Amanzimtoti is a coastal town just south of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The town is well known for its warm climate and numerous beaches, and is a popular tourist destination, particularly with surfers, and the annual sardine run attracts many to the beaches. Its location on the N2 national highway, approximately 58 km from Durban International Airport made it a convenient destination; Etymology According to local legend, when the Zulu king Shaka led his army down the south coast on a raid against the Pondos in 1828, he rested on the banks of a river. When drinking the water, he exclaimed “Kanti amanzi mtoti” (isiZulu: “So, the water is sweet”). The river came to be known as Amanzimtoti (“Sweet Waters”). The Zulu word for “sweet” is actually mnandi, but, as Shaka’s mother had the name Nandi, he invented the word toti to replace mnandi out of respect not to wear out her name. Locals frequently refer to the town as “Toti”. In 2009 the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Geographical Names Committee recommended changing the town’s name to aManzamtoti/eManzamtoti. History Precolonial period Legend holds that King Shaka named Amanzimtoti after drinking water from a river or stream in the area whilst on a raid down the south coast of what present-day KwaZulu-Natal. This allegedly took place towards the end of his reign, which lasted from 1816 to 1828. When Shaka stopped to rest in the area, he had his personal attendant collect water from a nearby stream. This water was presented to King Shaka in a calabash. After drinking the water he exclaimed “Kanti amanz’amtoti”(isiZulu: “So, the water is sweet”). Extensions of the legend tell that King Shaka had sat under a large wild fig tree to drink the water, or that he used to meet local indunas (chiefs) under a specific fig tree. The exact tree is unknown; one tree laying claim to the distinction fell down in March 1972, and another fell down in June 1981. Early colonial history Dick King passed through the Amanzimtoti area on his way to Grahamstown in 1842 in order to request help for the besieged British garrison at Port Natal (now the Old Fort, Durban). The route that Dick King took through Amanzimtoti later became a road named Kingsway. In 1847 Dr Newton Adams moved from Umlazi (where he had established a mission station in 1836) to Amanzimtoti and started a new mission station. Dr Adams died in 1851, and the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions sent Rev. Rood to Amanzimtoti in 1853 with the express object of opening up a school. Adams Mission Church was built inland of Amanzimtoti in 1852, and Adams College was built in 1853. The college was first named “Amanzimtoti Institute” and was later renamed after Dr. Adams in the 1930s. Different accounts identify the first house in the Amanzimtoti area, with one reference claiming a house on the south side of the Amanzimtoti River as the oldest house and another claiming a house to the north of the river as the oldest. The “first house” in Amanzimtoti, known as Klein Frystaat (“Little Free State”), was owned by Howard Wright and was situated “on the north side of the back of the old Anglican Church” on Adams Road. The house was demolished in 1984. However, the “best guess” for the first house built in Amanzimtoti is 1895, and it may have been on the “headland” south of Amanzimtoti Lagoon. A photograph of a rowing-boat on the Amanzimtoti River taken in 1889 shows the banks of the river vegetated with Phragmites australis, Phoenix reclinata and coastal bush. However a later traveler in 1911 claims to have been the first person to take a camera up the river, but also describes “reed-covered isles”, “overhanging trees” and his photographs show Phoenix reclinata growing on the banks. The railway line from Durban to Isipingo was extended to Park Rynie from 1896 onwards, and the first train passed through Amanzimtoti in 1897. This train left Durban on 22 February at 07h55 and consisted of a Dubs-type Engine with two goods trucks, two passenger trucks and a brake-van. There was a tin shanty siding at Amanzimtoti in 1897 which served as a station. The route from the Amanzimtoti train station to Adams Mission was named Adams Road. The first hotel in Amanzimtoti was built in 1898 to cater for holiday-makers, some of whom came from as far afield as Johannesburg on specially organised trains. The first hotel was built of wood and iron, and burnt down in May 1899. Amanzimtoti had its first station-master in 1902. 1900s In 1902 Mrs K. Swafton visited Amanzimtoti and reported that the area had 1 hotel, 3 or 4 houses and 12 huts on the lagoon (clustered on the shore between the lagoon and Chain Rocks). The huts were made of wood and iron or motor-car packing cases and served as holiday bungalows, and two of the houses had been built by the Department of Native Affairs for resident officers. The 5th house in Amanzimtoti was built on the corner of Adams Road and Ross Street in 1908 by the Reinbach family, who came from Cape Town. The Kynoch factory for the manufacture of explosives was built in Arklow, Ireland in 1895. Mr Arthur Chaimberlain of Kynochs visited South Africa in 1907 (1908) to find a place to start another factory. 1,400 acres of land were bought at Umbogintwini, and on 24 October 1907, a group of Irishmen (23 workers and their families) from Arklow sailed from Southampton to work as factory hands at the new Kynoch’s factory in Umbogintwini. These people lived in Amanzimtoti and Isipingo before the village of Umbogintwini took shape. One of these “Irishmen” (Harry Purves) was in fact originally from Durban, where he was born to Scottish immigrants. In 1910 Toti had “a dozen families” (according to Bill Bailey), and the Toti Hotel had 50 rooms. In 1911 Toti was an hour’s ride from Durban by train, and a photograph shows a boat…
