Isipingo is a town situated south of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and 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.
History
Dick King went to Natal in 1828 and was awarded a large stretch of land between the Umlaas/uMlaza and Mbokodweni rivers at present-day Isipingo Rail, an area where he had already acquired some farmland and built himself a house. King managed a sugar mill in Isipingo until his death in 1871 and was buried in the town.
In May 1853, the Natal Mercury reported that Mr Jeffels of Isipingo ventured into sugarcane cultivation and is erecting buildings for sugar manufacturing. The indenture system was used from 1860 to supply cheap Indian labour to the sugar cane farms in Isipingo and the surrounding areas.
In 1880, the railway line named the South Coast Line extension from Rossburgh in Durban to Isipingo Rail was completed and opened. Between 1893 and the outbreak of the Second Boer War, the South Coast Line was extended 44 km (27 mi) from Isipingo Rail to Park Rynie.
In 1962, the Natal Provincial Council made a decision to incorporate Isipingo Rail and Isipingo Beach into the Borough of Amanzimtoti, a seaside town 10 kilometres further south and 1963, Isipingo Rail and Isipingo Beach were declared Indian Group Areas. By government decree, Isipingo Beach and Isipingo Rail would be amalgamated into a single Indian area, to be called Isipingo.
In 1972, Isipingo was no longer under the administration of Amanzimtoti and instead was governed by the Isipingo Town Board, an all-Indian self-governing local authority and later in 1974 achieved Borough status.
The elite apartheid era suburb of Isipingo Hills was then created.
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. 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 crashes near Isipingo:
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 takeoff 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
Geography
Topographically, Isipingo is both hilly and flat with the hilly area located towards the interior along the Siphingo River whilst along the coast, the suburb of Isipingo Beach lies on a high sandy ridge. A flat coastal plain separates the hilly areas of the Siphingo River and the ridge of Isipingo Beach.
In terms of the site of Isipingo, most of the built-up area of the town is concentrated towards the interior with Isipingo Beach being an outlier as it is separated from the rest of the town by the adjoining industrial area of Prospecton. The town is flanked by Reunion and the defunct Durban International Airport to the north, Athlone Park and Umbogintwini to the south and Umlazi to the west.
Isipingo is divided into seven neighbourhoods with the most established being Isipingo Rail (inland alongside the railway) and Isipingo Beach which are separated by Prospecton. Alongside Isipingo Rail and Isipingo Beach, other suburbs that form part of the town include Isipingo Hills, Malaba Hills, Lotus Park, Orient Hills and Malukazi.
Economy
Isipingo Rail, centered on Phila Ndwandwe Road serves as Isipingo’s Central Business District and an important retail and transport hub for the town.
Industries
The adjoining major industrial area of Prospecton is the location of one of South Africa's largest automobile assembly plants, that of Toyota. The facility, covering almost , is a place of employment for many Isipingo residents.