Durban 1973 archive footage

Archival footage shot by an amateur filmmaker while visiting South Africa, probably in 1973.

It contains stock footage of Durban: the beach, streets, traffic, the port, the cityscape (filmed from Coastlands), the lighthouse, Maharani hotel, John Ross House, Victoria Embankment, peasant women on the road carrying the harvest, Shakaland area (160km north of the city of Durban), and more.

Please, comment if you recognize more subjects.

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[frogmanant]

This video brought back such wonderful memories. I was a sport & commercial diver in Durban from 1961-1980. From the first second the show began. When I saw the ships at the anchorage, my first thought was 'I've dived out there. A team of Durban Undersea Club divers first dived on No 1 fishing ground in about 1968. I was a member of that team, & we got in the Tribune.
1:58 The red brick building - Customs & Excise,
2:14 Port Control. Port Captain on the 13th floor, Harbour Engineer on the 4th. I used to run up these stairs to get my Diving Permits.

2:28 is special to me, because as kids we always looked for the Coke sign. the best sign in town as it rotated.
2:41 is where I started diving. In 1960.The white foam patches are the top of Vetchs Pier, the first stone harbour structure built in Port Natal.
I shot my first crayfish there. When I joined DUC they told me I shouldnt shoot crayfish. & that I needed a license.
I also shot my first ( & only) octopus here. It was a monster, the biggest I have ever seen. It weighed 11 lbs, & was 11'3'' tentacle spread I'm not proud of it now, as I have learnt to love & play with occies, but as a 14 yr old I certainly was.
My mom cooked it in a pressure cooker for half a day, & it turned to rubber.

Immediately above Vetch's Pier is the North Pier which is where my diving explorations went next. I swam the pier from the base to the tip where it is the harbour entrance. Here I discovered troves of old fishing tackle stuck in the rocks. Divers were a novelty in those days, & whenever I got out of the water with my booty the fishermen were quick to offer to buy my stuff.. I kept my `self, my dad & my friends well stocked with hooks swivels & traces, & kept the sinkers to melt down for lead weights for my diving belt. I found 2 entire rods & reels which had been lost. These I took home for my family.
Thanks for the memories.

[ebrahimmurchie]

Born in 1971. Can Never forget these old days.
Love Durban. So much has changed. 😢😢😢

[steekmoerjr]

Born in 1976....I remember when things looked like this...what a nice old memory.

[jannaude]

So nice and clean. No load shedding and everything is working.

[randallfamily]

Wow thanks so much for the footage how clean everything was/ my son was born in Durban My mother went to school at Durban Girls College .How sad to think of the total and utter degradation of South Africa in such a short space of time. Who ever is responsible may they pay the price.! Mitchell Park and the Botanical Garden!

[gabyreiss]

Absolutely spotless and clean that's how it's should be

[VIRALREGGAE]

It’s amazing how clean the streets of Durban were back then

[VasagieNaidoo]

And look how clean everything is, I was only 3 years old but I remember our beach trips, so safe and full of fun

[joestevens]

I grew up in Durban/South Coast in those days and always remember it as a fantastic place as a child. Water world playground the beach and sea and just happy memories.

[fgangat]

My beautiful Durban... So clean and well maintained.... Now it's so filthy and really a far cry from this footage. My beloved South Africa is becoming a dump

[victormukwevho]

I feel like crying when I noticed the difference between then and now

[sayuripadayachee]

Beautiful video... Amazing to see, this is exactly how my mother described Durban to be back in the day

[denveractionjacksonnaidu]

The exciting days of NFL soccer at the Kingsmead stadium....who remembers Durban City, Durban United and Durban Celtic Football Clubs??

[tigershoot]

01:45 tall building on the left is 'Coastlands' which is where a lot of the footage is filmed from. It has stunning views from the apartments northwards, and then, in the corridor it has amazing views south. 24 stories tall and I have twice stayed on the top floor. The views I will never forget.

[wouterswanepoel]

Nostalgic footage from the days when Durban was still an advanced, civilised and prosperous city. Newly married, we spent many happy, wonderful holidays there and further south in the late 70s and throughout the 80s. Today, nothing is left of that civilisation.

[justinswanton]

I live in Durban and I recognise plenty of the places in the footage. Some parts of Durban are OK - the beachfront walkway for example. I don't go near the beaches themselves. The suburbs can be tidy and orderly depending on which suburbs. Crime is high but that's true of everywhere in S.A. You have to be streetwise - no more just ambling around the place, secure and relaxed. The houses are little fortresses - security fencing, electric wire, burglar alarms, etc. - and children don't play outside of them. That's the saddest part. When I was a kid in Salisbury, Rhodesia, we played on the road and nearby parks as a matter of course. We used to come to Durban on holiday and it was paradise for us - Rhodesia being locked in a war and under international sanctions. It was great to be able to buy breakfast cereals other than pronutro and cornflakes, and try out modern stuff like arcade video games (!). Another world.

Ah, so what? What matters is how you live your life, not how pleasant it is.

[artetasmuse]

Remember always visiting as a kid in the 80s — man I loved Durbs .. I remember the horror ride in particular used to be on the beach front.. went back in 2000s and couldn’t believe the state of the place ..

[johndavid]

In +- 1979 we kids and we stayed at the malabu hotel on the beach front what a splended view in those days. Sadely both my parents have past on, but the good time memories will never fade. Everything was all good those days.

[raynorjoseph]

The roads, pavements and beaches were so clean...

[eaglehawaii]

I've been traveling to Durban SA since 1986 for the Gunston 500 surfing comp on the beach front, the best city ever and the nicest peoples, thank you and may God bless you all 🙏🌊🏄💙🇿🇦