In the heart of Durban’s hip new Rivertown is the Rivertown Beerhall, a social space filled with young creatives and out-of-towners taking in the sites and sounds of Durban’s newly gentrified CBD. But the relaxed bar belies the dark history of these beerhalls, that were a central part of the ‘Durban System’. A precursor to the dreaded … Read more
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
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
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
The word ‘heritage’ is directly linked to ‘inheritance’, referring to something that is passed down from one generation to the next. In the context of this website ‘heritage’ refers to the physical spaces that played a part in South Africa’s transition from a racially divided colony to the democratic republic that it is today. They are … Read more