * Southgate * Greenbury (Unit 2) * Rainham (Unit 3) * Stonebridge (Unit 4) * Centenary Park * Campbell's Town * Centenary Heights * Rockford * Clayfield (Unit 5) * Longcroft (Unit 8) * Rydalvale (Unit 9) * Brookdale * Trenance Manor * Sastripark * Palmview * Caneside (Unit 20) * Foresthaven (Unit 21) * Woodview * Sunford (Unit 15) * Redfern (Unit 10) * Whetstone (Unit 11) * Westham (Unit 12) * Lenham (Unit 13) * Tiffmore pl ( unit 17 ) * Magmore pl road has two entrances into 520 Grove end drive and also next to 46 and 48 Grove end drive ,the road continue at from 43 Magmore place road till 48 Grove end drive . This road is a official road and by government. However, many local people still refer to areas by their unit numbers. There are many religious establishments such as masjids, temples and churches present in Phoenix.

Media and communication

Local news is distributed via regional newspapers such as the Rising Sun, the Post and Phoenix Tabloid ,Daily News & Mercury ,Sunday times In terms of telecommunications and Internet access, 99% of Phoenix is covered by either wireless Internet connections such as 5G , 4G , LTE,

UMTS The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), UMTS is a component of the In ...

EDGE Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed ...

, and

HSDPA High Speed Packet Access (HSPA) is an amalgamation of two mobile protocols—High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) and High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA)—that extends and improves the performance of existing 3G mobile telecommunic ...

, or have access to a landline/

ADSL Asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) is a type of digital subscriber line (DSL) technology, a data communications technology that enables faster data transmission over copper telephone lines than a conventional voiceband modem can provide. ...

. The majority of ADSL users in Phoenix use Telkomsa as their Internet service provider. There are also many local

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

pages that are used to relay news and crime related incidents such as Grove end & Stanmore page on Facebook helping community,

Health and education

Public education in the Phoenix area is provided by various primary and secondary schools, one technikon and various FET colleges. There is one major government hospital (Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital), and one private hospital (Mount Edgecombe Hospital). Various clinics are also to be found, e. g. Grove End Clinic. List of schools in Phoenix: * Wembley Primary School * Natest Primary School * Mahathma Primary School * Sunford Primary School * Avonford Secondary School * Solvista Secondary School * Rustic Manor Primary School * Stanmore Secondary & Primary School * Grove End Secondary School * Woodview Primary & Secondary School * Highstone Primary School (Unit 11) * Grandmore Primary School * Palmview Primary School * Riverview Primary School * Olimpia Primary School * Palmview Secondary School * Sastripark Secondary School * Northmead Secondary School (Unit 10) * Phoenix Secondary School (Unit 5) * Stonebridge Primary School (Unit 4) * Pioneer Primary School (Unit 4) * Daleview Secondary School (Unit 2) * Greenbury Primary School (Unit 2) * Greenbury Secondary School (Unit 2) * Clayhaven Primary School (Unit 5) * Hopeville Primary School (Unit 3) * Northlen Primary School (Unit 13) * Crystal Point Secondary School (Unit 13) * Brookdale Secondary School (Unit 12) * Trenance Manor Secondary School * Millview Primary School (Unit 7) * Eastbury Secondary School (Unit 7) * Rydalvale Primary School (Unit 9) * Rydalpark Secondary School (Unit 9) * Havenpark Secondary School * Foresthaven Secondary school * Earlington Secondary School * Brailsford Primary School * Phoenix Technical Secondary School * Whetstone Primary School (Unit 11) * Clayheights Primary School (Unit 20) * Redfern Primary School (Unit 10) * Ferndale Combined School

Shopping centres

Phoenix Plaza, Gem City, Starwood Mall , The Acropolis mall and Top Hat supermarket & some of the few shopping centres that can be found in Phoenix's CBD. These centres cater for various needs from top brand shops to local products.

Phoenix Plaza

Phoenix Plaza owned by Vukile Property Fund is a shopping centre situated north of Durban. The centre is home to more than 105 independent and national retailers with Shoprite as its anchor tenant. The shopping centre totalling a gross lettable area of 24,341 m² was built in 1993.

Transport

Three main means of public transport are available: private owned buses, taxis and the rail system including

Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), packa ...

& Taxify. Phoenix has its own railway station which connects to many towns in Durban. The

King Shaka International King Shaka International Airport , abbreviated KSIA, is the primary international airport serving Durban, South Africa. Located in La Mercy, KwaZulu-Natal, approximately north of the city centre of Durban. The airport opened its doors to pass ...

Airport is a short drive away, which provides various outlets. Totaling 175 at its peak in the mid-90s, Phoenix had one of the largest numbers of privately owned buses in South Africa. The two bus services that contributed to the transport landscape of the area were Mayville Coach Lines and Springfield Safari Tours (SOS).

Industrial sector

Phoenix also hosts a huge industrial area with big companies such as SAB Africa Miller, which produces beverages in the Coca-Cola family and many new Industrial company recently opened up

References

{{Authority control Populated places in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality Former Indian townships in South Africa Townships in KwaZulu-Natal