Simply title On The Sands, this postcard is a very early picture of Durban’s beachfront, probably taken shortly after it opened in 1906.
The old picture this week is of the earliest we have come across of Durban’s beachfront.
Oceans Beach was developed in 1906 and the Marine Parade was still a dirt track. The beach was dubbed Back Beach by Durban locals as up until this time the main bathing enclosure was in the bay along the Esplanade.
The whole scene looks somewhat rustic and windswept - decidedly untamed - a far stretch from what the Golden Mile has become today.
Just three hospitality establishments have been erected on the strip. On the left is the Beach Hotel, the beachfront’s oldest that has had many incarnations over its 100-odd year history. The current building was erected in the early 1960s but the hotel is sadly no longer used as such and is now student accommodation.
The hotel on the right is the Oceanic Hotel, not to be confused with the modern Oceanic Apartments, a 21-storey block further along North Beach. It probably stood more or less where the Edward Hotel is today. The current Edward Hotel was designed by Percy Rogers Cooke in 1937. The Art Deco hotel was the second Hotel Edward. It was constructed on the site to the right of the earlier building, which was retained as the Majestic until 1985 when it was sold and demolished for the Holiday Inn Garden Court.
The sixth floor of the Edward was extended in 1966 in the same style as the original. In 1996 a seventh floor was added. This included an extension over the main entrance, which was detailed using typical Art Deco decorative elements.
It is not clear what the building in between the two is but it is probably where today’s Balmoral Hotel stands, or the Bad Morals as many old timers may remember its nickname..
The deck chair stand is probably near today’s paddling pools or where the Wimpy used to be. It was obviously a quiet day when this picture was taken. But a few brave souls are enjoying a day on the beach in all their finery.
From humble beginnings, it’s amazing to think of the development that was to come to make Durban beachfront such a hotspot tourist destination, open to the hundreds of thousands of people who visit the city annually.