Pinetown

Pinetown is situated below Fields Hill, on the uMbilo River and is surrounded by the following towns: Westville to the east, Queensburgh to the south-east and Kloof to the north-west. It is also centrally located to many predominantly Indian and Black townships including: KwaDabeka and Clermont to the north-east, Chatsworth to the south-east, Klaarwater to the south and Luganda, Sgubudwini, Mpola, Tshelimnyama and KwaNdengezi to the south-west.[5]

Topographically, Pinetown is generally hilly with the exception of the central business district which is relatively flatter by comparison to the surrounding suburban areas. The notable high-lying areas in the eastern parts of Pinetown include Cowies Hill and the New Germany Nature Reserve reaching approximately 400 m (1312 ft) above sea level. In the northern parts, the suburb of Berkshire Downs in New Germany reaches approximately 393 m (1289 ft) above sea level. The lowest elevations of Pinetown are found in the southern parts, which approximately range between 170 m (558 ft) and 300m (984 ft) above sea level.[6]

Pinetown is part of the larger eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and for voting purposes, falls within the IEC electoral Ward 18. Pinetown covers a large area of 86.15 km² extending from the New Germany area to the north to Regency Park and Savannah Park to the south and from Paradise Valley and Moseley to the east to the industrial areas of Westmead and Mahogany Ridge that lie on the foot of Fields Hill to the west.[7]

Two large corporations are based in Pinetown including SPAR South Africa (retailer) and Educor (tertiary education). Smaller local companies based in Pinetown include Beier Group (technical textiles and personal protective equipment), Manolis Munchies (snacks retailer), Masscash (wholesaler owned by Massmart) and Powasol (chemicals).[8][9][10][11]

Pinetown is one of the four main industrial subregions within the Durban-Pinetown core industrial region and is largely favoured by many businesses owing to its central location within the Greater Durban metropolitan area with the city centre less than 20 minutes away, its access to four freeways and several major routes and its relative proximity to Pietermaritzburg, just 50 minutes away.[12]

The Pinetown industrial subregion is well-developed with most industries concentrated west of Pinetown, namely in Alexander Park, Mahogany Ridge, Westmead and Surprise Farm and north of Pinetown in the New Germany area, namely in Falcon Industrial Park, Mountain Ridge, New Germany Industrial Park and Pineside. In the less industrialised south of Pinetown, there are three smaller and scattered industrial areas including Hagart Road Industrial, Southmead and Mariann Industrial Park.

The industrial sectors that dominate Pinetown include the engineering, automotive and logistics industries (most notably the regional distribution centres for large retail companies such as Clicks, Game, PicknPay and Woolworths).[13]

Pinetown has multiple access roads to four major freeways in the Greater Durban metropolitan area including the N3, M7, M13 and M19. The N3 passes south of the town centre, connecting Pinetown with Durban to the south-east and Pietermaritzburg to the north-west as the Mariannhill Toll Road and is tolled at Mariannhill Toll Plaza on the western outskirts of Pinetown. The M7 connects Pinetown with Queensburgh to the south-west as Solomon Mahlangu Drive. The M13 bypasses south of the town centre, connecting Pinetown with Westville to the east and Kloof to the north-west as King Cetshwayo Highway and is the untolled alternative route to the N3. The M19 passes through the town centre as St Johns Avenue before heading east towards Westville as a freeway.

Pinetown is serviced by a number of smaller metropolitan routes including: The M1 (Henry Pennington Road) connecting Pinetown with Chatsworth to the south-east. The M5 connecting Pinetown with KwaDabeka and KwaMashu to the north and Queensburgh to the south-east. The M32 (Rodger Sishi Road) connecting Pinetown with Westville to the east. The M34 (Hans Dettman Highway) connecting Pinetown with Shallcross to the south. The town is also served internally by the M31 (Josiah Gumede Road) linking the town centre with Cowies Hill and is the main road through the town centre.

The first phase of a rapid bus system, GO!Durban, was due for implementation in September 2019, but was postponed because the municipality is scared of the Taxi bosses. The first phase envisages a link between Pinetown CBD and KwaMashu’s Bridge City Mall.[14]

Pinetown lies on the old railway line between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, and the Pinetown railway station marks the western end of the commuter line, Old Main Line, operated by Metrorail. Metrorail currently operates services on this line to Queensburgh and Durban. Pinetown is served by three Metrorail railway stations on the Old Main Line including: Pinetown station, Sarnia station, Glen Park station and Moseley station.  

The new main railway line between Durban and Pietermaritzburg now bypasses south of Pinetown through Mariannhill. Metrorail currently operates services on the New Main Line from the Mariannhill station to Durban, Queensburgh, Mpumalanga and Cato Ridge.

Pine Crest Centre, situated at 17 Kings Road, is the biggest retail center in town. It opened around 1988 as the Sanlam Center. In 2017 it was acquired by the JSE-listed company Vukile, and was upgraded to offer over 100 stores.[15]

One of five campuses of the University of KwaZulu-Natal is in Pinetown, on the corner of Richmond (now renamed to Henry Pennington Road) and Mariannhill Roads. The Edgewood campus was originally established in the 1970s as a college to train (mostly white) students as teachers for the apartheid government's schools serving the white community. The purpose-built facilities were superior to other colleges of education where students of other races were trained as teachers. The specialised facilities enabled the training of art, music, drama, science and physical education teachers, and included rooms with overhead viewing platforms for unobtrusive classroom lesson demonstrations. In 2001, as part of the central government's rationalisation of the higher education landscape, the Edgewood College of Education was incorporated into the University of Natal. Then in 2004, with the merger of the Universities of Natal and Durban-Westville to form the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood became the new University's 5th campus. Edgewood campus is wholly dedicated to the education of teachers and education professionals and is one of the largest producers of new teachers in South Africa. On this campus the University's School of Education offers a four-year full-time Bachelor of Education (B Ed) degree and one-year full-time Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) for those wanting a teaching qualification. Various other certificates are also offered as in-service training for teachers, as well as Honours, Masters and Doctoral degrees. The library collection is specially equipped to enable those studying education from undergraduate through to doctoral levels.

Main entrance of Pinetown Girls' High School in Josiah Gumede Road, Pinetown's main arterial road

Schools in Pinetown include:

• Pinetown Boys' High School
• Pinetown Girls' High School
• Benjamin Pine Primary School
• Savannah Park Secondary School
• Sarnia Primary School
• Highway College (independent)
• John Wesley School (independent)
• Pinetown Junior & Senior Primary School
• Browns School (special needs education)
• St Benedict School Pinetown (independent)
• Lyndhurst Primary School
• New Germany Primary School
• Ashley Primary School
• St Francis College (independent)
• Gelofte Skool, the only Afrikaans-medium school in the area
• Margot Fonteyn Secondary School
• Kloof High School
• Mariannridge Primary School
• Mariannridge Secondary School
• St Wendolins Primary school
• Kranskloof Primary School
• Ndengetho Secondary School
• Sarnia Primary School
• Mathinta Secondary School
• Thornwood Secondary School
• KwaSanti Public Secondary
• Nonopha Senior Primary school
• IsiZinda Secondary school
• Westmead Secondary school
• Bahlebonke Primary school
• Jubilee Primary school
• Wyebank Primary
• Wyebank Secondary

Pre-Schools in Pinetown include:

• Kokkewiet Pre Pimêre Skool - Afrikaans
• Stepping Stones Pre-Primary School - English
• Whizz Kidz Pre-Primary School - English
• Ehlophe Edu-Care School

Pinetown's medical facilities include:

• St Mary's, a government hospital in Mariannhill
• Life Crompton Hospital, a private hospital[16]
• Medicross, a private medical centre[17]

Pinetown Cricket Club, established in 1873, is believed to be the oldest cricket club in KwaZulu-Natal and amongst the oldest in South Africa. The club, originally located at the Civic Centre in central Pinetown, has subsequently moved to Lahee Park. Under the chairmanship of former Pinetown mayor Vernon Hall, Lahee Park hosted ten first class games between 1974 and 1979. Former internationals Norman Crookes (twice selected for the Springbok squad) and Tertius Bosch have previously represented the club. Khaya Zondo and Cameron Delport from the 2010 Dolphins team have a close association with the club, as do KZN "B" cricketers Bruce Kruger and Kyle Buckthorp.

Pinetown is situated on the route of the popular Comrades Marathon, which runs along the Old Main Road from Westville, over Cowies Hill past the Civic Centre and on to Fields Hill, and vice versa. This event always attracts hundreds of spectators who line the route every year to catch a glimpse of their friends and loved ones in the marathon.