KwaDukuza (also called Stanger) is a historic capital of the Zulus. It is famous for being the place of Shaka's assassination.
It was founded around 1820 by King Shaka as kwaDuzuka (place of the lost person) because of the capital's complex labyrinth of huts. After Shaka's assassination in a coup by two of his half-brothers, Dingane and Umthlangana (Mhlangane), on September 24, 1828, the town was burnt to the ground. In 1873, European settlers built a town on the site, named Stanger after William Stanger, the surveyor-general of Natal. It is now a mostly Indiantownship.
Today, a small but fascinating museum adjoins the site of King Shaka's grave, a grain pit, in the town centre. The otherwise simple town is surrounded by sugar cane fields, and the mahogany tree where King Shaka held meetings still stands in front of the municipal offices. The Shaka Day festival, a colourful ceremony of 10,000 or more Zulus, is held at the Stanger Recreation Grounds in late September every year.
The 'Kwa' at the start of KwaDuzuka is pronounced as a vigorous click consonant.
As a consequence of the Group Areas Act, which classified all areas of the country and city according to race, formerly multi-racial suburbs were either purged of unlawful residents or destroyed.
Salisbury Island, part of the Port of Durban, was formerly a full naval base until it was downgraded in 2002.
The Metrorail network runs from Durban Station outwards as far as Stanger on the north coast, Kelso on the south coast, and Cato Ridge inland.
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