In case you missed it, read from the beginning of the series:
Bluff News from the 1950s – PART 1
Bluff News from the 1950s – PART 2
Bluff News from the 1950s – PART 3
Bluff News from the 1950s – PART 4
RATEPAYER brickbats – and a bouquet
Why does the Bluff pay rates?
That is a question still asked today by ratepayers who are frustrated with service delivery.
Mrs JM Astrup of Marine Drive posed that very question in a letter to the Mercury published on 10 March, 1956. She resented the council’s interest in opening up the Bluff headland for sightseers while Marine Drive had no pavements or stormwater infrastructure. “Doubtless the lack of funds will be the excuse. But why is it that there is never a lack of funds for the corporation’s pet suburb – Durban North?” Ouch! Mrs Astrup’s remarks were endorsed by a Mrs Rowntree of Wylie Road (March 21) who pleaded for roads on the Bluff to be tarred.
A correspondent who signed himself “Disgusted” and who lived in Brighton Beach, stated: “Why do we Bluff residents tolerate such shocking neglect? Our roads are a danger and a disgrace. The poor street lighting is a menace.” He went on to cite the hazards of walking down Noel Road after dark – untarred, slippery, steep with no street lights (Mercury, June 13, 1956).
In a letter in the Mercury on April 18, 1956, Mr H Blight of Brixham Avenue complained about the lack of drainage outside his property. Apparently a deep pool of water some 30 metres in length had accumulated, rendering the road impassable for vehicles and pedestrians. Appeals to the council had proved fruitless with lack of funds being cited as the excuse. The Mercury headed Mr Blight’s letter “Snorkel Avenue.”
However, the council did receive a bouquet alongside Mr Blight’s letter. “Trained Nurse” wrote to thank the bus drivers of Durban Transport for “their unfailing kindness and courtesy” in assisting her and her ailing mother during their many trips to and from the Bluff to the city.
Councillor Sidney Smith’s perspective
Doubtless stung by the complaints regarding lack of service delivery, Bluff Councillor Sidney Smith (the Bluff was represented by two councillors then) attempted to put the Bluff’s case in perspective. In a letter in the Mercury published on April 27, 1956, he said that while the Bluff was the fastest growing suburb in Durban, it was still regarded by many as the “bundu.”
He acknowledged that stormwater drainage and the tarring of minor roads was sorely needed. He noted that the Works Committee had voted £35,000 for stormwater drainage and a potential further £15,000 if additional staff could be obtained. He conceded that such sums were trifling compared to the Bluff’s legitimate needs.
Pioneers’ recollections
On September 26, 1956, the Mercury published a detailed report based on the recollections of two Bluff pioneers, Mr WA Doble and Mrs AH Freer.
They had both settled on the Bluff in 1899. Then the Bluff was an ‘outpost’ of thick bush and the home of wild animals. Known to the Zulus as Isibubulungu, it meant a long, bulky thing or a big, long sweet potato. The Dobles owned 22 acres of land in the Ansteys beach area. The only other resident in that vicinity then, apart from the Catholic Mission station, was Mr Garcin. Further south, Mr Gray founded what became the Brighton Beach area.
Across the swamp in the valley, where Wentworth now is, was the Clarkson family. Fynnland was the oldest residential part of the Bluff where five families had lived since the 1860s, of which the Armstrongs were the oldest. In 1906, when Mrs Freer’s husband was a trooper in the Natal Police, the total number of Bluff residents recorded in their patrol book was 25. There were no roads, just tracks through the bush. The road to the Bluff ended at Wentworth railway station. Marine Drive was built in the early 1930s by unemployed whites.
After 1920, surveyor Clement Stott bought extensive property in the Fynnland area which led to a building boom there.
DID YOU KNOW?
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