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Wikipedia / Umzinto

eMuziwezinto, previously and still commonly known as Umzinto, is a town located approximately 40 kilometres (23 miles) south-west of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. It was a sugarcane growing town, that was set up as the centre for a sugar mill.

Before December 1st, 2023, vehicle registration plates in Umzinto began with "NX", where the "N" represented Natal. The exact meaning of the "X" remains unclear, as this vehicle registration code also covered areas such as Park Rynie, Scottburgh & Umkomaas. The plates have now been updated to the provincial code "ZN", which stands for KwaZulu-Natal.

Suburbs

  • Alexandra

    Archibald

    Asoka Heights

    Billie Farm

    Braemar

    Dumisa

    Esperanza

    Gandhinagar

    Hazelwood

    Hibiscus

    Humberdale Farm

    Nishaat Gardens

    Riverside Park

    Roshen Heights

    Roseville

    Sanathan

    Shayamoya

    Sonti

    St. Patricks

    Umzinto CBD

    Umzinto Heights

Etymology

"Umzinto" is said to be derived from the Zulu"umenzi wezinto", meaning "the kraal [or place] of accomplishment".

According to an urban legend, the town's name derived from a visit by two men, one of whom was named Um. On encountering a stream, the men decided to cross it, but Um did not notice the crocodile lurking beneath the surface. Subsequently, Um was attacked by the crocodile, and bitten in half. "Um's in two!" his friend exclaimed. The legend has been ascribed to Jonathan Swift but Swift died in 1745, decades before the British encountered the region.

History

The first public company in Natal was established at Umzinto on the 6 July 1846. The sugarcane fields on the outskirts of Umzinto are owned & run by The Crookes Brothers, a JSE listed company. Umzinto was named the last town in Durban in 1963.

The town was called "Alexandra County" which was also a collection of other towns such as Park Rynie, Scottburgh, Pennington, & Sezela, during the apartheid-era.

Geography

Umzinto lies just inland from the coastal village of Park Rynie, in hilly countryside and to the north of the uMzinto River, after which it is named. The nearest settlements to Umzinto include Park Rynie (8km), Amandawe (10km), Scottburgh (12km), Pennington (16km) and Amahlongwa (16km).

Economy

Today, Umzinto has become a small yet bustling town that serves as a service centre to the surrounding rural communities. Typical of many small South African towns, Umzinto has a singular main road, Nelson Mandela Road, that forms the backbone of the town lined by a number of national and local retailers and businesses.

Umzinto was once the home of three large textile mills, namely Alitex, Bally Spinning Mills and MYM Textiles that used to export abroad. Today only one survives and is not as productive as it used to be. Consequently, this has affected the economy of Umzinto negatively.

Sport

Umzinto hosted two class-A cricket matches at the Alexandra Memorial Ground, one on 2 March 1974, when Natal B hosted Griqualand West in the Currie Cup Section B, and again on 19 March 1977, when Natal B faced Border in the same contest.

Law & Government

. In 1995, low cost housing was developed on the outskirts called Gandhi Nagar.

Education & Community

Schools:

  • Umzinto Primary School

    Braemar Primary School

    Umzintovale Primary School

    Scholar Amoris School

    Umzinto Islamic School

    St. Annes Primary School

    St. Patricks Primary School

    Umzinto Secondary School

    Roseville Secondary School

Umzinto also houses a Darul-Uloom called "Madrassa Da'watul Haq" that has produced many graduates who have memorised the entire Quraan.

Community Halls:

  • Sanathan Hall

    Islamic Cultural Centre

    Umzinto Town Hall

Places of Worship:

  • Wayside Chapel

    Sai Ashram Temple

    Sri Shiva (S.S.) Temple

    Sanathan Dharma Temple

    St. Annes Catholic Church

    Gandhinagar Church

    Esperanza Temple

    Umzinto Mosque

    Eagle Mountain Christian Fellowship

    Sri Vishu Temple

    Jaame' Masjid

Media

Radio Station : Life FM KZN

Infrastructure

Railways

Until halfway through the 1980s, Umzinto was the southern terminus of the Umzinto - Donnybrook narrow gauge railway and had transshipment facilities to a Cape gauge branch line to Kelso, along the railway to Johannesburg

Road

Nelson Mandela Road (P197-3) is the north–south main road connecting Umzinto with Esperanza and Amandawe that passes through the Umzinto CBD and provides access to the R612, while the R612 is an east–west regional route connecting Park Rynie with Ixopo that by-passes Umzinto to the south and provides access to the N2 freeway (to Durban and Port Shepstone) by-passing Umzinto to the east. Umzinto can also be accessed by turning off the R612 onto Park Rynie Road from the south-east.

Notable residents

References