Durban - Playground of the Zulu Kingdom

Going Downtown

Wide, clean and easily-negotiable streets lead from the Beachfront to the heart of Durban's Central Business District. It's not a long walk - and there are some interesting sights en route - but public transport is regular and reliable and taxis are plentiful. Almost every street bears the name of an historic figure, and you'll soon notice that Durban architecture is an eclectic mix of old and new.

Our International Convention Centre is a gleaming example of the latter between seaside and downtown. Relatively new but already the host of such high-profile gatherings as the World Economic Forum, Non- Aligned Movement, Commonwealth Heads of Government and World AIDS Convention, the ICC's successes have earned it the title of Africa's best...and placed Durban firmly on the world map of decision-making venues. The adjacent Durban Exhibition Centre attracts curious-minded folk to trade fairs, cat-and-dog shows and the alternative- inclined series of Body, Mind and Spirit Festivals.

zoom Durban's International Convention Centre Photo:Gerald Hoberman

A little closer to town, day-glo 'Liberation Struggle' graffiti marks the site where Durban Central Prison once stood - demolished along with the 'Old South Africa'. And a few hundred metres beyond another former 'building of iniquity' now houses the definitive, dramatic audio-visual and standing representations of local history. The story around KwaMuhle Museum is arguably the most fundamental and crucial in the annals of our Zulu Kingdom...if not the entire country. It was within these walls that Durban's colonial authorities innovated and refined the principles and structures of urban racial segregation - the blueprints of South Africa's abhorrent apartheid policy. Ironically, 'KwaMuhle' means 'Place of the Good One'...the 'Good One' in question being J.S. Marwick, who earned his Zulu praise name at the outbreak of the Anglo- Boer War in 1899, when he marched home to safety about 7 000 Zulu labourers from the Transvaal goldfields. Marwick went on to manage of the first-ever 'Native Administration Department', and the name KwaMuhle stuck to these premises...even though it perpetrated on African people indignity upon indignity for some half a century. It was from here that segregation was imposed, townships and single-sex worker compounds devised, and orders given for bizarre practices such as 'sheep-dipping' all Africans entering the town. Yet because all Africans seeking work in Durban had first to pass through these corridors, KwaMuhle became their social hub, and radiated a vibrancy that helped shape the unique character of our city. This tale and others - including how authorities financed and enforced their grand schemes with 'Zulu money' - are vividly displayed at this 'must see' museum! A short distance away is the Old Fort...where in 1842 a small contingent of British soldiers held out against Boer guerillas while Dick King and his Zulu aide, Ndongeni, rode to the Cape Colony for reinforcements. The subsequent Boer defeat led ultimately to our Kingdom's annexation as a British Colony. Warrior's Gate M.O.T.H. Museum is part of the Old Fort complex, and here you'll find a rich collection of militaria that focuses on South African involvement in the two World Wars.

Across town, the Old Court House Museum presents fascinating replicas of Durban's early settlements, and among its collections are photos, artefacts and documents that relate to Mahatma Gandhi's spiritual and non-violent political 'apprenticeship'. The life of Durban's colonial settlers is well depicted within the Old House Museum's Victorian architecture...this typical verandah- style home containing original furniture and fittings of the day.

zoom Durban City Hall. Designed by Stanley Hudson. His design was influenced by his admiration of the Belfast City Hall. Photo: Gerald Hoberman

Our 1910, Edwardian neo-baroque City Hall - inspired by the Belfast original - is a much photographed landmark that houses the intricately-detailed Natural Science Museum, main Public Library and the Durban Art Gallery. With many fine examples of national and international artworks in all media, the gallery has moved away from concentrating on 'by-gone eras' to a focus on contemporary South African creations. Performance artists of all disciplines found a new 'home' at the Durban Art Gallery when government funding cuts curtailed activities at our flagship Playhouse Theatre. Their 'Red Eye' gatherings have breathed new life into inner city culture attracting the classical and avant-garde from all points country-wide.

A stone's throw from the City Hall, Durban's original railway station building is now the picturesque home of Tourist Junction...your one- stop source of every holiday-planning requirement! In keeping with our 'East meets West in the Zulu Kingdom', the Indian High Commission is located here...plus your entry is greeted with a warm Zulu reception and an impressive bust of Mahatma Gandhi.

If you're planning a trip to India, a mini-preview of 'downtown Delhi' is waiting a few blocks away in the bustling area around Grey Street's Great Mosque. Segregation also meant separate business districts, and this was declared 'Indian Town'. Curry-house proprietors, discount jewellers and the purveyors of exquisite silk- and-gold attire rub shoulders with mendicants, holy men and street- hawkers. A couple of blocks further...the 'Indian Market' has undergone a dramatic face-lift and acquired the more polite title of Victoria Street Market. Packed with traditional treasures wrought from copper, brass and gemstones - plus enough incense and spice powder for instant olfactory overload - the Upstairs Emporium presents an array of diners to ponder the bargains below while sampling the finest curries outside India. This would probably present the perfect moment for a Bunny Chow - the uniquely Durban curry-filled half-loaf of bread. By no means indicative of the delicate Indian dishes on tempting offer throughout our city, the 'Bunny' is nevertheless a (very thick) slice of Durban history and ought not to be overlooked with disdain! The 'Indian Connection' with countries to our north brings to the market finely- crafted curios from Malawi, Kenya and the like, but for a truly Pan- African experience, head for the hubbub of Warwick Junction a heady mix of people and produce. This is 'roots' territory - literally so when marvelling at a traditional healer's array of natural curatives.

For genuine Zulu art, though, you'll need to back- track several blocks to the central area of office towers, boutiques and department stores. The African Arts Centre is home-from-home for the many rural artists who sell their work here, sales that often provide the family's only income. The centre's 30-year history has aimed at shifting public opinion away from 'meaningless' knick- knacks to African art as an authentic expression in its own right. Tourist Junction houses a retail outlet of the centre.

Durban's CBD fringes on our spectacular harbour, and it's at this water's edge that you'll discover another wonderful haven for traditional artists - the BAT Centre. An acronym for the Bartle Arts Trust, this multi-functional, multi-discipline arts and culture centre offers studio workspace, a 300-seat theatre, rehearsal facilities, exhibition galleries, audio-visual resources, cyber-cafe and the only restaurant in town serving authentic African dishes. Harbour views are stunning - during daylight hours, the intricacies of Africa's busiest port are laid out before you, including the comings-and-goings of the Yacht Mole and Small-Craft moorings. Come nightfall, the entire scenario transforms into a fairyland of lights reflecting on the vast, still water. Great is the temptation to spend many an hour on the BAT Centre deck... There is, however, another fascinating attraction a mere hundred metres or so away at our Maritime Museum. From a lovingly- restored old tugboat to demonstrations of stevedoring skills, standing and audio-visual displays detail the history of this vital factor in Durban's evolution and project what the future holds in store. Exploratory launch-trips of the harbour offer rare close- ups of giant ships and our ultra-modern facilities that service them.

One of these is our world-famous Sugar Terminal...crowning achievement of an industry that indelibly changed the 'face' of our Zulu realm. From the 'sweet sand' offered to King Shaka by early British adventurers in exchange for hunting rights, to the arrival of indentured plantation labour from India and re-moulding of our coastal vegetation, sugar has remained an omnipresent force. Guided tours of the terminal include a wide-screen presentation of the complete story and a peek inside the silos. Having pounded the downtown sidewalks, consumed vast amounts of inner city culture - including a Bunny Chow - and cruised Africa's biggest harbour, it's time to discover what our tree-filled suburbs have to offer...

Sunny Side Up...

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