The wonderful thing about history is that it provides the most fascinating stories – factual tales that are often more interesting and convoluted than the best spy novels! Himalaya House, still standing today at 165 Julius Nyerere Avenue, is where we begin today’s story, for it was here, in Durban’s first high-rise apartment block, that a number … Read more
As the years go by the face of cities tend to change quite dramatically. Photos hung in pubs and in the foyers of hotels show what Durban’s beachfront used to look like, or how the Berea was covered in bush, instead of apartment buildings. Very few things remain the same, but if you take a look at photos of … Read more
1906 Prisoner of War Wall Last week we wrote about the old Durban Central Prison boundary wall, and this week’s our focus is on another wall and another prison. Located at Addington Beach on the Point is a Prisoner of War wall that was built by men captured during the Bhambatha Rebellion of 1906. In the years following the Anglo-Boer War employers … Read more
Anyone who’s grown up in Durban will be very familiar with the mural that’s painted on a free-standing wall on the outskirts of the city’s CBD. What many people won’t realise though, is the significance of this wall, which once painted with bright colours, now stands a little dilapidated, having been exposed to the elements for … Read more
A policeman arrests two Indian men during an anti-apartheid demonstration outside Durban City Hall, November 1983 Completed just over a century ago Durban’s City Hall has been witness to the history of the city, and of the country, as South Africa moved from four distinct British colonies, to the Union of South Africa, and finally … Read more
Soweto school children protest against Afrikaans in 1976 The political student activity that has been very much a part of the South African landscape for the past year is in some ways reminiscent of protest action seen some forty-plus years ago when members of the National Union of South African Students broke away to form … Read more