Isipingo

Isipingo is a town situated 19 kilometres (12 mi) south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Under apartheid it was first a "whites only" area, but was then reclassified as Indian. By forcing the whites to sell their houses and move out, the apartheid government claimed it was being fair, as it wished to justify the forcing out of millions of people who were not white from their homes around South Africa. Isipingo currently forms part of eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality. The town is named after the Siphingo River, which in turn is thought to be named (in the Zulu language) for the intertwining cat-thorn shrubs (Scutia myrtina) present in the area, or the river's winding course.[2] The town comprises Isipingo Rail, Malaba Hills, Isipingo Hills, Lotus Park, Orient Hills, Malukazi and Isipingo Beach, a seaside township built on a high ridge of sand at the mouth of the Siphingo River.[3]

Isipingo
Isipingo
Isipingo
Coordinates: 29°59′59″S 30°56′42″E
CountrySouth Africa
ProvinceKwaZulu-Natal
MunicipalityeThekwini
Main PlaceDurban
Government
 • CouncillorSunil Brijmohan
Area
 • Total10.43 km2 (4.03 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[1]
 • Total30,193
 • Density2,900/km2 (7,500/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)
 • Black African40.6%
 • Coloured1.5%
 • Indian/Asian56.95%
 • White0.25%
 • Other0.7%
First languages (2011)
 • English59.3%
 • Zulu32.8%
 • Xhosa4.5%
 • Afrikaans0.9%
 • Sotho0.85%
Time zoneUTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)
4133
PO box
4110

The area has 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 town itself has Primary Schools, High Schools, Libraries, Local Municipality and is close to major shopping centres. A main road connects the town to the M4 highway which provides easy access to Durban city. Isipingo Beach adjoins a major industrial area, Prospecton, which is the location of one of South Africa's largest automobile assembly plants, that of Toyota. The facility, covering almost 9 square kilometres (3.5 sq mi), is a place of employment for many Isipingo residents. Isipingo Secondary, Reunion Secondary and Strelitzia Secondary are the local high school.

The populace is predominantly of Indian origin.

Neighbouring suburbs include Amanzimtoti and Umlazi, and the disused Durban International Airport is situated on the fringes of Isipingo Beach. Isipingo is known for the area where Dick King is buried.

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 two Christian churches.

Landmarks & Important Sites
  • Madrassah Taleemuddeen, where students from all over the world come to study Islam and to memorise the Koran.[4]
  • The grave of Dick King.[5]
  • Toyota manufacturing plant in Prospecton.
  • SAPREF Oil Refinery (Shell and BP)

World War II plane crashes

During the Second World War the Coastal Command (Southern Air Command SAAF) deployed 10 Squadron SAAF 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 was later built.[6][lower-alpha 1] 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[lower-alpha 2] crashes near Isipingo:[7]

  • 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 take off 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

Notes and references
  1. Durban's International airport is now at La Mercy and is known as King Shaka International Airport
  2. an alternate name for a US World War II fighter aircraft Curtiss P-40 Warhawk variants
  1. Sum of the Sub Places Isipingo Beach, Isipingo Hills, Isipingo Rail and Lotus Park from Census 2011.
  2. Raper, P.E. (1987). Dictionary of Southern African Place Names. Johannesburg: Lowry. p. 223. ISBN 0947042067.
  3. "Isipingo | South African History Online". www.sahistory.org.za. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
  4. Lo, Mbaye; Haron, Muhammed (26 January 2016). Muslim Institutions of Higher Education in Postcolonial Africa. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 81–. ISBN 978-1-137-55231-0.
  5. Buttigieg, Gerald (18 August 2012). "St James Anglican Church, Dick King graveyard". eggsa.org. Retrieved 2017-10-10.
  6. "Fighters Over Durban".
  7. "Kittyhawk crashes during WWII".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.