Isipingo is a town situated 19 kilometres (12mi) south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and currently forms part of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. The town is named after the Siphingo River, which in turn is thought to be named (in the Zulu language) for the intertwining cat-thorn shrubs (Scutia myrtina) present in the area, or the river's winding course.[2]
Dick King went to Natal in 1828 and was awarded a large stretch of land between the Umlaas/uMlaza and Mbokodweni rivers at present-day Isipingo Rail, an area where he had already acquired some farmland and built himself a house. King managed a sugar mill in Isipingo until his death in 1871 and was buried in the town.
In May 1853, the Natal Mercury reported that Mr Jeffels of Isipingo ventured into sugarcane cultivation and is erecting buildings for sugar manufacturing. The indenture system was used from 1860 to supply cheap Indian labour to the sugar cane farms in Isipingo and the surrounding areas.
In 1880, the railway line named the South Coast Line extension from Rossburgh in Durban to Isipingo Rail was completed and opened. Between 1893 and the outbreak of the Second Boer War, the South Coast Line was extended 44km (27mi) from Isipingo Rail to Park Rynie.[3]
In 1962, the Natal Provincial Council made a decision to incorporate Isipingo Rail and Isipingo Beach into the Borough of Amanzimtoti, a seaside town 10 kilometres further south. In 1963, Isipingo Rail and Isipingo Beach were declared Indian Group Areas. By government decree, Isipingo Beach and Isipingo Rail would be amalgamated into a single Indian area, to be called Isipingo.[4]
In 1972, Isipingo was no longer under the administration of Amanzimtoti and instead was governed by the Isipingo Town Board, an all-Indian self-governing local authority and later in 1974 achieved Borough status.
The elite apartheid era suburb of Isipingo Hills was then created.
World War II plane crashes
During the Second World War the Coastal Command (Southern Air Command SAAF) deployed 10 Squadron SAAF at Durban and Isipingo – this unit functioned as a torpedo bomber/ coastal reconnaissance squadron.[citation needed] They operated from runways that had been cut out of sugarcane fields- it was in this area that the main runway of the now defunct Durban International Airport was later built.[5][lower-alpha 1] The squadron headquarters is now home to the Amanzimtoti Country Club (originally named Isipingo Golf Club).
In 1942 the squadron returned to its defense purposes and were re-equipped with Mohawks and Kittyhawks. There are several incidents of Kittyhawk[lower-alpha 2] crashes near Isipingo:[6]
5009 - crashed near Isipingo on 19 June 1944, 2Lt C. V. J. Giddey survived
5010 - crashed near Isipingo on 7 December 1943
5013 - caught fire in flight and crashed near Umbilo on 1 November 1943, 2Lt F. E. Hamm survived
5014 - stalled after takeoff and crashed near Isipingo on 2 October 1943, 2Lt K. L. Clur survived
5021 - crashed near Isipingo on 4 October 1943, 2Lt R. A. Hamlyn killed
5027 - crashed near Isipingo on 22 December 1943, 2Lt A. N. Blake killed
5082 - crashed near Isipingo on 18 December 1944
Geography
Isipingo is situated in the South Durban Basin, approximately 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of Amanzimtoti, on the northern banks of the Siphingo River. It is bordered to the north by the defunct Durban International Airport, to the west by Umlazi, and to the south by Athlone Park and Umbogintwini.
Isipingo for the most part, lies just 2 km inland from the coast, while its coastal suburb, Isipingo Beach, is separate from the main town, divided by the flat industrial area of Prospecton.
Suburbs
Isipingo Beach
Isipingo Hills
Isipingo Rail
Lotus Park
Malaba Hills
Economy
Industries
The adjoining major industrial area of Prospecton is the location of one of South Africa's largest automobile assembly plants, that of Toyota. The facility, covering almost 9 square kilometres (3.5sqmi), is a place of employment for many Isipingo residents.
Retail
The main road through the Isipingo Rail CBD, Phila Ndwandwe Road, forms the spine for local business activity and civic services and is lined by shopping centres such as Isipingo Main, Isipingo Junction and the new Isipingo Station Centre (a retail development on the railway station completed in 2020). Isipingo Beach is well known for its great fishing spots and local authentic bakery, Shaik's Bakery.[7][8]
Amenities
Isipingo is policed by the SAPS precinct of the Isipingo Police Station in Isipingo Rail. There also two municipal libraries in Isipingo, Isipingo Civic Library in Orient Hills and the Isipingo Beach Library.[9]
Isipingo is served by the Isipingo Hospital, a private hospital in Isipingo Rail owned by Joint Medical Holdings. The Isipingo Clinic is the only public health clinic in Isipingo and operates as a municipal clinic under the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.[10][11]
The area has access to fine beaches, Reunion Park Beach, Isipingo Beach River Mouth, Tiger Rocks Beach and Dakota Beach, which are regularly frequented by bathers and fishermen, especially during the sardine run.
Transport
Rail
Isipingo is served by the Isipingo Railway Station, located on the South Coast Line, which runs between Durban in the north-east (via Reunion) and Kelso in the south-west (via Umbogintwini) and is operated by Metrorail.
Roads
Isipingo lies just off the north–south running N2 highway, which connects Durban and Port Shepstone. The R102 (South Coast Road) runs parallel to the N2 and links Isipingo to Reunion and Athlone Park, providing access to the N2 at Prospecton.
Additionally, Isipingo is connected by the M35 (Wilcox Road) to Umlazi in the west, Phila Ndwandwe Road which serves as the main road through Isipingo Rail to Umlazi Mega City in the north, and Mfundi Mngadi Road to Umbogintwini in the north. Isipingo Beach is also accessible by turning off the R102 in Prospecton onto The Avenue East.
Religious sites
There are a number of Hindu temples, four mosques; Isipingo Hills Musjid, Isipingo Beach Musjid, Taleemuddeen Maddrassa Mosque, and Musjid Muqarrabeen, Masjid Mehboobia in Isipingo rail and numerous Christian churches.[citation needed]
Landmarks and important sites
Isipingo Temple, founded in 1870, dedicated to the Goddess Marieaman
The Durban Outer Ring Road is a half ring road that circles the coastal city of Durban, South Africa. It is part of the N2 highway which links the North and South Coasts of KwaZulu-Natal.
Hibberdene is a small coastal town on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast in South Africa, approximately 23 km north-east of Port Shepstone and 90 km south-west of Durban and halfway between coastal towns of Scottburgh and Margate.
Amanzimtoti, locally nicknamed Toti, and officially renamed to eManzimtoti, is a coastal town just south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Situated along the Sapphire Coast, the town is well known for its warm climate and numerous beaches, and is a popular tourist destination, particularly with surfers.
Kingsburgh is a coastal resort town along the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, approximately 32 kilometres south-west of Durban.
Winklespruit is a small seaside resort on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa and now forms part of the coastal town of Kingsburgh and the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, the Greater Durban metropolitan area.
Umlazi is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, located south-west of Durban. Organisationally and administratively it forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and its South Municipal Planning Region.
The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through George, Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha, Port Shepstone and Durban to Ermelo. It is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. Its current length of 2,255 kilometres (1,401 mi) makes it the longest numbered route in South Africa.
The M4 is a north–south metropolitan route in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and partially in the KwaDukuza Local Municipality, South Africa. It runs from the N2 at the defunct Durban International Airport to Ballito via the Durban Central Business District (CBD) and uMhlanga. The sections between the airport and the southern edge of the CBD, and between the northern edge of the CBD and the exit to uMhlanga are classified as freeway. On the section from the southern edge of the CBD to the Bram Fischer Street/Soldier's Way junction, the M4 is cosigned with the R102.
Metrorail KwaZulu-Natal is a network of commuter rail services in and around the city of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. It is operated by Metrorail, a division of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA).
Umbogintwini is a suburb located approximately 23 km south-west of Durban, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa and it forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.
Athlone Park is a small coastal suburb located between Durban and Amanzimtoti in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Considered as one of Amanzimtoti’s most sought-after suburbs, Athlone Park forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality as a Southern Suburb.
The KwaZulu-Natal South Coast is a region along the southern stretch of coastline of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, south of the coastal city of Durban.
Phila Portia Ndwandwe, also known as Zandile or Zandi) was a fighter of the Natal cadre of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) formed by Muzi Ngwenya operating from Swaziland. MK was the armed wing of the African National Congress, created by Nelson Mandela in 1961. Zandi was a mother when she was abducted by Apartheid forces and tortured. She was executed.
Prospecton is an industrial suburb located south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
KwaMakhutha is a township in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, located south-west of Durban and means "at the Makhutha location".
Mobeni is a suburb of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and forms part of the heavily industrialised South Durban Basin, a sub-region south of Durban.
The M30 also named Griffiths Mxenge Highway is a metropolitan route in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa linking the city of Durban with Umbumbulu, south-west of the city via Umlazi.
The M37, named Moss Kolnik Drive is a metropolitan route in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, South Africa connecting Amanzimtoti with Adams Mission via KwaMakhutha, south of Durban.
Springfield Park, officially known as Umgeni Business Park is an industrial suburb of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa located north-east of the city centre.
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