Latest News & Developments
from the archives
Gone but not forgotten: the Ellis Brown home Kinnoull
Mark LevinThe site where Ridge Park High School (originally Berea Girls’ High) stands was once occupied by two houses on large grounds, one of which was 399 Ridge Road named “Kinnoull”, owned by the prominent Ellis Brown coffee family for two generations. Kinnoull in 1974 just before its demolition. Its first owner was Joseph Ellis Brown, the founder of the company.
Baumann home ‒ from family mansion to refuge
A graceful double-story Edwardian home at 85 Vause Road on the Berea was built by JML Baumann and his wife who named it “Lenmar”, derived from their names Leonard and Marie. It was rebuilt as the Beth Shalom retirement home.
Story of Westville mosque land
On November 2, the Independent on Saturday’s Then & Now feature told the story of the Westville mosque founded by Hazrath Soofie Saheb. The article inspired the family of Shaik Ally to gather with the Independent on Saturday to elaborate on that history.
Westville’s first mosque still standing 120 years later
This week’s look at historic Durban takes in the Scofie Masjid and Darbar at 119 Jan Hofmeyr Road, Westville, which dates back to 1904.
Passing of the years captured in massive development
Few words are necessary in today’s Then & Now feature ‒ one look at the pictures shot from Lucien’s Point shows the spectacular growth along Margate’s Lucien Beach.
A little unkempt, but Old Fort’s gardens still a city refuge
The garden of the Old Fort is a surprise quiet and leafy green lung in the heart of the city, a stone’s throw away from the Hollywood Bets Kingsmead Cricket Stadium and across the road from St John Ambulance and Eye Care in what was Old Fort Road, now KE Masinga Road.
St Thomas’ Church – A faithful Berea beacon for 160 years
St Thomas’ Anglican Church on Durban’s Berea this year celebrates 160 years of serving the people of Durban.
On this day in history, September 18
Some of the more interesting things that happened on this day.
Morningside landmark Manor House on a hill
Today’s feature on a historic Durban landmark focuses on the Manor House in 14 Nuttall Gardens, Morningside. Its porticos and colonnades were designed in a Revived English Baroque architectural style, and is a significant Berea landmark near Mitchell Park. The home was built circa 1904 for sugar baron Sir Liege Hulett, who also built Kearsney House, “a well made and designed mansion with large, furnished reception rooms and 22 bedrooms”.
Look, sky walkers bring aviation back
This year’s look at Durban history features an event rather than a building. Before 2015, the Durban Virginia Airshow had wowed aviators and land-bound audiences alike for nearly 60 years. Last year broke the “jet-fuel” drought after 10 years, and the show takes to the skies for this year’s version today, Saturday August 31.
Postcard note a glimpse into ‘very beautiful gardens’
This week’s old picture of the Durban Botanic Gardens Visitors Centre comes from a postcard posted by Mark Finnigan on the Durban and Surrounds Facebook page.
Botanic Gardens a living, growing Durban treasure
Durban’s Botanic Gardens is a living, growing treasure with roots that go back to 1849 when it was established on the banks of the Umgeni River to grow vegetables, fruits and other agricultural crops.
Landmark Britannia Hotel still a mainstay of the city
This week’s Durban Then and Now feature takes in the Britannia Hotel, established in 1879.
What a big difference a little bit of sunshine can make
The most noticeable feature in the pictures of Pietermaritzburg’s Tourism Information Centre and City Hall then and now is how much greener and brighter the area is in summer.
Ever-evolving nightspot has kept its beautiful finishes
504 Lilian Ngoyi Road in Windermere has been a hotspot for decades.
Holiday Inn to a still-striking Eden at 52
Today’s Then and Now is the former Holiday Inn in Sol Harris Crescent which was “pensioned off” as a hotel to provide top-notch retirement accommodation.
Escombe ‘hinterland’ a place to escape coastal heat
Today’s picture history of Durban takes in Escombe and its Main Road, which still serves as an arterial link to neighbouring suburbs which began as townships for people fleeing the humidity of the coast.
Bloody and brutal history of Old Durban prison
The old Durban Central Prison site, which is now the home of the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, is the focus of today’s Then and Now feature.
Unspoiled natural beauty welcomes runners and fans
This week’s “Then” photo is a vintage black and white postcard inscribed “View of Valley of a Thousand Hills from Botha’s Hill, Natal”, which photographer Shelley Kjonstad found in an old book.
On this day, June 5
1752 An expedition of August Beutler, who left the Castle in Cape Town in February, reaches the Keiskamma in the Eastern Cape. 1873 The name of De Beer’s New Rush is changed to Kimberley. 1873 Under pressure from Britain, Sultan Barghash bin Said of Zanzibar closes the island’s great slave market. 1883 The first regularly scheduled run of the fabled Orient Express train leaves Paris.
King Shaka granted settlers land that is rich in history
Durban’s harbour, Berea and Bluff have a long intertwined history as we found when researching this week’s Then & Now feature.
Decades of memories for trendsetting Durban mall
The Musgrave Centre, built in the 1950s, is today’s feature in Durban’s old and present cityscapes.
Weathering the storm to reclaim historic beauty
Our feature on places as they were in old pictures and as they appear today features Margate, hit hard by a storm last month, but showing how a united community has stepped up to restore its beauty.
Long history, long road back to blue beachfront jewel
Originally known as the Beach Baths, the facility opened in the early 1900s, is this week’s feature on the city’s old and new. It was renamed after Rachel Finlayson, who founded the Cygnus Ladies Swimming Club in 1909 and was the 1928 Olympic swimming team coach for South Africa and the official chaperone to SA’s women swimmers for 27 years.
Not just tennis, but also playing big role in community
The Westridge Tennis Stadium is this week’s old and new feature.