Isipingo is a town situated south of

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

, South Africa and currently forms part of

eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality The eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality () is a metropolitan municipality (South Africa), metropolitan municipality, created in 2000, that includes the city of Durban and surrounding towns. eThekwini is one of the 11 Districts of South Africa, di ...

. The town is named after the Siphingo River, which in turn is thought to be named (in the

Zulu language Zulu ( ), or isiZulu as an endonym, is a Southern Bantu languages, Southern Bantu language of the Nguni languages, Nguni branch spoken in, and indigenous to, Southern Africa. Nguni dialects are regional or social varieties of the Nguni language, ...

) for the intertwining cat-thorn shrubs ''( Scutia myrtina)'' present in the area, or the river's winding course.

History

Dick King Richard Philip King (1811–1871) was an English trader and colonist at Port Natal, a British trading station in the region now known as KwaZulu-Natal. He is best known for a historic horseback ride in 1842, where he completed a journey of i ...

went to

Natal NATAL or Natal may refer to: Places * Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, a city in Brazil * Natal, South Africa (disambiguation), a region in South Africa ** Natalia Republic, a former country (1839–1843) ** Colony of Natal, a former British colony ( ...

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 ''The Mercury'', formerly ''The Natal Mercury'', is an English-language newspaper owned by Independent Media (Pty) Ltd, a subsidiary of Iqbal Survé's Sekunjalo Investments and published in Durban, South Africa. Content The paper focuses on ...

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 44 km (27 mi) from Isipingo Rail to

Park Rynie Park Rynie is a small resort town, where Emilio used to live, on the South Coast of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was established in 1857 and possibly named after Renetta (nicknamed Rynie) Hoets, wife of one of the John Phillip Hoffman, par ...

. In 1962, the Natal Provincial Council made a decision to incorporate Isipingo Rail and Isipingo Beach into the Borough of

Amanzimtoti 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 beach ...

, 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. 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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the Coastal Command (

Southern Air Command SAAF Southern Air Command was a formation of the South African Air Force, active from the early 1980s to the early 1990s. Throughout its existence, it had its headquarters at Silvermine, in the Cape Province. Coastal Command During the Second World W ...

) deployed

10 Squadron SAAF 10 Squadron was a squadron of the South African Air Force. It was formed as a fighter bomber unit on 1 April 1939 and was deployed in a coastal defence role as part of Coastal Command SAAF until 1943. It was disbanded after the threat of Japane ...

at Durban and Isipingo – this unit functioned as a torpedo bomber/ coastal reconnaissance squadron. 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 Durban International Airport (formerly Louis Botha Airport) was the international airport of Durban from 1951 until 2010, when it was replaced by King Shaka International Airport, to the north. The airport is co-located with AFB Durban. His ...

was later built. 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 crashes near Isipingo: * 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

, on the northern banks of the Siphingo River. It is bordered to the north by the defunct

, to the west by

Umlazi 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. It is the fourth largest ...

, and to the south by

Athlone Park 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 ...

and

Umbogintwini Umbogintwini (a corruption of ''eZimbokodweni'') is a suburb located approximately 23 km (14 mi) south-west of Durban, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa and it forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. History In ...

. 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 Prospecton is an industrial suburb located south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. History Since 1931, the open flat undeveloped land of Prospecton which separates the two residential areas of Isipingo, Isipingo Rail inland and Isiping ...

Suburbs

* Isipingo Beach * Isipingo Hills * Isipingo Rail * Lotus Park * Malaba Hills

Economy

Industries

The adjoining major industrial area of

is the location of one of South Africa's largest automobile assembly plants, that of

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

. The facility, covering almost , 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.

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. 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

.KwaZulu-Natal Clinics
kznhealth.gov.za 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 The KwaZulu-Natal sardine run of southern Africa occurs from May through July when billions of sardines – or more specifically the Southern African pilchard ''Sardinops sagax'' – spawn in the cool waters of the Agulhas Bank and move northwar ...

Transport

Rail

Isipingo is served by the Isipingo Railway Station, located on the South Coast Line, which runs between

in the north-east (via Reunion) and Kelso in the south-west (via

) and is operated by

Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the List ...

Roads

Isipingo lies just off the north–south running

N2 highway N, or n, is the fourteenth letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages, and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''. History ...

, which connects

and

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, KwaZulu-Natal, Margate and is positioned 120&nbs ...

. The R102 (South Coast Road) runs parallel to the N2 and links Isipingo to Reunion and

, providing access to the N2 at

. Additionally, Isipingo is connected by the

M35 M35, M.35 or M-35 may refer to: Military * M35 series 2½-ton 6×6 cargo truck, a US Army truck * , a Royal Navy mine countermeasures vessel launched in 1982 * ADGZ or ''M35 Mittlere Panzerwagen'', a 1930s Austrian Army heavy armored car * Cannone ...

(Wilcox Road) to

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

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.

Landmarks and important sites

*Isipingo Temple, founded in 1870, dedicated to the Goddess Marieaman *The grave of

. *

manufacturing plant in Prospecton. *SAPREF Oil Refinery (owned by

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses Science Biology * Seashell, a hard outer layer of a marine ani ...

and BP) *The town also a has a transit camp on the main road, created as a result of the FIFA World Cup 2010. * Shaik's Bakery has been open for 25 years. It is an old-school and authentic bakery. Notes and references

External links

Isipingo Secondary alumni website
{{eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality Populated places in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality KwaZulu-Natal South Coast