Pinetown

Pinetown is a city that forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, based just inland from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The town is situated 16 km (10 mi) north-west of Durban and 64 km (40 mi) south-east of Pietermaritzburg.

Prior to 1 December 2023, vehicle registrations plates in Pinetown started with NPN - N for Natal, PN for Pinetown.

History
Pinetown was named after the governor of Natal, Sir Benjamin Pine. The town was established in 1850 around the Wayside Hotel, itself built in 1849 along the main wagon route between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. In the Victorian era Pinetown was known as health resort.

During the Second Boer War, the British built a concentration camp in Pinetown to house Boer women and children.

A number of German settlers made Pinetown their base and this accounts for the neighbourhood known as New Germany and the German Lutheran Church. Indeed, to this day imported German cakes and goodies pack the shelves at Christmas time in the Knowles Spar, the largest grocery store of Pinetown. One of the largest monasteries was located south of Pinetown in Mariannhill, home to the Mariannhill monastery founded by Abbot Pfanner. The establishment of this monastery had huge influence in the expansion of the Catholic Church in KwaZulu Natal.

The neighbouring area of Clermont was a solely black residential zone during the apartheid era, with land tenure being on a freehold basis unlike the state-owned townships elsewhere in Greater Durban metropolis. This meant residents enjoyed an atmosphere of freedom and this led to Clermont being a base for some well-known political activists during the apartheid era such as the lawyer Archie Gumede. Other personalities associated with Clermont are relatives of the leader of the world-renowned Ladysmith Black Mambazo musical group.

Location
Pinetown is situated below Fields Hill, on the uMbilo River and is surrounded by the following towns: Westville to the east, Queensburgh to the south-east and Kloof to the north-west. It is also centrally located to many predominantly Indian and Black townships including: KwaDabeka and Clermont to the north-east, Chatsworth to the south-east, Klaarwater to the south and Luganda, Sgubudwini, Mpola, Tshelimnyama and KwaNdengezi to the south-west.

Topography
Topographically, Pinetown is generally hilly with the exception of the central business district which is relatively flatter by comparison to the surrounding suburban areas. The notable high-lying areas in the eastern parts of Pinetown include Cowies Hill and the New Germany Nature Reserve reaching approximately 400 m (1312 ft) above sea level. In the northern parts, the suburb of Berkshire Downs in New Germany reaches approximately 393 m (1289 ft) above sea level. The lowest elevations of Pinetown are found in the southern parts, which approximately range between 170 m (558 ft) and 300m (984 ft) above sea level.

Boundaries
Pinetown is part of the larger eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and for voting purposes, falls within the IEC electoral Ward 18. Pinetown covers a large area of 86.15 km2 extending from the New Germany area to the north to Regency Park and Savannah Park to the south and from Paradise Valley and Moseley to the east to the industrial areas of Westmead and Mahogany Ridge that lie on the foot of Fields Hill to the west.

Major companies
Two large corporations are based in Pinetown including SPAR South Africa (retailer) and Educor (tertiary education). Smaller local companies based in Pinetown include Beier Group (technical textiles and personal protective equipment), Manolis Munchies (snacks retailer), Masscash (wholesaler owned by Massmart) and Powasol (chemicals).

Industries
Pinetown is one of the four industrial centres in the Durban-Pinetown core industrial region served by industrial suburbs such as: Westmead, Mahogany Ridge, Alexander Park and Surprise Farm to the west; Falcon Industrial Park, Mountain Ridge, New Germany Industrial Park and Pineside to the north in New Germany; and Hagart Road Industrial, Southmead and Mariann Industrial Park in the south. There are couple of major distribution centres in Pinetown, especially to the west around Mahogany Ridge including Clicks, PicknPay and Woolworths.

Bus
The first phase of a rapid bus system, GO!Durban, was due for implementation in September 2019, but was postponed because the municipality is scared of the Taxi bosses. The first phase envisages a link between Pinetown CBD and KwaMashu’s Bridge City Mall.

Rail
Metrorail operates commuter trains between Pinetown and Durban via Queensburgh on the Old Main Line, the older main railway line between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Pinetown train stations on the Old Main Line are at Pinetown railway station (marks the western end of the commuter line), Sarnia, Glen Park and Moseley. It also operates commuter trains from Durban to Cato Ridge via Queensburgh, Mariannhill (southern suburb of Pinetown) and Mpumalanga on the New Main Line, the newer main railway line between Durban and Pietermaritzburg.

Roads
Pinetown is well-connected to four major freeways. The N3 connects the town with Durban to the south-east and Pietermaritzburg to the north-west. The M13, named King Cetshwayo Highway, connects the town with Durban to the south-east via Westville and Hillcrest to the north-west via Kloof and Gillitts. Running south-east, the M7, named Solomon Mahlangu Drive, connects the town with Queensburgh. Running east, the M19 connects the town with Westville and Durban.

The town is also intersected by a number of metropolitan routes, namely; the M1 (Henry Pennington Road) to Chatsworth in the south-east, M5 to KwaDabeka and KwaMashu in the north and Queensburgh in the south-east, M32 (Rodger Sishi Road) to Westville in the east, M31 (Josiah Gumede Road) which runs as the main street of the town towards Cowies Hill and the M34 (Hans Dettman Highway) to Shallcross in the south.

Tolling
The N3, managed by N3 Toll Concession, (Pty) Ltd, is the main route forming the Mariannhill Toll Route (between Paradise Valley and Key Ridge) involves payment of toll: Traffic arriving in Pinetown from the west and traffic heading west on the N3 (in the direction of Pietermaritzburg) must pass through the Mariannhill Toll Plaza, just west of Pinetown. The M13 between Paradise Valley (east of Pinetown) and Key Ridge (west of Pinetown, near Assagay) serves as an untolled alternative route to the N3 to avoid the Mariannhill Toll Plaza.

Retail
Pine Crest Centre, situated at 17 Kings Road, is the biggest retail center in town. It opened around 1988 as the Sanlam Center. In 2017 it was acquired by the JSE-listed company Vukile, and was upgraded to offer over 100 stores.

Education
One of five campuses of the University of KwaZulu-Natal is in Pinetown, on the corner of Richmond (now renamed to Henry Pennington Road) and Mariannhill Roads. The Edgewood campus was originally established in the 1970s as a college to train (mostly white) students as teachers for the apartheid government's schools serving the white community. The purpose-built facilities were superior to other colleges of education where students of other races were trained as teachers. The specialised facilities enabled the training of art, music, drama, science and physical education teachers, and included rooms with overhead viewing platforms for unobtrusive classroom lesson demonstrations.

In 2001, as part of the central government's rationalisation of the higher education landscape, the Edgewood College of Education was incorporated into the University of Natal. Then in 2004, with the merger of the Universities of Natal and Durban-Westville to form the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood became the new University's 5th campus. Edgewood campus is wholly dedicated to the education of teachers and education professionals and is one of the largest producers of new teachers in South Africa. On this campus the University's School of Education offers a four-year full-time Bachelor of Education (B Ed) degree and one-year full-time Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) for those wanting a teaching qualification. Various other certificates are also offered as in-service training for teachers, as well as Honours, Masters and Doctoral degrees. The library collection is specially equipped to enable those studying education from undergraduate through to doctoral levels.

Schools
Schools in Pinetown include:
 * Pinetown Boys' High School
 * Pinetown Girls' High School
 * Savannah Park Secondary School
 * St Benedict School Pinetown (independent)

Pre-Schools
Pre-Schools in Pinetown include:
 * Kokkewiet Pre Pimêre Skool - Afrikaans

Healthcare
Pinetown's medical facilities include:
 * St Mary's, a government hospital in Mariannhill
 * Life Crompton Hospital, a private hospital
 * Medicross, a private medical centre

Cricket club
Pinetown Cricket Club, established in 1873, is believed to be the oldest cricket club in KwaZulu-Natal and amongst the oldest in South Africa. The club, originally located at the Civic Centre in central Pinetown, has subsequently moved to Lahee Park. Under the chairmanship of former Pinetown mayor Vernon Hall, Lahee Park hosted ten first class games between 1974 and 1979. Former internationals Norman Crookes (twice selected for the Springbok squad) and Tertius Bosch have previously represented the club. Khaya Zondo and Cameron Delport from the 2010 Dolphins team have a close association with the club, as do KZN "B" cricketers Bruce Kruger and Kyle Buckthorp.

Comrades Marathon
Pinetown is situated on the route of the popular Comrades Marathon, which runs along the Old Main Road from Westville, over Cowies Hill past the Civic Centre and on to Fields Hill, and vice versa. This event always attracts hundreds of spectators.