Scottburgh, KwaZulu-Natal
Encyclopedia
Scottburgh is a resort town situated on the mouth of the Mpambanyoni River (confuser of birds), 58 km south of Durban
on KwaZulu-Natal South Coast in South Africa
. Neighbouring towns include Pennington, Renishaw, Freeland Park, Umkomaas, Sezela, Bazley, Amahlongwa, Clansthal, Park Rynie and Dududu.
Colony Governor John Scott and in 1860 it became the first township to be laid out south of Durban
, but was initially known as Devonport. Scottburgh then became a very promising port as well as a new attractive location for sugar farms and sugar mills. In about 1850 the town started to attract immigrants especially from the United Kingdom
, known as the Bryne Settlers. They came to take advantage of the good harbours, both locally and at Durban, and to export their sugar both internally and externally. Often mispronounced or misspelled "Scottsburgh", Scottburgh became a municipality in 1964.
Most notorious of the above-mentioned cyclones was Cyclone Demoina of 1984 and the floods of 1987 which resulted in widespread flooding and infrastructural damage, including the destruction of the Old Main Road bridge from Durban and Umkomaas.
Language High School.
s, skink
s, gecko
s, numerous insect
s, millipedes, bushbuck
, mongi, and most famously, large numbers of vervet monkey
s. Genet
s have been sighted, and there are occasional unverified spottings of civet
s and similar small feline
s and cat-like mammals. Birds are abundant, perhaps the most noticeable being the raucous and much-loved Hadeda Ibis. The Indian Mynah is widespread but regarded as a pest due to its habits of defecating in public restaurants and eating areas and pillaging the nests of native birds. This bird has presented similar problems in other areas in South Africa, Australia
, and New Zealand
. The sardine run
is also visible from the shores of Scottburgh and its surroundings most winters. The Umdoni and Strelitzia
are the best-known trees specifically associated with Scottburgh and its environs.
and the late conservationist Tony Pooley
.
However, one appeal of Scottburgh Beach is in its grass-covered banks leading down to sandy beaches, which have made it a popular holiday resort for South Africans and foreign holidaymakers alike for many years.
Most Scottburgh residents work for small local businesses or the state sector, while larger industries are located in the nearby towns of Umkomaas, Umzinto, and Sezela. A number of residents also commute to work in Durban and nearby parts the wider eThekwini metropolitan area such as Amanzimtoti and Kingsburgh.
North of the Mpambinyoni lies the suburb of Freeland Park, largely residential but also possessing the Cutty Sark
Hotel and a river populated by juvenile and adolescent crocodile
s. These crocodiles are also the product of the 1987 cyclone, when infant crocodiles escaped from the nearby Crocworld theme park. South of Scottburgh proper, and separated from it by the Country Club, Golf Course, and a considerable expanse of bush, is Scottburgh South, and a few kilometres inland lies the Sugarcane farming hamlet of Renishaw, most well-known for its chapel.
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
on KwaZulu-Natal South Coast in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. Neighbouring towns include Pennington, Renishaw, Freeland Park, Umkomaas, Sezela, Bazley, Amahlongwa, Clansthal, Park Rynie and Dududu.
History
Named after NatalNatal, South Africa
Natal is a region in South Africa. It stretches between the Indian Ocean in the south and east, the Drakensberg in the west, and the Lebombo Mountains in the north. The main cities are Pietermaritzburg and Durban...
Colony Governor John Scott and in 1860 it became the first township to be laid out south of Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, but was initially known as Devonport. Scottburgh then became a very promising port as well as a new attractive location for sugar farms and sugar mills. In about 1850 the town started to attract immigrants especially from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, known as the Bryne Settlers. They came to take advantage of the good harbours, both locally and at Durban, and to export their sugar both internally and externally. Often mispronounced or misspelled "Scottsburgh", Scottburgh became a municipality in 1964.
Geography
Scottburgh is situated on the South Bank of the Mpambinyoni River, a short river that culminates in a lagoon. The Mpambinyoni mouth has fluctuated in surface area and volume dramatically over the years, largely due to the frequent droughts, occasional cyclones, and other extreme weather conditions that can affect KwaZulu-Natal.Most notorious of the above-mentioned cyclones was Cyclone Demoina of 1984 and the floods of 1987 which resulted in widespread flooding and infrastructural damage, including the destruction of the Old Main Road bridge from Durban and Umkomaas.
Education
Scottburgh has a number of educational institutions, including a number of pre-primary schools, a bilingual Primary School, and an EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
Language High School.
Wildlife
Wildlife found regularly inside the township includes snakeSnake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, skink
Skink
Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. Together with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae , they comprise the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha...
s, gecko
Gecko
Geckos are lizards belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from 1.6 cm to 60 cm....
s, numerous insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, millipedes, bushbuck
Bushbuck
The bushbuck is the most widespread antelope in Sub-Saharan Africa, and is found in rain forests, montane forests, forest-savanna mosaics and bush savannaforest and woodland. Recently, genetic studies have shown that the bushbuck, is in fact a complex of two geographically and phenotypically...
, mongi, and most famously, large numbers of vervet monkey
Vervet Monkey
The vervet monkey , or simply vervet, is an Old World monkey of the family Cercopithecidae native to Africa. The term "vervet" is also used to refer to all the members of the genus Chlorocebus....
s. Genet
Genet (animal)
Genets are Old World mammals from the order Carnivora, family Viverridae, related to civets and linsangs. All species are contained within the genus Genetta, although the Aquatic Genet is sometimes housed in its own genus Osbornictis....
s have been sighted, and there are occasional unverified spottings of civet
Civet
The family Viverridae is made up of around 30 species of medium-sized mammal, including all of the genets, the binturong, most of the civets, and the two African linsangs....
s and similar small feline
Felidae
Felidae is the biological family of the cats; a member of this family is called a felid. Felids are the strictest carnivores of the thirteen terrestrial families in the order Carnivora, although the three families of marine mammals comprising the superfamily pinnipedia are as carnivorous as the...
s and cat-like mammals. Birds are abundant, perhaps the most noticeable being the raucous and much-loved Hadeda Ibis. The Indian Mynah is widespread but regarded as a pest due to its habits of defecating in public restaurants and eating areas and pillaging the nests of native birds. This bird has presented similar problems in other areas in South Africa, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, and New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. The sardine run
Sardine run
The 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 northward along the east coast of South Africa...
is also visible from the shores of Scottburgh and its surroundings most winters. The Umdoni and Strelitzia
Strelitzia
Strelitzia is a genus of five species of perennial plants, native to South Africa. The genus is named after the duchy of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, birthplace of Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom. A common name of the genus is bird of paradise flower, because of a supposed resemblance of its...
are the best-known trees specifically associated with Scottburgh and its environs.
Famous inhabitant
Well-known people associated with Scottburgh include Dr T.C. Robertson, world-renowned conservationist and author; former Springbok rugby player Joel StranskyJoel Stransky
Joel Theodore Stransky is a former South African rugby union rugby player, most notable for scoring all of South Africa's points, including the famous dramatic winning drop goal, against New Zealand in the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. He played as a fly-half.-Early life:Stransky was born in...
and the late conservationist Tony Pooley
Tony Pooley
Tony Charles Pooley 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 as a youth...
.
Economy
Scottburgh is also particularly renowned for its large surfing community. Superior waves are to be found along the coast, especially during the winter months. Popular spots include Green Point, Pennington, Kelso, Scottburgh and Rocky Bay. Many other perfect breaks along this coast can be found. Surfers and Bodyboarders from around the world come for surf trips around the south coast, and would visit Scottburgh in particular for its world wide surfing reputation.However, one appeal of Scottburgh Beach is in its grass-covered banks leading down to sandy beaches, which have made it a popular holiday resort for South Africans and foreign holidaymakers alike for many years.
Most Scottburgh residents work for small local businesses or the state sector, while larger industries are located in the nearby towns of Umkomaas, Umzinto, and Sezela. A number of residents also commute to work in Durban and nearby parts the wider eThekwini metropolitan area such as Amanzimtoti and Kingsburgh.
North of the Mpambinyoni lies the suburb of Freeland Park, largely residential but also possessing the Cutty Sark
Cutty Sark
The Cutty Sark is a clipper ship. Built in 1869, she served as a merchant vessel , and then as a training ship until being put on public display in 1954...
Hotel and a river populated by juvenile and adolescent crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s. These crocodiles are also the product of the 1987 cyclone, when infant crocodiles escaped from the nearby Crocworld theme park. South of Scottburgh proper, and separated from it by the Country Club, Golf Course, and a considerable expanse of bush, is Scottburgh South, and a few kilometres inland lies the Sugarcane farming hamlet of Renishaw, most well-known for its chapel.