Hillcrest is a town in the

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 ...

province of

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 ...

that forms part of the

eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality () is a metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality, created in 2000, that includes the city of Durban and surrounding towns. eThekwini is one of the 11 Districts of South Africa, di ...

and is situated approximately 32 km (20 mi) north-west 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 ...

and 53 km (33 mi) south-east of

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 ...

History

Hillcrest was formerly a sleepy village, governed by its own Town Board on the outskirts of

that has now become a booming suburb incorporated into the

. ''Hill Crest'' (as the town's name was variously spelt until 1969) was founded on a rise in the main road from Durban to Pietermaritzburg in 1895 as a farming or "weekend" village, then a good distance from what was the emerging port of Port Natal. The village was laid out as leasehold sites on a portion of the farm Albinia owned by William Gillitt, one of the main pioneer families of the area and after which the nearby suburb of Gillitts is named. One of the other early families to set up in the area was the Acutts who had already established the well known in Durban estate agents firm of that name. In 1903 the first school in the village was established in a wood and iron cottage in Hospital Road leased to a Mrs McMillian, the principal of the first Highbury School, by Horace Acutt. When the first Hillcrest Health Committee was established in 1943, the total all-race population was 1135 persons and only the Main Road was hardened. Nkutu Road was hardened with klinker in 1947 and this was followed in 1951 with the hardening of the first portion of Inanda Road. In 1962 blacktopping of selected roads in the central area began, followed by further roads in 1965. By 1971, when Town Board status was obtained, the total population had grown to 2799 persons. The Hillcrest Waste Water Treatment Plant was established in the 1990s, then serving only the central commercial area of the village with phased extensions planned in time, with other areas continuing on septic tanks. Prior to 1 December 2023, vehicle registration plates in Hillcrest started with NU - N for Natal, U for Upper Highway which covered the suburbs within the Upper Highway Area such as

Kloof Kloof is a 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 of the eThekwini M ...

, Gillitts, Botha's Hill, Assagay,

Waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

and Everton as well as New Germany and Queensburgh just outside the Upper Highway.

Hillcrest today

Hillcrest lost its independent Town Board status in 1996 and was made subject to administration by the Outer West Local Council - a substructure council of the then Durban Unicity. In 2000, the Outer West Local Council, along with other local councils, was disestablished and were replaced by the single eThekwini Municipality encompassing the entire Durban metropolitan area. With rural origins, Hillcrest has been swept up in Durban's

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

and experienced a building boom in the late 1990s and 2000s with the construction of many shopping centres and gated communities such as Cotswold Downs, Camelot and Plantations. Hillcrest View

Geography

Hillcrest is situated in the Upper Highway Area of

, approximately 32 kilometres (20 mi) north-west of the city and is bordered by Gillitts and Everton to the east,

to the north-east and Botha's Hill and Assagay to the north-west. It lies at an altitude of approximately 680 m (2231 ft) above sea level in the Valley of a Thousand Hills, just above Durban.

Suburban areas

Source: * Albany ''(Residential)'' * Albina ''(Residential)'' * Belvedere ''(Residential)'' * Belvedere Ext 1 ''(Residential)'' * Cotswold Downs Golf and Country Estate ''(Residential)'' * Hilldene ''(Residential)'' * Plantations ''(Residential)'' * West Riding ''(Residential)''

Retail

Old Main Road is the main retail thoroughfare of the central business district, lined by a number of local shops, restaurants and shopping centres such as Hillcrest Corner, which is the largest in Hillcrest, Christians Village, The Colony, Hillgate, Hillcrest Centre, Lillies Quarter and Oxford Village Centre. On 27 March 2025, the Greater Hillcrest area welcomed the new Westown Square Shopping Centre in Westown, Shongweni, 4 km to the south-west of Hillcrest. Another shopping centre, Cotswold Square in Cotswold Downs to the north-east, is expected to open its doors in July 2025.

Safety

Hillcrest Police Station is located on Paddock Road and adjacent to Old Main Road with its large SAPS policing precinct covering Hillcrest, Gillitts, Everton,

, Ngcolosi, Botha’s Hill, Shongweni and Summerveld.

Infrastructure

Education

A public school system is provided in Hillcrest including Hillcrest High School and Hillcrest Primary School, with Winston Park Primary School in nearby Winston Park. Private schools include Highbury Preparatory School, Curro: HCA an
Waterfall Schools
with Kearsney College and the Roseway Waldorf School in nearby Botha's Hill and

Alverstone Alverstone is a village 2 miles from the east coast of the Isle of Wight, near Sandown. The name Alverstone is most likely of Saxon origin meaning "Alfred's Farm". Up until 1960, boating took place on the river and tea-gardens were very popula ...

respectively.

Healthcare

Hillcrest is served by two hospitals, namely the Hillcrest Hospital, a specialised public hospital for chronically ill patients and the Busamed Hillcrest Private Hospital, owned by major South African private health group, Busamed, located just outside Hillcrest.

Transport

Roads

Hillcrest lies just off the M13 (King Cetshwayo Highway) heading south-east to

(via Gillitts,

Pinetown Pinetown is a city that forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, based just inland from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The city is situated 16 km (10 mi) north-west of Durban and 64 km (40 mi) south-east of Pieterm ...

and Westville) and the N3 (Mariannhill Toll Route) connecting Durban and

. However, the main route through the town is the R103 (Old Main Road) which heads north-west to Botha’s Hill and Inchanga, forming part of the old main road between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Heading north-west, the M33 (Inanda Road) connects to

. Heading south-west, the M46 (Kassier Road) connects to Assagay and Shongweni.

Notable residents

* Dale Benkenstein,

Nashua Dolphins The Dolphins (known as the Hollywood Dolphins for sponsorship reasons) are a cricket team representing the KwaZulu-Natal (Coastal) province in South Africa. They take part in the CSA 4-Day Series first-class competition, the Momentum One-Day ...

cricket player * Wayne Fyvie, former

Sharks Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

and SA national rugby player *

Ian McIntosh Ian McIntosh (24 September 1938 – 5 April 2023) was a Zimbabwean–South African rugby union coach. He served as head coach for the Springboks during 1993 and 1994. McIntosh grew up near Bulawayo in Matabeleland, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbab ...

, former Rhodesian,

and SA national rugby coach *

Shaun Pollock Shaun Maclean Pollock (born 16 July 1973) is a South African cricket commentator and former cricketer, who was captain in all formats of the game. A bowling all-rounder, Pollock along with Allan Donald formed a bowling partnership for many year ...

, former Dolphins and SA national cricket player and captain *

Terence Parkin Terence Mike Parkin (born 12 April 1980 in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) is a swimmer from South Africa, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in the 200m Breaststroke. Parkin, who was born deaf, also competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics, ...

, Olympic medalist * Heather Hamilton, Miss South Africa 1999,

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

top 10 1999,

Miss World Miss World is the oldest existing international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951. Since his death in 2000, Morley's widow, Julia Morley, has co-chaired the pageant. Along with Miss Universe, Mi ...

contestant 2000 * Megan Coleman, Miss South Africa 2006,

2007,

contestant 2007 * Harold 'Tiger' Wright, South African Champion Jockey * Sir Liege Hulett, Founder of Kearsney College, founder of Hulett's Sugar.Tongaat Hulletts history * Horace Smethurst, Springbok Soccer Captain, Australia New Zealand Tour 1947, soccer player

References

Sources

*''Lest We Forget'' - The Story of Hillcrest 1895 - 1995, Elizabeth Camp, *''Hillcrest Gillitts Activity Corridor Local Development Plan'' - Outer West Local Council, 2000 *''The Highway Mail'', 1 June 2011. *''The Hilltop'', 2 June 2011. *''Independent Electoral Commission (South Africa)'', 9 June 2011. {{Authority control Populated places in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality Populated places established in 1896