Durban North is an area to the north of Durban in the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Durban North lies between the N2 freeway and the eastern seashore, with the Umgeni River forming its southern boundary. It has residential suburbs that are some of Durban’s most affluent and is flanked by La Lucia in the north.
In 1927 the Durban North Estates Company, a property development company, bought a large tract of land north of the Umgeni River known as the Prospect Hall Sugar Estate. Plans were laid out for the development of the land into a residential suburb, and roads were built, beginning with Northway, to be the main arterial through the new suburb.
At the time access to the land across the Umgeni was limited to the Connaught Bridge further upstream. In November 1927 the company completed the iron girder Athlone Bridge across the Umgeni River to link the new suburb at Northway to the established area of Stamford Hill in the South. Following the completion of the bridge and enhanced access to the city, Durban North rapidly developed, followed by Virginia in the 1950s, and Glenashley in the 1970s.
