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Did You Know?

Ballito and surrounds have some incredible stories to tell. From the first Cheetah bred in captivity in South Africa, and Ballito first and only White Christmas, to shipwrecks and crocodiles, there is much to hear and see. All these awesome facts and stories are courtesy of ShowMe Ballito and can be read below:

Beached Whale in Ballito
In August 2010, locals swarmed to the small bay at Boulder Bay, Ballito, to witness the incredible sight of an adult Humpback Whale marooned on the rocks. The animal is believed to have died at sea and the carcass washed ashore in high seas.

A small window of opportunity between tides was lost to drag the animal back into deeper water so the carcass remained, rotting quickly in the sun and creating an unbearable stench in the area. Many took the opportunity to hack quantities of meat to take home. The body was finally disposed of, using a large grader to remove tons of flesh from the rock.

First Cheetah in the World to be Bred in Captivity
Collisheen Estate is a preferred Wedding Venue for countless brides opting for a natural country wedding celebration. Before becoming a popular Wedding and Function Venue, the estate was a working sugar cane farm. Farm owners Neil and Morag Hulett were keen conservationists and were the first to successfully breed cheetah in captivity.

The shy animal faced extinction in Southern Africa and it is only through careful captive breeding programs such as the De Wildt Ann Van Dyk Cheetah Sanctuary in Hartbeespoort that South Africa can record a Cheetah population of approximately 1500 animals.

Crocodiles in the Tongaat River
In March 2005 some ninety baby crocodiles escaped from Crocodile Creek Farm. Many of the small reptiles were recovered, but some made it into the natural waterways of the area.

A holidaymaker in Westbrook reported a large croc sunning himself on the sandbank in the middle of the Tongaat River. An escapee from 2005 now grown and flourishing in the ‘wilds’ of urban Ballito?

Shipwreck in Ballito
In July 2011, M/S Phoenix Ran Aground at Sheffield Beach. Residents Sheffield Beach were witness to an incredible Real Life Sea Drama when their quiet beach became the stage for a dramatic rescue and salvage operation. M/S Phoenix was on her way to India with a skeleton crew for scrapping when high seas caused the tanker to run aground. All fifteen crew were airlifted to safety and the ship eventually pulled from her nest on the rocks so she could continue on her journey to the shipping graveyards in India.

Strange Pillars Rising Salt Rock Main Beach
Ever wondered what those STRANGE pillars are beyond Salt Rock Tidal Pool? Basil Hulett built the Salt Rock Hotel and was an avid Rock Surf Fisherman. The concrete pillars formed a network of Fishing Platforms linked with rope walkways to allow him to enjoy his hobby to the fullest.

King Shaka at Salt Rock Beach
The mightiest Zulu Warrior once made this town his own. In fact, Salt Rock was actually named for the Salt the Zulu King’s handmaidens would collect from these rocks. Basil Hulett who foundered Salt Rock Hotel, built the Salt Rock Tidal Pool in the late 1950′s.

King Shaka’s Rock of Torment
From Thompson’s Bay beach, a short walk northward onto the rocky pro-minatory favoured by rock fishermen is the infamous Shaka’s Rock. Historic lore tells that the Zulu Warrior King tested his warrior’s courage and loyalty from this place – forcing his enemies or any young soldier deemed too cowardly to face battle to jump from this rock into the sea below.

Umhlali Station
Umhlali, the quaint village which serviced local farmers for a century with supplies brought in by train was named for “the Place of Waiting” as oftentimes travellers were forced to wait at this outpost for the river to subside before crossing.

‘Charlies Pool’ at Thompson’s Bay
The Olympic Size tidal pool was built by Charles de Charmoy as his personal exercise pool. Charles and his twin brother came to South Africa from Mauritius as orphans at the tender age of 15. Charles became a successful sugar cane magnate in the area and the family retains a beach cottage overlooking the famous Thompson’s Bay.

Fishing and Rock Pools

Ballito has developed around the beach and sea and the quality of these spaces is critical to the sustainability of the whole area. And so we encourage respect for our oceans and ask that you follow these simple guidelines:

• If you are fishing – catch for food only. Stick Marine fishing guidelines and if the fish is undersized, release it quickly and carefully.
• Do not leave any litter, bait, fishing hooks or line on the beaches or rocks. The UIP provide bags and bins at the stairs to the beaches and encourage you to make use of them.
• Make sure you have a fishing license on you at all times and understand the conditions and laws associated with them – fishing licenses can be purchased at the Ballito post office
• While our rock pools are awesome spaces for children to play in, please encourage them not to poke and prod the sea life and corals but to rather look with their eyes. To help educate you and your children, Tidal Tao – snorkelling guides and ocean conservationists, have developed a fantastic brochure called Sea-life On The KZN Rocky Shores.
• In terms of choosing fish to eat (either caught yourself or in a restaurant) choose wisely and with sustainability in mind. This WWF SASSI List of fish on the green / orange / red lists will guide you.

The History Of Ballito

Combining information from ShowMe Ballito; Tourism KZN, and The South Africa Guide, the history of Ballito has been summarised below, with a series of key dates rounding off the Ballito story.

While there is some evidence of ancient history in Ballito dating back to 400AD, it is generally accepted that the first settlement was of migrant Nguni speaking people who trekked from Central East Africa in the mid 1600′s through what was a virgin subtropical paradise teeming with a diversity of wildlife.

By around 1800 more than a hundred small Nguni chiefdoms occupied the area, and it was here that King Shaka, one of the most brilliant military leaders the world has known was born and built an empire, the might of which was felt as far North as the Limpopo River approximately 1000 kilometres inland.

The Might Of The King
According to stories, Shakas’ early years were difficult as he was often teased and taunted, having been born of an illicit relationship between Nandi and Senzangakhona, the head of a small chiefdom, the Zulu. But all this changed when he was drafted into one of the Mthethwa regiments, and rapidly rose through the ranks in Dingiswayo’s army.

Shaka become one of Dingiswayo’s favoured subjects, and on the death of Shakas father, Dingiswayo provided the support that enabled Shaka to assassinate his older brother, and become chieftain of the Zulu, albeit under the overall rule of Dingiswayo.

In 1818 when Dingiswayo was murdered by his rival Zwide, Shaka immediately assumed leadership of the Mthethwa state and set about building his kingdom by conquering surrounding chiefdoms and incorporating them into his realm.

He soon built a formidable army, introducing longer shields and a short stabbing spear; rather than the traditional throwing spear, and changing long-range battle tactics in favour of engaging the enemy at close quarters, executing an encircling manoeuvre.

The Zulu army ranged far and wide and in 1825 Shaka set up his capital in Dukuza.

In 2006, President Nelson Mandela officially renamed the Dolphin Coast (the location of Ballito) KwaDukuza after the first Surveyor-General to the province proclaimed a magisterial seat in 1873 and built the commercial heart of the area on the site of King Shaka’s final resting place. This was the royal settlement he called ‘Dukuza’ to proclaim the ‘maze’ of several thousand huts encircling his enormous regal dwelling.

On 22 September 1828 Shaka was assassinated by his half-brother and successor Dingane.

The Growth Of The Colony
Some 300 years before this on Christmas Day in 1497, Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama landed in what today is the Durban Bay, calling it “Natal” or Christmas. This became a port for ships travelling to India, but it was only in 1824 that the Colony of Port-Natal began to develop after merchants from the Cape Colony were granted permission by King Shaka to establish a trading station. Shaka gave them land around the bay, and they were soon trading with the Zulus, with ivory, skins, meat and carvings, traded for beads, trinkets, blankets and brass.

The settlement was later renamed Durban, after Cape Governor Sir Benjamin D’Urban!

The Move North
Gradually white settlers started venturing out into the surrounding areas, and in 1836 Mr. Willem Landman and his wife, Maria, settled near Blythedale, north of Ballito. This move was the catalyst for 2 future evnts that had a lasting impact on the history of the area.

In 1846 Edmond Morewood, who had started farming on the outskirts of Port Natal, travelled to Reunion and Mauritius where he recognised the potential of sugar cane farming, and after arranging the importation of a quantity of seed cane, started growing sugar cane on his new farm “Compensation”. With the masts salvaged from a sailing ship wrecked nearby he managed to set up a crude mill and in 1851 he was able to take his first consignment of sugar to the Durban market.

From here the sugar industry grew in leaps and bounds, and by 1854 six mills were in operation in the area. Not only did this set-up the industry as the major contributor to the economic development of the Dolphin Coast but it came to characterise the look of the area with its undulating green hills of sugar cane.

But this rapid expansion of the industry soon outgrew the available labour pool, mainly due to the Zulus’ general unwillingness to become farm labourers. In 1851, there was a call from the “Natal Colonists” for indentured labour from India, to work in the sugar cane fields, and in 1859 the necessary legislation was passed.

In November 1860 the first of a total of 384 vessels of Indian labourers began to arrive in Durban and continued for the next 50 years. The result is a large Indian community living and contributing to the economic progress and cultural diversity of the North Coast.

From Cane To Development and Tourism
Following the discovery of gold in the interior of South Africa, the port of Durban grew in importance, however it was perhaps only when the rail link between Johannesburg and Durban was established, and the roads between these cities started improving that, firstly Durban and then the North and South Coasts, started becoming a popular development and ultimate tourist destinations.

Initially the north coast road passed through all the towns on this route, and early stories tell of travellers stopping to open and close farm gates along the route. It was the appeal of the travel and the beauty of the coastline that grew the attraction of the area.

The advent of Ballito dates to 1953 when part of a sugar cane farm owned by Basil Townsend, was identified by a group of businessmen as a development opportunity located around the Compensation Beach area.

The town was established in 1954 as a private township, by Glen Anil Development Corporation/Investments with plots being offered from R790-00. Later the same year Ballito was proclaimed a town in reached borough status in 1986.

 

The name Ballito translated from Italian means “little ball”, the town’s name having been borrowed from a glossy advertisement for hosiery made by Ballito Hosiery of St. Albans, England.

Ballito reached borough status in 1986 and has grown rapidly since then to the thriving North Coast economic node it is today.

A History Summarised

• Evidence of ancient history in Ballito dates to 400AD
• Migrant Nguni speaking people from Central East Africa settled in the mid 1600′s
• By around 1800 more than a hundred small Nguni chiefdoms occupied the area
• It was here that King Shaka was born in 1797
• In 1818 Shaka assumed leadership of the Mthethwa state and set about building his kingdom.
• The Zulu army ranged far and wide and in 1825 Shaka set up his capital in Dukuza.
• in 1824 that the Colony of Port-Natal began to develop after merchants from the Cape Colony were granted permission by King Shaka to establish a trading station.
• On 22 September 1828 Shaka was assassinated by his half-brother and successor Dingane.
• In 1836 Mr. Willem Landman and his wife, Maria, settled near Blythedale, north of Ballito.
• In 1846 Edmond Morewood started growing sugar cane on his new farm “Compensation”.
• In1851 Morewood took his first consignment of sugar to the Durban market and by 1854 six sugar mills were in operation in the area.
• In 1851, there was a call from the “Natal Colonists” for indentured labour from India, to work in the sugar cane fields, and in 1859 the necessary legislation was passed.
• In November 1860 the first of a total of 384 vessels of Indian labourers began to arrive in Durban and continued for the next 50 years.
• The advent of Ballito dates to 1953 when part of a sugar cane farm owned by Basil Townsend, was identified for development.
• The town was established in 1954 as a private township, by Glen Anil Development Corporation/Investments and later that year was proclaimed a town.
• Ballito reached borough status in 1986.
• In 2006, President Nelson Mandela officially renamed the Dolphin Coast (the location of Ballito) KwaDukuza
• Today Ballito is experiencing exceptional development and economic growth, positioning is as a key investor node.