Pinetown

Pinetown is governed by the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and forms the westernmost part of the municipality's Central Municipal Planning Region (MPR) which is the economic core of the Greater Durban metropolis along with Durban, Westville and Queensburgh. Pinetown is bordered by the suburban towns of Westville (east), Queensburgh (south-east) and Kloof (north-west) and is also centrally located to many predominantly Indian and Black townships including the KwaDabeka and Clermont cluster to the north-east, Chatsworth to the south-east, Klaarwater to the south and the Luganda, Sgubudwini, Mpola, Tshelimnyama and KwaNdengezi cluster to the south-west.

Pinetown is situated above the city of Durban, on the banks of the uMbilo River and below the escarpment above Fields Hill which bounds the town to the west.[5] Pinetown as a whole is topographically hilly, with the exception of the Central Business District (CBD) which is relatively flatter compared to the surrounding suburban areas. The notable high lying areas in the eastern part of the town include the popular Cowies Hill and the New Germany Nature Reserve which lie at an elevation of approximately 400m. In the northern part of the town, the suburb of Berkshire Downs reaches an estimated elevation of 393m. The southern part of Pinetown, specifically the suburbs that are situated south of the N3 freeway, lie at a slightly lower elevation of between 170m and 300m with the elevation gradually climbing northwards towards the centre of the town.[6]

Pinetown is part of the larger eThekwini 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.[7]

A number of companies are headquartered in Pinetown, most notably food retailer giant, SPAR South Africa and the largest private tertiary education provider in South Africa, Educor as well as a few other smaller and local companies including Beier Group (technical textiles and personal protective equipment), Manolis Munchies (snacks retailer), Masscash (wholesaler owned by Massmart) and Powasol (chemicals).[8][9][10][11]

Pinetown is one of the four main and largest industrial regions within the Greater Durban metropolis, forming part of the larger Durban-Pinetown core industrial region and is largely favoured by many businesses due to its central location within the Greater Durban region, its access to four freeways and several arterial routes as well as its location just 50 minutes from Pietermaritzburg.[12] The Pinetown industrial region is mainly concentrated to the west of Pinetown where the industrial areas of Alexander Park, Mahogany Ridge, Westmead and Surprise Farm lie and north of Pinetown in the New Germany vicinity where the industrial areas of Falcon Industrial Park, Mountain Ridge, New Germany Industrial Park and Pineside lie. In the less industrialised south of Pinetown, there are three smaller and scattered industrial areas including Hagart Road Industrial, Southmead and Mariann Industrial Park. The industries that mainly dominate the Pinetown industrial region include the engineering, automotive and logistics industries (most notably the regional distribution centres for Clicks, Game, PicknPay and Woolworths).[13]

Pinetown is well-connected to four major freeways that service the Greater Durban region and all run in an east-west direction. The N3 national route is one of the main freeways running through Pinetown as well as one of the most important highways in South Africa connecting Johannesburg, the economic hub of the country and Durban, the busiest port in the country. The N3 connects Pinetown with Pietermaritzburg and Johannesburg to the north-west and with Durban to the south-east.

The M7 (Solomon Mahlangu Drive) is a metropolitan freeway that connects the town centre of Pinetown with Queensburgh and the Bluff in Durban to the south-west. The M13 metropolitan freeway (King Cetshwayo Highway) is the main freeway cutting through Pinetown, bypassing the town centre to the south, and connects Pinetown with the Upper Highway suburbs (because of their location above Pinetown) of Kloof, Gillitts and Hillcrest to the north-west and with Westville and Durban to the south-east. The M13 also serves as an alternative route for Pietermaritzburg-bound motorists avoiding paying toll at the Mariannhill Toll Plaza on the N3, where motorists can join the N3 just after Mariannhill near Hillcrest. The M19 is a metropolitan freeway that connects the Pinetown/New Germany area with Westville North and Durban to the east.

Other metropolitan routes in the Greater Durban region that serve Pinetown include the M1 (Henry Pennington Road/previously known as Richmond Road) that connects Pinetown with Klaarwater and Chatsworth to the south-west, M5 (Otto Volek; Stapleton; Underwood Road) that connects Pinetown with Queensburgh and Durban to the south-east, M31 (Josiah Gumede Road/previously known as Old Main Road) that connects Pinetown with Westville to the east (via the M13) and the M34 (Limpus Road; Hans Dettman Highway) that connects Pinetown with Shallcross to the south.

Pinetown is served by Metrorail KwaZulu-Natal's Old Main Line (Pinetown-Durban Line) which was the previous main railway line between Pietermaritzburg and Durban before the "New Main Line" which now passes further south through Queensburgh, Mariannhill, Mpumalanga (Hammarsdale) and Cato Ridge was built. The Old Main Line connects Pinetown with Queensburgh and Durban and is served by four railway stations including the main railway station, Pinetown Railway Station, Sarnia, Glen Park and Moseley.

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.[14]

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.[15]

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.

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
• Benjamin Pine Primary School
• Sarnia Primary School
• Highway College (independent)
• John Wesley School (independent)
• Pinetown Junior & Senior Primary School
• Browns School (special needs education)
• St Benedict School Pinetown (independent)
• Lyndhurst Primary School
• New Germany Primary School
• Ashley Primary School
• St Francis College (independent)
• Gelofte Skool, the only Afrikaans-medium school in the area
• Margot Fonteyn Secondary School
• Kloof High School
• Mariannridge Primary School
• Mariannridge Secondary School
• St Wendolins Primary school
• Kranskloof Primary School
• Ndengetho Secondary School
• Sarnia Primary School
• Mathinta Secondary School
• Thornwood Secondary School
• KwaSanti Public Secondary
• Nonopha Senior Primary school
• IsiZinda Secondary school
• Westmead Secondary school
• Bahlebonke Primary school
• Savannah Park Secondary
• Jubilee Primary school
• Wyebank Primary
• Wyebank Secondary

Pre-Schools in Pinetown include:

• Kokkewiet Pre Pimêre Skool - Afrikaans
• Stepping Stones Pre-Primary School - English
• Whizz Kidz Pre-Primary School - English
• Ehlophe Edu-Care School

Pinetown's medical facilities include:

• St Mary's, a government hospital in Mariannhill
• Life Crompton Hospital, a private hospital[16]
• Medicross, a private medical centre[17]

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.

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 who line the route every year to catch a glimpse of their friends and loved ones in the marathon.