Pinetown is a city that forms part of the eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality, based just inland from Durban in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The town is situated 16 km north-west of Durban and 64 km south-east of Pietermaritzburg.

Vehicle registrations in Pinetown start with NPN - N for Natal, PN for Pinetown.

History
Pinetown was named after the governor of Natal, Sir Benjamin Pine. The town was established in 1850 around the Wayside Hotel, itself built in 1849 along the main wagon route between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. In the Victorian era Pinetown was known as health resort.

During the Second Boer War, the British built a concentration camp in Pinetown to house Boer women and children.

A number of German settlers made Pinetown their base and this accounts for the neighbourhood known as New Germany and the German Lutheran Church. Indeed, to this day imported German cakes and goodies pack the shelves at Christmas time in the Knowles Spar, the largest grocery store of Pinetown. One of the largest monasteries was located south of Pinetown in Mariannhill, home to the Mariannhill monastery founded by Abbott Francis Pfanner. The establishment of this monastery had huge influence in the expansion of the Catholic Church in KwaZulu Natal.

The neighbouring area of Clermont was a solely black residential zone during the apartheid era, with land tenure being on a freehold basis unlike the state-owned townships elsewhere in Greater Durban metropolis. This meant residents enjoyed an atmosphere of freedom and this led to Clermont being a base for some well-known political activists during the apartheid era such as the lawyer Archie Gumede. Other personalities associated with Clermont are relatives of the leader of the world-renowned Ladysmith Black Mambazo musical group.

Geography

Location 
Pinetown is situated below Fields Hill, on the uMbilo River and is surrounded by the following towns: Westville to the east, Queensburgh to the south-east and Kloof to the north-west. It is also centrally located to many predominantly Indian and Black townships including: KwaDabeka and Clermont to the north-east, Chatsworth to the south-east, Klaarwater to the south and Luganda, Sgubudwini, Mpola, Tshelimnyama and KwaNdengezi to the south-west.

Topography 
Topographically, Pinetown is generally hilly apart from the central business district which is relatively flatter in comparison to the surrounding suburban areas. The notable high-lying areas in the eastern part of the town include Cowies Hill and the New Germany Nature Reserve which lie at an elevation of approximately 400 m (1312 ft) above sea level. In the northern part of the town, the suburb of Berkshire Downs in the New Germany vicinity reaches an estimated elevation of 393 m (1289 ft) above sea level. The lowest elevations of Pinetown are found in the area south of Pinetown, which ranges between 170 m (558 ft) and 300m (984 ft) above sea level.

Boundaries

Pinetown is part of the larger eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality and for voting purposes, falls within the IEC electoral Ward 18. Pinetown covers a large area of 86.15 km2  extending from the New Germany area to the north to Regency Park and Savannah Park to the south and from Paradise Valley and Moseley to the east to the industrial areas of Westmead and Mahogany Ridge that lie on the foot of Fields Hill to the west.

Economy 
As the largest town west of Durban, Pinetown serves as the primary urban centre of Greater Durban’s western suburbs and townships between Westville and Cato Ridge.

Major companies 
Two large corporations are based in Pinetown including SPAR South Africa (retailer) and Educor (tertiary education). Smaller local companies based in Pinetown include Beier Group (technical textiles and personal protective equipment), Manolis Munchies (snacks retailer), Masscash (wholesaler owned by Massmart) and Powasol (chemicals).

Industries

Pinetown is one of the four main industrial subregions within the Durban-Pinetown core industrial region and is largely favoured by many businesses owing to its central location within the Greater Durban metropolis with the city centre less than 20 minutes away, its access to four freeways and several major routes and its relative proximity from Pietermaritzburg, just 50 minutes away. 

The Pinetown industrial subregion is well-developed with most industries concentrated west of Pinetown where the industrial areas of Alexander Park, Mahogany Ridge, Westmead and Surprise Farm lie and north of Pinetown in the New Germany vicinity where the industrial areas of Falcon Industrial Park, Mountain Ridge, New Germany Industrial Park and Pineside lie. In the less industrialised south of Pinetown, there are three smaller and scattered industrial areas including Hagart Road Industrial, Southmead and Mariann Industrial Park. 

The industries that mainly dominate Pinetown  include the engineering, automotive and logistics industries, most notably the regional distribution centres for large retail companies such as Clicks, Game, PicknPay and Woolworths.

Infrastructure

Road Transport
Pinetown is strategically positioned between four freeways within the Greater Durban metropolitan area including the N3, M7, M13 and M19:  

 The N3 toll highway named the Mariannhill Toll Highway runs south of Pinetown leading from Durban to the south-east towards Pietermaritzburg to the north-west with three interchanges in Pinetown. 
 The M7 freeway runs from M13/M19 interchange towards Queensburgh and the Bluff in Durban to the south-east with two interchanges in Pinetown. 
 The M13 freeway named King Cetshwayo Highway runs through the centre of Pinetown, passing just south of the CBD and leads eastwards to Westville and Durban and westwards to Kloof and Hillcrest with six interchanges in Pinetown. The M13 functions as an alternative route to Pietermaritzburg for motorists avoiding tolling at the Mariannhill Toll Plaza on the N3 near Westmead. 
 The M19 route runs between the M13/M7 interchange and Beviss Road as St Johns Avenue. From St Johns Avenue it leads eastwards to Westville and Durban as a freeway with two interchanges in Pinetown. 

The main local route through the Pinetown CBD is Josiah Gumede Road (named after South African politician, Josiah Gumede), designated as the M31, which leads eastwards to Westville via the M13. 

Other local routes in Pinetown include the M1 route leading south-westwards to Klaarwater and Chatsworth as Henry Pennington Road (previously Richmond Road); the M5 route leading south-eastwards to Queensburgh as Otto Volek Road, Stapleton Road and Underwood Road and northwards to KwaDabeka and KwaMashu as Dinkleman Road; the M32 route leading eastwards to Westville as Rodger Sishi Road; and the M34 route leading southwards to Shallcross as Limpus Road and Hans Dettman Highway.

Public Transport 
Pinetown is served by Metrorail KwaZulu-Natal's Old Main Line (Pinetown-Durban Line) which was the previous main railway line between Pietermaritzburg and Durban before the "New Main Line" which now passes further south through Queensburgh, Mariannhill, Mpumalanga (Hammarsdale) and Cato Ridge was built. The Old Main Line connects Pinetown with Queensburgh and Durban and is served by four railway stations including the main railway station, Pinetown Railway Station, Sarnia, Glen Park and Moseley.

The first phase of a rapid bus system, GO!Durban, was due for implementation in September 2019, but was postponed because the municipality is scared of the Taxi bosses. The first phase envisages a link between Pinetown CBD and KwaMashu’s Bridge City Mall.

Shopping mall
Pine Crest Centre, situated at 17 Kings Road, is the biggest retail center in town. It opened around 1988 as the Sanlam Center. In 2017 it was acquired by the JSE-listed company Vukile, and was upgraded to offer over 100 stores.

Education
One of five campuses of the University of KwaZulu-Natal is in Pinetown, on the corner of Richmond (now renamed to Henry Pennington Road) and Mariannhill Roads. The Edgewood campus was originally established in the 1970s as a college to train (mostly white) students as teachers for the apartheid government's schools serving the white community. The purpose-built facilities were superior to other colleges of education where students of other races were trained as teachers. The specialised facilities enabled the training of art, music, drama, science and physical education teachers, and included rooms with overhead viewing platforms for unobtrusive classroom lesson demonstrations. In 2001, as part of the central government's rationalisation of the higher education landscape, the Edgewood College of Education was incorporated into the University of Natal. Then in 2004, with the merger of the Universities of Natal and Durban-Westville to form the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Edgewood became the new University's 5th campus. Edgewood campus is wholly dedicated to the education of teachers and education professionals and is one of the largest producers of new teachers in South Africa. On this campus the University's School of Education offers a four-year full-time Bachelor of Education (B Ed) degree and one-year full-time Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) for those wanting a teaching qualification. Various other certificates are also offered as in-service training for teachers, as well as Honours, Masters and Doctoral degrees. The library collection is specially equipped to enable those studying education from undergraduate through to doctoral levels.

Schools

Schools in Pinetown include: 
 Pinetown Boys' High School 
 Pinetown Girls' High School
 Benjamin Pine Primary School
 Savannah Park Secondary School
 Sarnia Primary School
 Highway College (independent)
 John Wesley School (independent)
 Pinetown Junior & Senior Primary School
 Browns School (special needs education)
 St Benedict School Pinetown (independent)
 Lyndhurst Primary School
 New Germany Primary School
 Ashley Primary School
 St Francis College (independent)
 Gelofte Skool, the only Afrikaans-medium school in the area
 Margot Fonteyn Secondary School
 Kloof High School
 Mariannridge Primary School
 Mariannridge Secondary School
 St Wendolins Primary school
 Kranskloof Primary School
 Ndengetho Secondary School
 Sarnia Primary School
 Mathinta Secondary School
 Thornwood Secondary School
 KwaSanti Public Secondary
 Nonopha Senior Primary school
 IsiZinda Secondary school
 Westmead Secondary school
 Bahlebonke Primary school
 Jubilee Primary school
 Wyebank Primary
 Wyebank Secondary

Pre-Schools
Pre-Schools in Pinetown include:
 Kokkewiet Pre Pimêre Skool - Afrikaans
 Stepping Stones Pre-Primary School - English
 Whizz Kidz Pre-Primary School - English
 Ehlophe Edu-Care School

Medical facilities
Pinetown's medical facilities include:
 St Mary's, a government hospital in Mariannhill
 Life Crompton Hospital, a private hospital
 Medicross, a private medical centre

Sport

Cricket club
Pinetown Cricket Club, established in 1873, is believed to be the oldest cricket club in KwaZulu-Natal and amongst the oldest in South Africa. The club, originally located at the Civic Centre in central Pinetown, has subsequently moved to Lahee Park. Under the chairmanship of former Pinetown mayor Vernon Hall, Lahee Park hosted ten first class games between 1974 and 1979. Former internationals Norman Crookes (twice selected for the Springbok squad) and Tertius Bosch have previously represented the club. Khaya Zondo and Cameron Delport from the 2010 Dolphins team have a close association with the club, as do KZN "B" cricketers Bruce Kruger and Kyle Buckthorp.

Comrades Marathon
Pinetown is situated on the route of the popular Comrades Marathon, which runs along the Old Main Road from Westville, over Cowies Hill past the Civic Centre and on to Fields Hill, and vice versa. This event always attracts hundreds of spectators who line the route every year to catch a glimpse of their friends and loved ones in the marathon.

References

External links
durban.gov.za 
St. Wendolins Ridge, Pinetown
Official Comrades Marathon Website

1850 establishments in the Colony of Natal
Populated places established in 1849
Populated places in eThekwini Metropolitan Municipality
Second Boer War concentration camps