Howick is a town located in the
UMngeni Local Municipality of
KwaZulu-Natal Province,
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 ...
. The town is 1050 m above sea level, and about 88 kilometres from the port 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 ...
. It experiences warm summers and cool, dry winters. A snappy chill descends upon Howick when snow falls on the nearby
Drakensberg
The Drakensberg (Zulu language, Zulu: uKhahlamba, Sotho language, Sotho: Maloti, Afrikaans: Drakensberge) is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, Southern Africa, Great Escarpment, which encloses the central South Africa#Geography, Sout ...
. The town is located on the
N3 freeway, connecting it with the rest of South Africa.
The town is the location of
Howick Falls, which is a large
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 ...
that occurs when the
Umgeni River falls 95 metres (311 feet) over
dolerite cliffs on its way to 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), ...
. The waterfall was known as kwaNogqaza or "The Place of the Tall One" by the original
Zulu inhabitants. There are several other waterfalls in the vicinity and all of them have claimed human lives. Near Howick are Cascade Falls (25 m) and Shelter Falls (37 m), while
Karkloof Falls (105 m) is 16 km to the east.
There are also a number of schools in Howick, including
Howick High School.
History
During the 1840s colonisers moving north from
Pietermaritzburg crossed the Umgeni River just west of present-day Howick at the Alleman's Drift. In 1849, the Wesleyan Missionary James Archbell bought three farms above the northern bank of the Umgeni River. Title deeds of the original plots simply named the area "The Village on the Umgeni Waterfall". In 1850, the river crossing was moved to the dangerous but more convenient spot at the top of the Falls. This was less than from where the river plunged over the cliff's edge. It was a treacherous spot, and many travellers and wagons were swept over the falls. With the increase in traffic to the north, the Government decided to establish a village at the crossing, and purchased part of James Archbell's farm. In November 1850, a proclamation appeared in the Natal Government Gazette, offering 36 village allotments on the Umgeni Waterfall Drift for sale. This marked the beginning of the town. In choosing a name for the new town, Government officials decided to honour their Secretary of State for the Colonies in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
. He was
Earl Grey, and had recently acquired the title of Lord Howick. The name derived from his ancestral home of
Howick Hall in
Northumberland
Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...
,
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. Two other towns were named "Howick" at the same time: one in
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
, and the other in
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
.
Howick is possibly the location of the first crewed
flight
Flight or flying is the motion (physics), motion of an Physical object, object through an atmosphere, or through the vacuum of Outer space, space, without contacting any planetary surface. This can be achieved by generating aerodynamic lift ass ...
in the world. Evidence exists that a John Goodman Household flew a self made glider in 1871 and again in 1875 on the outskirts of Howick, close to Karkloof. The actual distance flown and altitude achieved differs from source to source (some sources say the distance was ) but what can be verified is that the distance flown was further, and the duration also longer, than either of the flights made by Lilienthal or the Wright brothers. Today there exists a memorial to Household's achievement at Curry's Post, also a small distance outside Howick.
The Umgeni Valley Ranch or Nature Reserve was established in the 1970s on the then outskirts of Howick by the
Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (
WESSA). The nature reserve consists largely of the deep valley cut by the Mngeni River below the Howick Falls into the surrounding sandstone. WESSA reintroduced game into the area, such as
zebra
Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), the plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. ...
and
wildebeest, and established a number of huts for overnight accommodation.
In December 1996
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...
was awarded "The Freedom of Howick". This followed his arrest some 34 years before, on 5 August 1962, on the main Durban-Johannesburg road, as it was then — more particularly, between Howick and
Lidgetton West. The previously small plaque commemorating the event has since been revamped into a fully operational Mandela Monument with a museum and large bust sculpture of Nelson Mandela, only fully distinguished when viewed from the end of the path from the museum towards the sculpture. The sculpture was created by
Marco Cianfanelli and is constructed of steel beams of between in length.

The annual Mandela day marathon takes place in
Imbali, Pietermaritzburg and finishes at the Mandela capture site in Howick.
In recent years Howick has expanded significantly following the establishment of a number of major retirement villages, such as Amberfield, Amberglen, Amber Valley, Amber Ridge, BrandonsField and Amber Lakes, that flank the Karkloof Falls Road.
Notable people
*
Mabhuti Khanyeza – Former
South Africa national football team player & soccer coach
*
Anthony Ardington – Former first-class cricketer with
Oxford University
The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
& businessman
*
Harry Preston (writer) – Author,
Hollywood screenwriter. Grew up in Howick
Climate
See also
*
Howick Falls
References
External links
Umgeni Local MunicipalityUmgeni Valley Nature Reserve via KZN.org.zaAmber GlenAmber Valley
{{Authority control
Populated places in the uMngeni Local Municipality
Populated places established in 1850