Pinetown

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title: "Pinetown" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1850-establishments-in-the-colony-of-natal", "populated-places-established-in-1849", "populated-places-in-ethekwini-metropolitan-municipality", "second-boer-war-concentration-camps"] topic_path: "history/military" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinetown" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Pinetown
settlement_type	City
pushpin_map	South Africa KwaZulu-Natal#South Africa
coordinates
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	South Africa
subdivision_type1	Province
subdivision_name1	KwaZulu-Natal
subdivision_type2	District
subdivision_type3	Municipality
subdivision_name3	eThekwini
subdivision_type4	Main Place
established_title	Established
established_date
leader_title	Councillor
area_footnotes
area_total_km2	86.15
population_footnotes
population_total	144026
population_as_of	2011
population_density_km2	auto
demographics_type1	Racial makeup (2011)
demographics1_footnotes
demographics1_title1	Black African
demographics1_info1	67.8%
demographics1_title2	Coloured
demographics1_info2	4.3%
demographics1_title3	Indian/Asian
demographics1_info3	9.3%
demographics1_title4	White
demographics1_info4	18.0%
demographics1_title5	Other
demographics1_info5	0.6%
demographics_type2	First languages (2011)
demographics2_footnotes
demographics2_title1	Zulu
demographics2_info1	55.4%
demographics2_title2	English
demographics2_info2	31.4%
demographics2_title3	Afrikaans
demographics2_info3	3.8%
demographics2_title4	Xhosa
demographics2_info4	3.3%
demographics2_title5	Other
demographics2_info5	6.2%
timezone1	SAST
utc_offset1	+2
postal_code_type	Postal code (street)
postal_code	3610
postal2_code_type	PO box
postal2_code	3600
area_code_type	Area code
area_code	031
::

Until December 2023, Pinetown (excl. New Germany) maintained a distinct vehicular identity through its "NPN” registration plate prefix, representing Natal 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.

Geography

Location

Pinetown lies at the base of Field's Hill on the banks of the uMbilo River, surrounded by 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

Pinetown is mostly hilly, apart from the relatively flat central business district. The eastern areas, including Cowie's Hill and the New Germany Nature Reserve, rise to about 400 m (1,312 ft) above sea level. In the north, Berkshire Downs in New Germany reaches around 393 m (1,289 ft). The lowest elevations, ranging between 170 m (558 ft) and 300 m (984 ft), are found in the southern parts of Pinetown.

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 in the north to Regency Park and Savannah Park in the south and from Paradise Valley and Moseley in the east to the industrial areas of Westmead and Mahogany Ridge that lie on the foot of Field's Hill in the west.

Economy

Major companies

Corporations based in Pinetown include Educor (private tertiary education), Beier Group (textiles and personal protective equipment), Manolis Munchies (snacks retailer), Masscash (wholesaler owned by Massmart) and Powasol (chemicals).

Industries

Pinetown is one of four key industrial hubs in the Durban-Pinetown core industrial region, supported by various industrial suburbs. The western area includes Westmead, Mahogany Ridge, Alexander Park and Surprise Farm, while the northern area in New Germany includes Falcon Industrial Park, Mountain Ridge, New Germany Industrial Park, and Pineside. To the south, notable locations include Hagart Road Industrial, Southmead, and Mariann Industrial Park. The Pinetown region, particularly around Mahogany Ridge, hosts major distribution centres for companies like Clicks, PicknPay and Woolworths.

Transport

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Pinetown_N3_-_panoramio.jpg" caption="N3 freeway]] at Paradise Valley, Pinetown"] ::

Public Transport

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 along the Old Main Line, the historic railway connecting Durban and Pietermaritzburg. Key stations on this line in Pinetown include Pinetown railway station, which serves as the western terminus, as well as Sarnia, Glen Park, and Moseley. Additionally, Metrorail provides service from Durban to Cato Ridge via Queensburgh, Mariannhill (a southern suburb of Pinetown), and Mpumalanga on the New Main Line, the newer 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 Cowie's Hill and the M34 (Hans Dettman Highway) to Shallcross in the south.

Tolling

The N3 is the main route forming the Mariannhill Toll Route (between Paradise Valley and Key Ridge) and 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 Centre. 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

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Pinetown_Girls'_High_School,_hoofingang.jpg" caption="Main entrance of [[Pinetown Girls' High School]] in Josiah Gumede Road, Pinetown's main [[arterial road"] ::

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

Safety

Pinetown Police Station is located on Josiah Gumede Road in the Pinetown CBD with its large SAPS policing precinct covering most of Pinetown as well as Kloof, New Germany, Wyebank and Zamokuhle. The southern portion of Pinetown, known as the greater Mariannhill area, stretching south from Mariannhill to Regency Park and Savannah Park is covered by Mariannhill SAPS.

Sport

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.

References

Robson, Linda Gillian. (2011). "The Royal Engineers and settlement planning in the Cape Colony 1806–1872: Approach, methodology and impact". University of Pretoria.
"Main Place Pinetown". Census 2011.
Matthews, Josiah Wright. (1887). "Incwadi Yami, Or, Twenty Years' Personal Experience in South Africa". Rogers & Sherwood.
Waddington, Chris. (20 March 2011). "Many military heroes 'came together' in Pinetown". The Crest.
"British Concentration Camps of the South African War 1900-1902".
"Pinetown {{!}} South Africa {{!}} Britannica".
"Pinetown topographic map, elevation, terrain".
"Census 2011: Main Place: Pinetown".
"Contact".
"Manolis Munchies Head Office".
"Driving directions to Masscash Head Office, 20 Surprise Rd, Pinetown".
"Contact Us {{!}} Powasol".
(13 September 2020). "R3bn GO!Durban project hits a snag as city locks horns with taxi owners". iol.co.za.
"Pine Crest: About Us".
(n.d.). "Crompton Hospital (Life Health) in Pinetown, KwaZulu-Natal". SA Private Hospitals.
"Medicross Pinetown Medical & Dental Centre". medpages.co.za.
"Services {{!}} SAPS (South African Police Service)".
"Services {{!}} SAPS (South African Police Service)".
"Crime Statisticts by Police Precinct in South Africa".

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