Port Shepstone, KwaZulu-Natal
Encyclopedia
Port Shepstone is situated on the mouth of the largest river on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, the Mzimkulu River (the great home of all rivers). 120 kilometres (74.6 mi) south of Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, it is the administrative, educational and commercial centre for southern Natal.
History
Port Shepstone was founded in 1867 when marbleMarble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
was discovered nearby and is named after Sir Theophilus Shepstone
Theophilus Shepstone
thumb|Theophilus ShepstoneSir Theophilus Shepstone was a British South African statesman who was responsible for the annexation of the Transvaal to Britain in 1877.-Early life:...
of the Natal government of the 1880s. William Bazley built a harbour and the first coaster entered the harbour on the May 8, 1880. In 1882 a party of 246 Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
immigrants settled here and played a large part in the development of the area. After the opening of the railway to Durban in 1901 the harbour fell in disuse and eventually the river silted up again making it impossible to use. The 27,000 candela lighthouse still stands at the mouth of the Mzimkulu River.
Present day
Its industries include a sugarSugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
mill, a lime
Lime (mineral)
Lime is a general term for calcium-containing inorganic materials, in which carbonates, oxides and hydroxides predominate. Strictly speaking, lime is calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide. It is also the name for a single mineral of the CaO composition, occurring very rarely...
works and a marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
quarry. Timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
, wattle
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
bark and sub-tropical fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
are produced in the district.
The town features as a boundary between areas in the SABC weather forecast, where it appears in the phrase "from Port Shepstone to the Tugela
Tugela
Tugela is a brown Thoroughbred mare. Bred by Khalid Abdullah's prominent Juddmonte Farms. Tugela was sired by Riverman and out of Rambushka who in turn was a daughter of Epsom Derby winner, Roberto, a two-time Leading sire in France.Tugela is best known as the dam of Makybe Diva , the champion...
mouth...".
There is a vibrant Abahlali baseMjondolo
Abahlali baseMjondolo
Abahlali baseMjondolo , also known as AbM or the red shirts is a shack-dwellers' movement in South Africa which is well known for its campaigning for public housing. The movement grew out of a road blockade organized from the Kennedy Road shack settlement in the city of Durban in early 2005 and now...
branch in the Gamalakhe township
Township (South Africa)
In South Africa, the term township and location usually refers to the urban living areas that, from the late 19th century until the end of Apartheid, were reserved for non-whites . Townships were usually built on the periphery of towns and cities...
. It was founded by Lungisani Jama.
Transport
Port Shepstone railway stationPort Shepstone railway station
Port Shepstone railway station is a closed railway station located in Port Shepstone, South Africa.The station served as both the southern terminus of line from to Durban, as well as the southern coastal terminus of the narrow gauge Alfred County Railway to Harding, KwaZulu-Natal...
opened in 1917, serving as both the southern terminus of 111 kilometres (69 mi) line from to Durban, as well as the southern coastal terminus of the narrow gauge
Narrow gauge
A narrow gauge railway is a railway that has a track gauge narrower than the of standard gauge railways. Most existing narrow gauge railways have gauges of between and .- Overview :...
Alfred County Railway to Harding, KwaZulu-Natal
Harding, KwaZulu-Natal
Harding is a town situated in the Mzimkulwana River valley, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.Harding was established as a military outpost following the United Kingdom's annexation of East Griqualand in 1874 and was named after the first chief of justice for Natal, Sir Walter Harding.Timber and dairy...
.
After the standard gauge Transnet
Transnet
Transnet SOC Ltd is a large South African rail, port and pipeline company, headquartered in the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg. It was formed as a limited company on April 1, 1990. A majority of the company's stock is owned by the Department of Public Enterprises, or DPE, of the South African...
passenger services shut in 1986, the ACR continued operations until 2005, when the famous Banana Express ceased operation.
Education
The first school was opened in 18831883 in South Africa
-Events:* 16 April - Paul Kruger is elected president of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek* 9 May - Paul Kruger is sworn in as president of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek...
but by 1950
1950 in South Africa
-May:* 1 May - 18 blacks are killed by police and more than 30 are injured on the Witwatersrand in a massive stay-away from work called for by the African National Congress* 1 May - Springbok Radio, the SABC's first commercial service, is inaugurated-June:...
the school became too small. The Port Shepstone School split into two, the Port Shepstone Primary School and the Port Shepstone High School
Port Shepstone High School
Port Shepstone High School is a public co-educational high school in Port Shepstone in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.-History:The school officially opened on 13 February 1953 when the old Port Shepstone School grew too big and had to split into the Port Shepstone Primary School and High School.-The...
.