Isipingo

Isipingo is a town situated 19 km 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
Isipingo is situated in the South Durban Basin, approximately 10 kilometres (6 mi) north of Amanzimtoti, on the northern banks of the Siphingo River. It is surrounded northerly by the defunct Durban International Airport, westerly by Umlazi and southerly by Athlone Park and Umbogintwini.

Isipingo for the most part, lies just 2 km inland from the coast, however its coastal suburb, Isipingo Beach is situated separately from the main town and is separated by the flat adjoining industrial area of Prospecton.

Suburbs

 * Isipingo Beach
 * Isipingo Hills
 * Isipingo Rail
 * Lotus Park
 * Malaba Hills

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 9 km2, is a place of employment for many Isipingo residents.

Retail
The main road through the Isipingo Rail CBD, Phila Ndwandwe Road, forms the spine for local business activity and civic services and is lined by shopping centres such as Isipingo Main, Isipingo Junction and the new Isipingo Station Centre (a retail development on the railway station completed in 2020).

Amenities
Isipingo is policed by the SAPS precinct of the Isipingo Police Station in Isipingo Rail. There also two municipal libraries in Isipingo, Isipingo Civic Library in Orient Hills and the Isipingo Beach Library.

Isipingo is served by the Isipingo Hospital, a private hospital in Isipingo Rail owned by Joint Medical Holdings. The Isipingo Clinic is the only public health clinic in Isipingo and operates as a municipal clinic under the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality.

The area has access to 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.

Rail
Isipingo Railway Station lies on the main commuter line between Durban (via Reunion) in the north-east and Kelso (via Umbogintwini) in the south-west, known as the South Coast Line, operated by Metrorail.

Roads
Isipingo lies just off the N2 national highway between Durban to the north and Amanzimtoti to the south. Running somewhat parallel to the N2, the R102 (South Coast Road) connects the town with Reunion and Athlone Park and provides access to the N2 in Prospecton.

The town is also intersected by the M35 (Wilcox Road) connecting to Umlazi in the west, Phila Ndwandwe Road (the main thoroughfare through Isipingo Rail) connecting to Umlazi Mega City in the north, and Mfundi Mngadi Road connecting to Umbogintwini in the south.

The coastal enclave of Isipingo Beach can be accessed by turning off the R102 in Prospecton onto The Avenue East, the single access road into the suburb.

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 numerous Christian churches.

Landmarks and important sites

 * Isipingo Temple, founded in 1870, dedicated to the Goddess Marieaman
 * The grave of Dick King.
 * Toyota manufacturing plant in Prospecton.
 * SAPREF Oil Refinery (owned by Shell and BP)
 * The town also a has a transit camp on the main road, created as a result of the FIFA World Cup 2010.
 * Numerous Hindu Temples including Isipingo Hindi Sabha in Isipingo Hills, Dharam Mandhir in Lotus Park and Shree Hanuman Mandhir in Orient Hills