eMuziwezinto, previously and still commonly known as Umzinto, is a town located approximately 40 kilometres (23 miles) south-west of Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. It was a sugarcane growing town, that was set up as the centre for a sugar mill.
Before December 1st, 2023, vehicle registration plates in Umzinto began with "NX", where the "N" represented Natal. The exact meaning of the "X" remains unclear, as this vehicle registration code also covered areas such as Park Rynie, Scottburgh & Umkomaas. The plates have now been updated to the provincial code "ZN", which stands for KwaZulu-Natal.
Suburbs Alexandra
Archibald
Asoka Heights
Billie Farm
Braemar
Dumisa
Esperanza
Gandhinagar
Hazelwood
Hibiscus
Humberdale Farm
Nishaat Gardens
Riverside Park
Roshen Heights
Roseville
Sanathan
Shayamoya
Sonti
St. Patricks
Umzinto CBD
Umzinto Heights
Etymology "Umzinto" is said to be derived from the Zulu"umenzi wezinto", meaning "the kraal [or place] of accomplishment".
According to an urban legend, the town's name derived from a visit by two men, one of whom was named Um. On encountering a stream, the men decided to cross it, but Um did not notice the crocodile lurking beneath the surface. Subsequently, Um was attacked by the crocodile, and bitten in half. "Um's in two!" his friend exclaimed. The legend has been ascribed to Jonathan Swift but Swift died in 1745, decades before the British encountered the region.
History The first public company in Natal was established at Umzinto on the 6 July 1846. The sugarcane fields on the outskirts of Umzinto are owned & run by The Crookes Brothers, a JSE listed company. Umzinto was named the last town in Durban in 1963.
The town was called "Alexandra County" which was also a collection of other towns such as Park Rynie, Scottburgh, Pennington, & Sezela, during the apartheid-era.
Geography Umzinto lies just inland from the coastal village of Park Rynie, in hilly countryside and to the north of the uMzinto River, after which it is named. The nearest settlements to Umzinto include Park Rynie (8 km), Amandawe (10 km), Scottburgh (12 km), Pennington (16 km) and Amahlongwa (16 km).
Economy Today, Umzinto has become a small yet bustling town that serves as a service centre to the surrounding rural communities. Typical of many small South African towns, Umzinto has a singular main road, Nelson Mandela Road, that forms the backbone of the town lined by a number of national and local retailers and businesses.
Umzinto was once the home of three large textile mills, namely Alitex, Bally Spinning Mills and MYM Textiles that used to export abroad. Today only one survives and is not as productive as it used to be. Consequently, this has affected the economy of Umzinto negatively.
Sport Umzinto hosted two class-A cricket matches at the Alexandra Memorial Ground, one on 2 March 1974, when Natal B hosted Griqualand West in the Currie Cup Section B, and again on 19 March 1977, when Natal B faced Border in the same contest.
Law & Government . In 1995, low cost housing was developed on the outskirts called Gandhi Nagar.
Education & Community
Schools: Umzinto Primary School
Braemar Primary School
Umzintovale Primary School
Scholar Amoris School
Umzinto Islamic School
St. Annes Primary School
St. Patricks Primary School
Umzinto Secondary School
Roseville Secondary School
Umzinto also houses a Darul-Uloom called "Madrassa Da'watul Haq" that has produced many graduates who have memorised the entire Quraan.
Community Halls: Sanathan Hall
Islamic Cultural Centre
Umzinto Town Hall
Places of Worship: Wayside Chapel
Sai Ashram Temple
Sri Shiva (S.S.) Temple
Sanathan Dharma Temple
St. Annes Catholic Church
Gandhinagar Church
Esperanza Temple
Umzinto Mosque
Eagle Mountain Christian Fellowship
Sri Vishu Temple
Jaame' Masjid
Media Radio Station : Life FM KZN
Infrastructure Railways Until halfway through the 1980s, Umzinto was the southern terminus of the Umzinto - Donnybrook narrow gauge railway and had transshipment facilities to a Cape gauge branch line to Kelso, along the railway to Johannesburg
Road Nelson Mandela Road (P197-3) is the north–south main road connecting Umzinto with Esperanza and Amandawe that passes through the Umzinto CBD and provides access to the R612, while the R612 is an east–west regional route connecting Park Rynie with Ixopo that by-passes Umzinto to the south and provides access to the N2 freeway (to Durban and Port Shepstone) by-passing Umzinto to the east. Umzinto can also be accessed by turning off the R612 onto Park Rynie Road from the south-east.
Notable residents Devi Sankaree Govender (anchorwoman), a South African investigative television journalist Bavelile Hlongwa (1981–2019), South African politician and chemical engineer
References