The Berea is a ridge above the city of

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

on the northern side which overlooks the city centre and the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. Berea is also used as a collective designation for the suburbs in the area. It has been described as the area between the Howard College Campus of the

University of KwaZulu-Natal The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN; , ) is a public research university with five campuses in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University ...

and the Burman Bush Nature Reserve. Some of the oldest mansions in Durban were built in this once-forested area. Today, many of these have been converted into offices or made way for apartment buildings. The Berea was once the most expensive real-estate area in the province but is now third to uMhlanga and Durban North. The two main areas of the Berea are Musgrave, Bulwer, and upper Glenwood, which are separated by the N3 national route that leads into the city centre. A related neighbouring area designation is Overport. The Berea borders the orange-roofed Durban suburb of Morningside. Places of interest include Mitchell Park and the Durban Botanic Gardens; and the Howard College campus of the

. Durbanites who have called Berea their home include cricketer Andrew Hudson, radio personality

Alan Khan Alan Khan (born 17 December 1971) is a South African media and radio personality. He hosts the talk show ''Walk the Talk with Alan Khan'' on Lotus FM. In April 2015 Khan was inducted into the South African Radio Hall of Fame. He is currently t ...

, and TV presenter Imraan Vagar. Since the early twentieth century, the suburb has been home to the Durban United Hebrew Congregation.Sad end to Durban’s Great Synagogue
''The South African Jewish Report''. 27 February 2017

In popular culture

Berea in the 1950s is described by the writer

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'' (1948), '' Too Late the Phalarope'' (1953), and the short story ''The Wa ...

in the novel '' Ah, but Your Land Is Beautiful'' as being notable for its "stately indigenous trees".

Geography

The Berea borders on the uMngeni River to the north, Springfield to the north-west,

Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about northeast of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the largest concentration of orthodox Ashken ...

and Durban Central to the east, KwaKhangela and Bayhead to the south-east, Sea View, Glenmore and Carrington Heights to the south, uMkumbaan to the south-west and Wiggins, Bonela, Cato Crest and Sparks to the west.

Demographics

In the 2001 Census, data was provided for the individual sub-places of Stellawood, Umbilo, Glenwood, Bulwer,

, Musgrave, Greyville, Berea North, Overport,

Sydenham Sydenham may refer to: Places Australia * Sydenham, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Sydenham railway station, Sydney * Sydenham, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne ** Sydenham railway line, the name of the Sunbury railway line, Melbourne un ...

, Essenwood, Morningside, and

Windermere Windermere (historically Winder Mere) is a ribbon lake in Cumbria, England, and part of the Lake District. It is the largest lake in England by length, area, and volume, but considerably smaller than the List of lakes and lochs of the United Ki ...

, all of which were classified under the main place of

. However, by the time of the 2011 Census, these areas—excluding Essenwood— were consolidated into a single sub-place known as “Berea,” still under the main place of Durban. Consequently, the 2011 Census does not offer disaggregated data for the individual suburbs that make up the Berea (except Essenwood).

Education

Schools situated in the Berea include * Clarence Primary School * Clifton School *

Durban Girls' College Durban Girls' College is an independent boarding and day school for girls, with weekly boarding facilities for high school pupils, located on the Berea, overlooking the city of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Notable alumnae * Lara L ...

* Durban Girls’ Secondary School * Durban High School * Glenwood High School * Glenwood Preparatory School * Hartley Road Primary School * Hunt Road Secondary School * Maris Stella School for Girls * Penzance Primary School * St. Henry's Marist Brothers' College

Retail

Berea is primarily a residential area, featuring several shopping centres throughout the area, such as: * Berea Centre, Bulwer * City View Shopping Centre, Greyville * Davenport Square, Bulwer * Glenwood Village Shopping Centre, Bulwer * Musgrave Centre, Musgrave * Queensmead Mall, Umbilo * The Atrium, Overport * Windermere Centre

Safety

In terms of policing, the Berea is covered by five SAPS policing precincts including: * Berea: covers Musgrave, western part of

, most of Essenwood and Morningside * Durban Central: covers eastern part of Windermere * Mayville: covers western part of Overport, easternmost part of Essenwood, western part of

and easternmost part of Morningside * Sydenham: covers most of Sydenham and eastern part of Overport * Umbilo: covers Bulwer, Glenwood,

and Umbilo

Transport

Roads

Key arterial routes in the Berea include: * N3 (Western Freeway) – connects Durban CBD to the east with

Pietermaritzburg Pietermaritzburg (; ) is the capital and second-largest city in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa after Durban. It was named in 1838 and is currently governed by the Msunduzi Local Municipality. The town was named in Zulu after King ...

to the north-west. The Berea can be accessed from the N3 via the interchanges at Felix Dlamini Road (exit 4), Peter Mokaba Ridge/Masizi Kunene Road (exit 3) and King Dinuzulu Road (exit 2). * R102 (Umbilo Road; Sydney Road; Umgeni Road) – connects Rossburgh and Mobeni to the south with Avoca to the north via Umbilo, Glenwood, Greyville,

and Morningside. * M8 (Problem Mkhize Road; Edith Benson Crescent; Botanic Gardens Road; Cleaver Road; Bulwer Road; ZK Matthews Road) – connects Essenwood to the north with Glenwood to the south via Musgrave and Bulwer. * M13 (King Dinuzulu Road North and South) – connects Durban Central to the east with Sherwood and Westville to the west via Bulwer and Musgrave. * The M15 (Locksley Drive; Moses Kotane Road; South Road; John Zikhali Road; Gladys Manzi Road) – connects Durban Central to the east with Sherwood to the west via Greyville, Essenwood, Musgrave and Overport. * M17 (Sandile Thusi Road; Springfield Road) connects

to the east with Springfield to the west via Windermere, Essenwood and Morningside. * M32 (Rick Turner Road) – connects Maydon Wharf and KwaKhangela to the east with

Cato Manor Cato Manor is a settlement located from the city centre of Durban, South Africa. It was formed when Indian market gardeners came to settle in the area some time after it was given to George Christopher Cato in 1865, who was the first mayor of ...

to the west via Glenwood, Umbilo and the

References

{{Durban suburbs Suburbs of Durban