Tourism Month: Durban Funworld – the land of adventure

To celebrate and honour Tourism Month, Caxton Local Media journalists will be exploring the picturesque city of Durban and letting readers in on some compelling, captivating and fun-filled hotspots within the beautiful city.

THIS week, Caxton journalist, Nia Louw visited the historic Durban theme park, Durban Fun World, located on the Durban beachfront, and explored the Durbanites’ staple hub for entertainment and thrills.

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The history of Durban Funworld

Although Durban Funworld has operated under a few names over the years, it has been owned and operated by the same family for 80 years. It started out as a miniature train ride on Durban’s North Beach in the proximity of the current Circus Circus restaurant. The train was originally built and operated by Arthur Thornton, the father-in-law of the late Nicholas Steyn Senior. The first miniature train began operating back in 1938.

In mid-1950, however, the municipality wanted to shift the focus of beachfront amenities to be on the central beachfront and requested that Steyn move his train rides to the central beachfront. The site that the train was moved to is the same place that Durban Funworld now occupies, and Durban Miniature Railways (Pty) Ltd eventually became Durban Funworld.

After moving to the central beachfront, Steyn began operating boats in the pools and over the years, designed and built a number of different boat models.

In the late 1950s, after moving to the central beachfront, Steyn acquired Peter Pan, a small amusement operation next to the miniature train. This acquisition led him to continue building and buying amusement rides and over the years establishing Funworld as an institution on Durban’s beachfront.

Over the years, Durban Miniature Railways, under the leadership of Nicholas Steyn, grew from a single train to the amusement park Durban Funworld.

Durban Funworld has established itself as an institution on Durban’s Beachfront. However, many very popular and thrilling rides had to be demolished as Funworld’s area of operation was reduced in size.

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Defying limitations

In the early 1970s, Durban Funworld was the first entity on the Durban beachfront to publicly open its doors to all races. In defiance of the terms of its lease with the municipality at the time, which was controlled by the Nationalist Party, Durban Funworld believed the segregation laws were immoral and defied them. The council at the time threatened to cancel the lease, but Steyn remained undeterred. At a time when the beaches, paddling pools, public toilets, hotels, and every other facility were racially segregated, Durban Funworld was open to all races. This was done many years before any other facilities were opened to all races by the government or private enterprise.

The amusement park today

Located at 78 OR Tambo Parade in South Beach, Durban Funworld has been a staple for families and children for decades. Visitors can park on the Marine Parade and spend a fun-filled day at the local amusement park. The park’s facilities include a cable car which provides a scenic view of the Durban beachfront while the older kids can have fun on the exhilarating Breakdance and Swingboat rides. The little ones can enjoy themselves on the Elephant Ride or Carousel, just to mention a few. There is no entry fee to enter Durban Funworld, and you only pay per ride.

For more information about Durban Funworld, visit their website: https://www.durbanfunworld.com/.