Westville, KwaZulu-Natal

Westville
Westville

 Westville shown within KwaZulu-Natal

Coordinates: 29°49′52″S 30°55′30″E / 29.831°S 30.925°E / -29.831; 30.925Coordinates: 29°49′52″S 30°55′30″E / 29.831°S 30.925°E / -29.831; 30.925
Country South Africa
Province KwaZulu-Natal
Municipality eThekwini
Area[1]
 • Total 30.76 km2 (11.88 sq mi)
Population (2011)[1]
 • Total 30,508
 • Density 990/km2 (2,600/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011)[1]
 • Black African 32.5%
 • Coloured 2.6%
 • Indian/Asian 22.1%
 • White 42.0%
 • Other 0.7%
First languages (2011)[1]
 • English 72.2%
 • Zulu 17.3%
 • Afrikaans 5.4%
 • Xhosa 1.9%
 • Other 3.2%
Postal code (street) 3629
PO box 3630

Westville is an area near Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which is situated 20 km inland from the Durban city centre. Formerly an independent municipality governed by a Town Council,[2] it now forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, which also includes Durban. The town was laid out on the farm Westville (named in honour of Martin West, the first British lieutenant-governor of Natal)[3] and formed in 1847. It developed from a settlement of German immigrants who arrived in 1848, and was proclaimed a borough in 1956.

Westville is also central to several main townships, namely Cato Manor, Claremont and Chesterville.

Education

Schools situated in Westville include Westville Boys' High School, Westville Girls' High School, Atholl Heights Primary School, Berea West Junior Primary School, Berea West Senior Primary School, Pitlochry Primary School, Westville Senior Primary and the Deutsche Schule Durban. Higher education centres include a 2 square-kilometre campus of University of KwaZulu-Natal (formerly the University of Durban-Westville) and Varsity College (Westville campus).

Specialist schools such as The International Hotel School, based at the Westville Hotel and The Fusion Cooking School can also be found in Westville.

Religion

There are several churches in Westville, including the Westville Catholic Church, Our Lady of Lourdes, situated in the town centre, the Methodist Church, the Westville Baptist Church, St Elizabeth's Anglican Church and Church on Route 5 (meet at The Roy Couzen's Theatre at Westville Boys High School)

The major mosque in Westville is Habibia Soofie Masjid, located opposite Westville Boys High School. It is a Soofie mosque.[4]

Prison

Main article: Westville Prison

Westville Prison is one of the largest prisons in the country and the only prison located in the Durban area.

Shopping Centres

Westville has three notable shopping centres:

Attractions

Tourists attractions include Westville's Palmiet Nature Reserve which has 15 km of guided and self-guided trails. Further afield tourists can experience the evergreen Western Inland Route and KwaZulu's regional attractions, including The Drakensberg (Barrier of Spears) Battlefields Tours, Game Reserves and Zululand are within a 2–3-hour drive. A large Anglo-German Historical Route exists with numerous Churches, Museums and Gravesites depicting the early settlement struggles of the early Colonial Days.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Main Place Westville". Census 2011.
  2. ↑
  3. ↑ "Dictionary of Southern African Place Names (Public Domain)". Human Science Research Council. p. 473.
  4. ↑ "SA Qur'anic Institutions Database". Retrieved 2011-08-27.
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