Information on Pennington, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Pennington is a small coastal town on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast. Apart from dairy and sugarcane farming, it also hosts scores of holiday makers who flock to the seaside during the holidays.

It is named after an English family, who began farming here in the late 19th century. Sir Frank Reynolds, the sugar magnate, bought part of the farm and developed a country home which he called Umdoni Park after the mdoni trees in the area.

Sir Frank built a seaside residence for South African prime ministers as a sign of his admiration for the first premier of the Union, General Louis Botha. King George VI of Britain was offered the use of this home when his health was failing in 1952, and was planning to visit it just before he died. The town is set on a hillside looking down onto the Indian Ocean.