Taking a trip down memory lane

IN the past 50 years, Durban North and uMhlanga has undergone an incredible transformation leaving much of it unrecognisable from the old black and white photos. Blackburn Road used to be home a diary farm, where many residents used to collect their milk pales. Much of what we know as Umhlanga Rocks Drive used to be kilometres of sugar cane fields before becoming what it is today, a main arterial route for residents living in the North Durban area.

Two people interested in rediscovering the history of the area and sharing the stories behind the photos is local residents Nicole Bollman and Tyron Powell. The duo recently started the Facebook page, Durban North past, present and future. The page which was only set up a month ago has had more than 1 000 likes and has inspired many residents to reminisce and rekindle friendships.

“The idea came to me about 2am in the morning, I was sitting in bed and thought this would be a great idea. I’ve seen other pages similar to ours specific to areas and I thought there’s nothing from a Durban North perspective. I messaged Tyron on the same morning to tell him about my idea. I wanted to create a page that glued us together as a community and start creating connections once again.

“The area has undergone so much change in the last 50 years with new families moving in and out of the area and we wanted a way to create links between former residents and newer residents. The page is specifically aimed at the North Durban area. We are also interested in visiting City Hall to look through the archives to find more old photos. The response from the community has been really heartening which is great,” Bollman said.

Powell, who grew up in the area and who’s family have been in the area since the 1930s said through the page he has been able to discover more about the history of the North Durban area.

“When Nicole proposed the idea I was like ‘darn, somebody started the group I’ve always wanted to’. It’s been great to see the response from the community, to have more than 1 000 likes has been incredible. The group is open to anyone and we would like to see more involvement from the North Durban community,” he said.

The duo said they encourage people to share photos and stories of the area.  To visit their Facebook page click here.

 

 

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