Chatsworth is a large

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is loca ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

established in the 1950s to segregate the

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

population and create a buffer between the white suburbs of Durban to the north and the black townships of Durban to the south. Located in the Southern

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

basin and roughly bordered by the Umhlatuzana River in the North and Umlaas River in the south, the suburb is made up mainly of Indian/Asian and Black African people.

History

In the 1940s, the Pegging Acts and the

Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Act, 1946 The Asiatic Land Tenure and Indian Representation Act, 1946 (Act No. 28 of 1946; subsequently renamed the Asiatic Land Tenure Act, 1946, and also known as the "Ghetto Act") of South Africa sought to confine Asian ownership and occupation of land ...

were passed. These acts gave the government the right to remove and destroy shacks and small self-made shelters, with the putative intention of improving sanitary conditions. This led to the

Group Areas Act Group Areas Act was the title of three acts of the Parliament of South Africa enacted under the apartheid government of South Africa. The acts assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a system o ...

of June 1950 being enforced directly by the Government, in which certain residential areas were designated for Whites, Indians,

Coloureds Coloureds ( af, Kleurlinge or , ) refers to members of multiracial ethnic communities in Southern Africa who may have ancestry from more than one of the various populations inhabiting the region, including African, European, and Asian. Sou ...

, and Blacks only. Indians were removed from areas such as Mayville,

Cato Manor Cato Manor is a working-class area located from the city centre of Durban, South Africa. It was formed when Indian market gardeners came to settle in the area some time after it was given to George Christopher Cato in 1865, who was the first m ...

, Clairwood, Magazine Barracks,

Bluff Bluff or The Bluff may refer to: Places Australia * Bluff, Queensland, Australia, a town * The Bluff, Queensland (Ipswich), a rural locality in the city of Ipswich * The Bluff, Queensland (Toowoomba Region), a rural locality * Bluff River (New ...

, Riverside, Prospect Hall, Duikerfontein, and Sea Cow Lake. They were forcibly moved into the two townships of

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

, situated North of Durban, and Chatsworth to the South. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, there were advertisements in papers for an exclusively Indian town, Umhlatuzana. This progressed into the greater Chatsworth District in the early 1960s when planning commenced and official movements took place in 1964 to the eleven units: Unit 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, and Unit 11. Modern day Chatsworth is spread over seven municipal wards which all fall roughly in the South Central municipal area. The intentional buffer design of Chatsworth creates today an interesting melting pot of people frequenting Chatsworth's business district which comprises a bustling center, The Chatsworth Center.

Notable landmarks

* Gandhi Centenary Park * Chatsworth’s Bangladesh Market (Oldest market in Chatsworth) * Sri Sri Radha Radhanath Temple (Hare Krishna Temple) * Lord Hanuman Statue, Shri Vishnu Temple (Tallest in Africa) * Christian Revival Centre * Magazine Barracks Temple * Revival Ministries * Chatsworth center * Al Meen Masjid * Chatsworth Stadium * Dees Hiring Centre

Education

South Africa's Indian population, culturally has placed an emphasis on education during times when Apartheid Laws prevented intellectual and material development of non-white races, believing only whites were capable of enquiry of the mathematic and scientific fields. As a result of resistance, the Indian population has excelled academically and have produced many academics who are former inhabitants of Chatsworth. Most secondary schools in Chatsworth boast pass rates above 90 per cent for the Matric Examinations despite lacking resources and facilities. Arena Park Secondary School, Apollo Secondary School, Crossmoor Secondary School, Southlands Secondary School and Kharwastan Secondary School regularly produce learners that are placed in the provincial Top 30. Arena Park Secondary School, Crossmoor Secondary School, Southlands Secondary School and Kharwastan Secondary School regularly have matric pass rates of 90% to 100%, with Crossmoor Secondary School and Arena Park Secondary School generally ranking high in the Umlazi district.

Public Secondary Schools

*Apollo Secondary School, Collier Avenue, Umhlatuzana Township *Arena Park Secondary School, Rose Heights Drive, Arena Park *Asoka Secondary School, Skyridge Circle, Moorton *Brindhaven Secondary School, Road No 706, Montford *Chatsworth Secondary School, Lenny Naidu Drive (Pelican Drive), Bayview *Crossmoor Secondary School, Golden Poppy Crescent, Crossmoor *Glenover Secondary School, Glenover Rd, Westcliff *Kharwastan Secondary School, Iris Avenue, Kharwastan *Marklands Secondary School, Himalaya Drive, Shallcross *Meadowlands School of Technology, Road 734, Montford *Montarena Secondary School, Road 706, Montford *Newhaven Secondary School, Croftdene Road, Croftdene *Protea Secondary School, Road 257, Bayview *Risecliff Secondary School, Blue Jill Crescent, Risecliff *Shallcross Secondary School, Alpine Drive, Shallcross *Southlands Secondary School, Havenside Drive, Havenside *Welbedene Secondary School, Road 749, Montford *Westcliff Secondary School, Florence Nightingale Drive, Westcliff *Wingen Heights Secondary School, Wingen Walk, Shallcross *Witteklip Secondary School, Witteklip Street, Croftdene *Woodhurst Secondary School, Woodhurst Drive, Woodhurst

Police training Academy

*SAPS Academy Chatsworth.

Infrastructure

Chatsworth Had seen most of its development since 1960- to 1980 due to the group areas act, which segregated people based on race. This saw the construction of the entire town from the ground up. Major infrastructure includes all the roads, and railways. The M1 Higginson Highway runs through the town from

Mobeni 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. Subdivisions Mobeni is a collective of three suburbs that lie between Chatsworth and ...

in the East to Mariannhill in the West. It serves as the artery of Chatsworth linking all 11 Units and surrounding areas. Alongside the highway is a railroad operated by PRASA, linking some units of Chatsworth directly to Isipingo, Durban South and the greater Durban CBD. The most recent private development is the construction of the Ridge Shopping mall, in Shallcross.

Nelson Mandela Community Youth Centre

The development of the Chatsworth Youth Center was initialized by former president Nelson Mandela, following the deaths of several teenagers at the Throb Nightclub. It serves as a multi purpose facility for youth to engage on societal issues.

Current situation

Indian people in Chatsworth are from various religious groups. Many masjids, temples, and churches are present. One of many famous masjids is Habibia Manzil in Shallcross. As a consequence of its history, Chatsworth still has a predominantly Indian population. It is a center of Indian culture, and holds the Temple of Understanding – a

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

temple. Many Indians from Hindi,

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia ** Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, na ...

and

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode ...

backgrounds are present. Such Indian languages are still spoken at home in many instances, with learning classes set up to aid in their development. This area has developed into a fully fledged post apartheid suburb of the Durban eThekwini Municipality.

References

External links

Chatsworth Live
{{Durban suburbs Former Indian townships in South Africa Populated places in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality Townships in KwaZulu-Natal