This 100 year old home in Allan Street, Scottburgh, with corrugated iron roof, is for sale at R1.35m through Seeff Scottburgh.

Scottburgh is known to many as a popular holiday destination on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, but most people know little about the history of this town which turns 150 this year.

Scottburgh is on the banks of the Pambinyoni River 58 km south of Durban, and is the oldest town on the South Coast. In 1860 it was surveyed as a township and named in honour of the Lt Governor, John Scott, then Governor of Natal.

Shaka, King of the Zulus, and his entourage were among some of the early visitors to this area. Stopping to rest and drink from the nearby spring, Shaka was distracted by the birds at the mouth of the river beside which the town was later built. He wondered how on earth each bird would know which nest to return to, and named the river Mpanbonyoni or Confuser of birds.

At the turn of the century this shallow river bay was home to a fleet of fishing vessels and was for a time a promising harbour. This was cause for much excitement among the local sugar pioneers eager to transport their harvest to Durban. These pioneers were part of the contingent of Byrne Settlers who arrived in 1850 from Liverpool on board the Henrietta. These settlers included the Crookes brothers, Charles and Samuel, who began to establish sugar farms and then sugar mills - this was the start of an industry that is still one of the economic cornerstones of the South Coast. Scottburgh did eventually boast a port in 1874, with mooring buoys anchored outside the surf line and coasters chartered from ship to shore. Shipping companies emerged, but folded a few years later due to transport rates dropping with the advent of the railway line to the South Coast.

Leon Bakker of Seeff Scottburgh has lived in the town since 2007 and became interested in the town’s history after buying one of the grand old Scottburgh homes, which is now operating as a B&B.

He says the township of Scottburgh was a grid of streets on a map in 1861, and to this day the initial stands that were surveyed are to be found in Scottburgh central. In 1923 the real development of Scottburgh commenced, and property owners formed a voluntary township association, which was instrumental in approaching the Surveyor General and persuading him to relax the conditions on building materials for the construction of houses. This was due to the scarcity of brick-making clay in the area, and in so doing heralded the era of lightly constructed houses, with a minimum cost of £250 a house to be built within two years of anyone acquiring a stand.

Some of these houses are still standing in Scottburgh today, and one such gem built in Allan Street with corrugated iron roof is for sale through Seeff Mid-South Coast at R1.35m.

Today Scottburgh is a thriving coastal resort. Drawn by the year-round tropical climate and the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, visitors flock to escape the cooler hinterland and enjoy the beach with its expanse of terraced lawns, inviting pool, super tube, and protected bathing. You can also tee off at the 18-hole Scottburgh Golf Course.

There are a number of retirement villages in the town and apartments and houses that draw investors and other buyers. Prices for property range from R220 000 up to R4.7m – so there is something for every budget.

Michelle Harris, principal of Seeff Mid-South Coast, says areas further north and south of Scottburgh have much to offer, including the town of Umkomaas with the Aliwal Shoal and its coral reefs, sharks and shipwrecks.

“About 15 km inland from Scottburgh is the town of Umzinto, which has a rich history in terms of South African Indian people, who last year celebrated 150 years in South Africa. We have properties here ranging from R450 000 for a house in Umkomaas to R24m for a beach villa on Clansthal Beach. In Umzinto we have land for sale from R120 000 and houses from R230 000 to R3m.”

Harris says there is definitely more interest in the property market at the coast now: “We are starting to get enquiries on higher priced properties - but sales are still largely taking place at around the R1m mark.”

Call Michelle Harris on 082 903 2556 or email michelleh@seeff.com.