Kingsburgh, Kwazulu-Natal

Kingsburgh
Kingsburgh
	Kingsburgh Kingsburgh
	Coordinates: 30°05′S 30°52′E / 30.083°S 30.867°E
Country	South Africa
Province	KwaZulu-Natal
Municipality	eThekwini
Area
• Total	11.65 km2 (4.50 sq mi)
Population (2011)
• Total	16,368
• Density	1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
• White	70.4%
• Black African	22.7%
• Indian/Asian	4.6%
• Coloured	1.9%
• Other	0.4%
First languages (2011)
• English	53.4%
• Afrikaans	28.1%
• Zulu	15.2%
• Other	3.2%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	4126

History

Originally known as Southern Umlazi, it became a township in October 1942 and reached borough status in August 1952. Probably named after Richard Philip (Dick) King (1811-1871) who rode along here from Durban to Grahamstown on horseback to secure assistance for beleaguered British troops in 1842.

Geography

Situated along the Sapphire Coast, Kingsburgh is one of Durban’s southernmost suburbs and is roughly as far as one can go in the Greater Durban metropolitan area before it dissolves into rolling rural areas and sugarcane fields. Its immediate surroundings include Amanzimtoti to the north, Umgababa to the south and Illovo North to the west.

Amanzimtoti and Kingsburgh, though separate, have virtually become one southern addendum to Durban and more often than not both towns are spoken about in the same breath. Kingsburgh is often referred to as being part of the greater Amanzimtoti area as they share the same postal code.

Suburbs

On the seaward side (east) of the N2 highway, the town comprises a number of coastal resorts, namely; Doonside, Warner Beach, Winklespruit and Illovo Beach. To the west of the highway are the hilly residential suburbs of Doonheights, Shulton Park, Illovo Glen, St Winifred’s and Astra Park.

Economy

Tourism

The economy of Kingsburgh is heavily reliant on tourism in the form of hotels and holiday accommodation that dominate the coastline. Hospitality establishments of note include only 5 Star accommodation in the south coast called The View Boutique Hotel & Spa and ZAR Hotel, both in Doonside, the ATKV Natalia Resort and the Villa Spa Holiday Resort, both in Illovo Beach and Protea Hotel Karridene Beach in Karridene.

Retail

There are two main shopping centres in Winklespruit serving Kingsburgh including Kingsburgh Centre and DSM Mall, both situated along Kingsway. Although nearby Amanzimtoti is usually favoured for its much larger shopping centres such as Galleria Mall and Arbour Crossing that offer a wider variety of retail outlets.

Transport

Rail

Kingsburgh is served by the South Coast railway line, connecting its five railway stations; Doonside, Warner Beach, Winklespruit, Illovo Beach and Karridene. The South Coast service operated by Metrorail runs northwards to Durban via Amanzimtoti and southwards to Kelso via Umgababa.

Road

Kingsburgh is bisected by the major N2 freeway running between Durban in the north and Port Shepstone in the south. The town is also intersected by the R102 which is formed by two roads (Kingsway- renamed to Andrew Zondo Road, and Winklespruit Road) and the R603 (Sbu Mkhize Drive) heading north-west to Umbumbulu. The R603 is also an alternative route to the N3 for travel between Kingsburgh and Pietermaritzburg.