Pietermaritzburg - Capital of the Zulu Kingdom

Historical and Cultural Attractions

Howick

In 1850 the settlement of Howick, named after Howick Hall the Northumberland Estate of Earl Grey, the British Colonial Secretary, grew around the fording place where the wagon route from the coast to the interior crossed the uMgeni River. As with all major fording places, blacksmiths, traders and innkeepers established businesses to supply travelers.

The old drift was beautiful but treacherous, situated just above the spectacular Howick Falls, Nogqaza 'the tall one'. The first hotelkeeper provided a ferry after his young son was swept over the falls whilst attempting to cross on horseback. A vehicle bridge has since replaced the original ford and ferry! The Howick Falls Hotel, built in 1850 (destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1872), included Paul Kruger, Cecil Rhodes and Mark Twain as guests!

The settlement expanded with the needs of soldiers, transport riders, travelers, and war correspondents who headed north to the battlefields of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879 and the Anglo-Boer Wars of 1880 - 1881 and 1899 - 1902.

The town's motto is indicative, however, of a community with an eye to progress and the future, as well as the past: Tempora mutantur et nos 'timess change and (so do) we'! today, Howick is the centre of a busy trading, agricultural and timber community and the heart of the Midlands Meander. On the edge of Midlands Plateau, above the hot coastal plains, the climate is temperate, and Howick has burgeoned as an ideal place to retire. A walk up Beacon Hill rewards one with a view of the town and Midmar Dam.



Fairfell Farmstead
Shafton Road, Howick
Fairfell was built in 1872 for Sir George Morris Sutton who became the fifth Prime Minister of Natal in 1903. Sutton was a leading farmer who cultivated wattles. The farmstead was declared a National monument in June 1994.


Howick Clinic
24 Morling Street, Howick
Built as a dwelling house during the late nineteenth century, this is one of the oldest buildings in the Natal Colonial style still in existence in this area. It was converted into a clinic in 1992.


Howick Local History Museum
Falls View Road, Howick
This museum has a wide range of items and exhibits, including displays on various aspects of medicine, local history, furniture, the sarmcol strike, informal settlements, Boer war and concentration camps.
Telephone: 033 330 6124

zoom The Howick Museum

Howick Waterfall
Howick, on the Umgeni River
95 metres high, the falls are a national monument. A number of deaths by accident, suicide and murder have been recorded here, and a 'monster' is reputed to live in the base pool.

Military Cemetery
Howick
This is opposite the Umgeni Institute on the Main Road. The institute served as a military hospital and as a concentration camp during The Anglo Boer War of 1899 to 1902. The cemetery holds 64 British graves and 84 Boer graves.

Methodist Church (1879)
The Methodist Church, on the edge of the town, was built in 1879.

zoom Site of Mandela's arrest in 1962 Photo:uMgungundlovu District Municipality

Nelson Mandela's Arrest Site
The site of Nelson Mandela's arrest by the South African Police on 5 August 1962.Towards Dargle Road, from Howick.

Old Agricultural Hall (Craft Southern Africa)
The Old Agricultural Hall, built in 1899 with broad-wood floors and magnificent vaulted ceilings, once the focus of the towns public occasions, including livestock fairs, now houses one of the most comprehensive hand-made curio and craft shops in South Africa. A restaurant nestles amidst a local art gallery, extending out onto the verandah and beneath grand plane trees Tel: 033-330 5859, Directors: off Main Road into Falls Drive.

Owsthorne House, Lions River District
Farm Bosch Hoek 973
The farmhouse was built in 1882 by William Charles Shaw, the eldest son of William Robinson Shaw, one of the famous Shaw brothers who came to Natal in the 1880's. The farmhouse was declared a National monument in 1989.

St Luke's Church
St Luke's Church, in the centre of town, was the first Howick church dating back to 1864.

Swissland Cheese
Swissland Cheese, where 'High on a hill lives a lonely goatherd', provides a pleasant rustic diversion on the Midlands Meander. Fran and Richard Vermaak live and work in a quaint A-frame Alpine chalet on a hilltop overlooking to Balgowan Valley. Children love to gambol with the ever-playful Saanen kids in the pasture, and watch the goats being milked and the cheese being made. You can sample the variety of cheeses before choosing a fresh cheese and wine basket and along the forest paths to picnic in the shade of the pines overlooking the valley below Tel: 033-234 4062, Directions: R103 between Balgowan (3km) & Lidgetton (7km), 2,2km dirt road.

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