Umkomaas
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Umkomaas, a small coastal village on the subtropical south coast of
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 locate ...
,
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 countri ...
was formed when a harbour was built in 1861 to export
sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or double ...
. The village rests beside the mouth of the navigable uMkhomazi River, also known as the Mkhomazi or Umkomaas. With the successful dredging of
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 ...
harbour's sandbar and arrival of the
railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...
, like
Port Shepstone Port Shepstone is a large town situated on the mouth of the Mzimkhulu River, the largest river on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast of South Africa. It is located halfway between Hibberdene and Margate and is positioned 120 km south of Durban. ...
, the harbour fell into disuse, but the village came to life.


Etymology

Many
whales Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
once used the estuary as a nursery, giving birth in the shallows. The
Zulus Zulu people (; zu, amaZulu) are a Nguni ethnic group native to Southern Africa. The Zulu people are the largest ethnic group and nation in South Africa, with an estimated 10–12 million people, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal ...
named the river after this spectacle (uMkhomazi means ''the place of cow whales''). The settlement was originally known as South Barrow, with its suburb known today as
Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and along the ...
then called North Barrow.


History


World War II plane crash

A notable event in the village's history was the fatal air crash involving a
War Hawk In politics, a war hawk, or simply hawk, is someone who favors war or continuing to escalate an existing conflict as opposed to other solutions. War hawks are the opposite of doves. The terms are derived by analogy with the birds of the same name ...
Air Force plane during the Second World War. On 30 March 1944 during a routine practice battle formation, two Kittyhawks (5067 piloted by FO Brown) and 5006 (piloted by PO Smith) collided in mid air. 5006 managed to make a forced landing next to the river and pilot Smith escaped with his life. The second plane was not so fortunate; Brown was unable to bale from the plane and went down with the craft on the south bank of the Umkomaas river near the site where Saiccor is today. The aeroplane is believed to have sunk into quicksand on the south bank of the river between the village and the present-day location of Saiccor. A local group made numerous attempts to recover the wreckage of the craft in the 1980s, but as the precise location of the plane is still not decisively known, it has never been recovered. Subsequently much speculation exists as to where exactly the plane is buried. The
South African Navy The South African Navy (SA Navy) is the naval warfare branch of the South African National Defence Force. The Navy is primarily engaged in maintaining a conventional military deterrent, participating in counter-piracy operations, fishery prot ...
mine countermeasures vessel A mine countermeasures vessel or MCMV is a type of naval ship designed for the location of and destruction of naval mines which combines the role of a minesweeper and minehunter A minehunter is a naval vessel that seeks, detects, and destro ...
SAS ''Umkomaas'' is named in honour of the river and village .


Geography


Topography

The Umkomaas or
uMkomazi River The Umkhomazi River is a river in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Course It rises in some of the highest eastwards-facing slopes of the Drakensberg mountains, near the mighty Thabana Ntlenyana. The river flows southeastwards towards the Indian Oc ...
is a dominant feature of the area, being the largest river on the South Coast. The river is 298 kilometres long, from its source just south of Giant's Castle in the uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
to its mouth on the Indian Ocean. The river begins its journey at an altitude of over 3,000 metres. Occasionally, raft races, canoeing, and other sporting events are held on the river. The river is a popular white-water rafting destination. During the winter dry season, the river mouth often silts up, but after heavy rains it carries large amounts of brown sediment into the
Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
. Some of this sedimentation is due to anthropogenic (human-made) pressures on the local ecosystem. These pressures include soil erosion caused by over-grazing, intensive cultivation, sewage disposal, informal farming and settlements, timber plantations, and the removal of sand or topsoil from the river's basin. The Umkomaas river valley is mentioned in an early chapter of
Alan Paton Alan Stewart Paton (11 January 1903 – 12 April 1988) was a South African writer and anti-apartheid activist. His works include the novels ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' and '' Too Late the Phalarope''. Family Paton was born in Pietermaritzbu ...
's 1948 novel
Cry, the Beloved Country ''Cry, the Beloved Country'' is a 1948 novel by South African writer Alan Paton. Set in the prelude to apartheid in South Africa, it follows a black village priest and a white farmer who must deal with news of a murder. American publisher Benne ...
. Probably derived from the Zulu word uMkhamazi, the name relates to the sighting of a whale in the river estuary at some point in history. The river's tributaries include the Madoba, Mkhomazana, Mtungwane, Nhlatimbe and Nhlavini. The river's basin covers about 4,315 km2, annual discharge is approximately 1 x 106 m3 and sediment load is an estimated 900 000 tons per year. Some parts of the river basin are vulnerable to flooding due to the steep topography and weather systems, such as intense thunderstorms and cut-off lows. This is exacerbated by
land degradation Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land. It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious ...
and impervious urban areas. Some floods have resulted in loss of life, destruction of properties where development has encroached on floodplains in densely populated areas, and damage to roads and bridges.


Communities

Suburbs of Umkomaas include Sunpark, Newhaven, Drift and Widenham, known for its large bush-covered sand dune known as "Sand City", and the planned community of Saiccor Village, built for Saiccor workers in the 1950s and 1960s. Beaches are at Widenham and the Mkomazi River north bank near
Ilfracombe Ilfracombe ( ) is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England, with a small harbour surrounded by cliffs. The parish stretches along the coast from the 'Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and along the ...
, which is the launching point for many boat and diving trips to the Aliwal Shoal. There are also locations nearby, which form part of the village, such as Craigieburn, Roseneath, Clansthal, and Magabeni.


Craigieburn

Craigieburn location which also includes Naidooville is at the heart of the Indian community that reside in Umkomaas. In present day (2022) Census stats rated that the poorest of Indian families hail from Umkomaas. The name, Naidooville is not commonly used today as most refer to it by Craigieburn and is located west of the
N2 highway The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through George, Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha and Durban to Ermelo. It is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. Its current length of makes it the l ...
. Formally an Indian School, Naidooville Primary School was built in the area.


Roseneath

Roseneath is a small township near Umkomaas, in the south coast region of KwaZulu Natal. Like Craigieburn, it is situated west of the N2 Highway. There are other townships found in this area including Malundi, locally known as V section, Roseneath Gardens (emasayithini) and New Haven.


Magabeni

Magabeni is a township located a few kilometres northwest of Umkomaas and was formerly part of the
KwaZulu KwaZulu was a semi-independent bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a homeland for the Zulu people. The capital was moved from Nongoma to Ulundi in 1980. It was led until its abolition in 1994 by Chief Mangosuth ...
Bantustan.


Demographics

The population of Umkomaas in 2011 was 2,716, excluding Ilfracombe.


Economy


Industry

In 1954 an Italian consortium developed the large Saiccor industrial
cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...
plant beside the river a short distance inland from the village. Many Italian immigrants and workers, mostly from the region of
Friuli Friuli ( fur, Friûl, sl, Furlanija, german: Friaul) is an area of Northeast Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity containing 1,000,000 Friulians. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli Venezia Giulia ...
in Northeast Italy, followed suit, and the result is that Umkomaas probably had the largest Italian community relative to its total population of any village in Southern Africa. Saiccor has for some time been a controversial plant. It was purchased by international pulp and paper giant
Sappi Sappi Limited, originally incorporated as ''South African Pulp and Paper Industries Limited'' in 1936, is a South African pulp and paper company with global operations. Products and operation South African Pulp and Paper Industries Limite ...
in 1988, and while it continues to provide jobs for about 1200 workers, and a livelihood for their dependents, concerns were raised as early as the 1990s over Saiccor's adverse effect on asthmatic children at the nearby Umkomaas Drift School. In 1999 Saiccor paid for the relocation of the school. Additionally, a large amount of effluent is pumped out to sea, and major extensions of this effluent pipe were carried out in 1987 and 1999, though Saiccor maintained for many years that the effluent was largely harmless. A well-known act was when Saiccor chief executive was challenged to drink a glass of effluent at a company function. Saiccor is today the world's largest producer of chemical cellulose, and employs about 1200 people directly and about 20 000 indirectly, its pulp being used largely for products such as
viscose Rayon is a semi-synthetic fiber, made from natural sources of regenerated cellulose, such as wood and related agricultural products. It has the same molecular structure as cellulose. It is also called viscose. Many types and grades of viscose ...
,
acetate An acetate is a salt (chemistry), salt formed by the combination of acetic acid with a base (e.g. Alkali metal, alkaline, Alkaline earth metal, earthy, Transition metal, metallic, nonmetallic or radical Radical (chemistry), base). "Acetate" als ...
and
cellophane Cellophane is a thin, transparent sheet made of regenerated cellulose. Its low permeability to air, oils, greases, bacteria, and liquid water makes it useful for food packaging. Cellophane is highly permeable to water vapour, but may be coated w ...
. In 2012 the company said almost half its staff came from Umkomaas, Magabeni, Craigieburn, Roseneath and Widenham. The manufacture of over 1 billion components annually for the packaging industry and furniture assembly are also carried out in the area. Additional infrastructure includes the roads and railways built by and for Saiccor's operations, together with a stretch of
Spoornet Transnet Freight Rail is a South African rail transport company, formerly known as Spoornet. It was part of the South African Railways and Harbours Administration, a state-controlled organisation that employed hundreds of thousands of people ...
-owned coastal track, on which Saiccor to this day maintains and operates classic steam engines. There are some eucalyptus and wattle plantations on higher inland ground in the general area, many of which were established for Saiccor. But most of the farming done around Umkomaas is for sugar cane and these fields are a noticeable landscape feature.


Culture and contemporary life


Tourism

Tourist attractions include the Umkomaas Golf Course, home of Tim Clark and widely regarded as being one of the best in KwaZulu-Natal, and the beautiful Empisini Nature Reserve, a forested area that features a delightful waterfall and a number of bush walks. The nearby settlement of Clansthal was the home of Conservationist
Tony Pooley Tony Charles (Mashesha) Pooley (1938–2004) was a South African naturalist, award-winning conservationist and one of the world's foremost authorities on the Nile crocodile. Born in Amanzimtoti, KwaZulu-Natal, Pooley was a keen ornithologist ...
in the 1980s and 1990s. Swedish tennis player
Mats Wilander Mats Arne Olof Wilander (; born 22 August 1964) is a Swedish former world No. 1 tennis player. From 1982 to 1988, he won seven major singles titles (three at the French Open, three at the Australian Open, and one at the US Open), and one major ...
was a regular visitor in the 1990s, and is rumoured to have been the owner of a large hotel on the corner of Moodie and Reynolds Street. Umkomaas is renowned for the superb diving opportunities created by the
Aliwal Shoal The Aliwal Shoal is a rocky reef which is the remains of an ancient sand dune approximately off the coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The reef is inhabited by many kinds of hard and soft corals and other marine invertebrates, and a variety o ...
, a volcanic reef about 5 kilometres offshore. Ragged-tooth sharks,
rock cod The rock cod (''Lotella rhacina'') is a temperate fish found off the coasts of southeastern Australia, Tasmania, the Great Australian Bight and northwards up the southwestern Australia coasts. They are also found around the coasts of New Zealand ...
, and a number of other species can be found in the shoal. Diving-related tourism has grown dramatically in the past decade, although the Shoal features two especially fine shipwrecks, the ''Nebo'' and the ''Produce'', that long predate the Shoal's current surge in popularity. The Aliwal Shoal was formed about 80 000 years ago. Diving and accommodation information is available in the village and online. To add to Umkomaas and activities is a newly established airfield called "Umkomaas Airfield" just outside of Umkomaas where microlight and aeroplane joyrides and training take place. Tourists can visit the East Coast Brewing Company which is one of the largest and most advanced independently owned brewing facilities in Southern Africa.


Education

A co-educational primary school, founded in 1913, is in the centre of the village.


Parks and greenspace

Umkomaas' official animal is the
whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
, representations of which can be found throughout the village, in everything from colourful murals to the primary school's uniform. Humpback whales are seen near Aliwal Shoal between June and October. Ragged-tooth and Zambezi sharks have been seen at the river mouth, in the wake of the September 1987 storms and 1984's Cyclone Domoina. Other wildlife in the area includes snakes, most of them non-venomous species including the red-lipped herald and the brown house snake. However,
black mamba The black mamba (''Dendroaspis polylepis'') is a species of highly venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. It is native to parts of sub-Saharan Africa. First formally described by Albert Günther in 1864, it is the second-longest ...
have also been found in the area. Monkeys here are less common than in Scottburgh, but birds are abundant, including the
hadeda ibis The hadeda ibis (''Bostrychia hagedash'') is an ibis native to Sub-Saharan Africa. It is named for its loud three to four note calls uttered in flight especially in the mornings and evenings when they fly out or return to their roost trees. Althou ...
. Small wild cats like the genet and
civet A civet () is a small, lean, mostly nocturnal mammal native to tropical Asia and Africa, especially the tropical forests. The term civet applies to over a dozen different species, mostly from the family Viverridae. Most of the species diversity ...
have been reported on rare occasions. Nile crocodiles found near Freeland Park and the lower Amahlongwa, 8 kilometres south, are not present in Umkomaas.
Duiker A duiker is a small to medium-sized brown antelope native to sub-Saharan Africa, found in heavily wooded areas. The 22 extant species, including three sometimes considered to be subspecies of the other species, form the subfamily Cephalophina ...
abound and can be seen in Empisini. The larger bushbuck has also been seen in local bush. A major spectacle occurring most years is the Sardine Run, the annual courtship migration (contingent on climatic conditions) of
sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the Ital ...
s from South Africa's southern coast to the warmer waters of KwaZulu-Natal. It usually occurs in July and has featured on
Jeff Corwin Jeffrey Corwin (born July 11, 1967) is an American biologist and wildlife conservation movement, conservationist, known for hosting Disney Channel's ''Going Wild with Jeff Corwin'', ''The Jeff Corwin Experience'' on Animal Planet, American Broa ...
's show on
Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily dev ...
. The sardine attract many predatory fish, seabirds, and sharks, on a scale rarely seen anywhere else. Umkomaas was one of the coastal villages affected by the high winds and freak waves generated by the storms of late March 2007. Beachfront areas and the complex formerly known as 'The Whaler' were some parts of the village damaged in the storm.


Infrastructure


Transportation


Roads

The village is located 48 km south of central Durban and is accessible by rail and by roads including the N2 Freeway and the coastal
R102 The R.102 (originally referred to as Project H) was a British airship planned in 1930 but never built. The development of R.102 resulted from the Imperial Airship Scheme, when it became apparent that the R100 and R101 airships then being buil ...
or "Old Main Road."


References

{{Authority control Populated places in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality KwaZulu-Natal South Coast