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Information on Kloof, KwaZulu-Natal, South AfricaConference Venues South Africa brings you information on Kloof situated in the KwaZulu-Natal Province of South Africa including information on Facilities and Recreation, Climate, Founding, History Suburbs, Town Planning and Geography.
Kloof is a leafy, middle- to upper class suburb and small town, that includes a smaller area called Everton, in the greater Durban area of eThekwini in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Click here for Conference Centres in Kloof History of KloofRichmond Farm This part of kwaZulu-Natal was originally a 6,000-acre (24 km2) farm 'Richmond', whose survey was ordained by the first Lieutenant-Governor of Colony Sir Martin West, following his 1845 appointment to the post; he also named it, after Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond (Yorkshire, England). The land Kloof occupies formed the 2,836 hectare (7,008 ac) Richmond Farm No. 999: this was given to William Swan FIELD by the British Government in 1851 as reward for his services as First Collector of Customs (position he held until 1852) for Natal Colony, and as First Magistrate of Durban. In 1852 he settled brother John Coote FIELD and his family on the farm, having had them brought up from the Cape Colony. The farm was eventually transferred into J C Field's name by Deed of Transfer in 1867, at a declared value of 1,401 pounds & 10 shillings. The original farmhouse, called Richmond House, was built by J C Field in 1854 to replace an earlier house. The 'Richmond' section of the farm passed to his son John Coote FIELD the Second in 1880 on the occasion of his marriage, who partially demolished the original Richmond House and rebuilt another homestead nearby. J C Field the First died in 1896, and upon the death of his widow in 1901 the Farm was divided amongst the surviving heirs: 560 acres (227 ha) for each son, 395 acres (160 ha) for each daughter, and the homestead plus 500 acres (202 ha) to his youngest son Benjamin Cromwell Colenso FIELD. Kloof village The further subdivisions and sale of portions of Richmond Farm No. 999 by the Field heirs after 1901 resulted in the birth of Kloof as a residential area: numerous plots were sold to wealthy Durban residents and businessmen, who built country house retreats close to the city, but (due to its 550 m above sea level elevation) removed from the Durban humidity and heat. These were particularly favoured by their wives and children during the long hot summer holidays. From the 1890s onwards the appearance of the area therefore changed significantly, from its previous 'savannah' grassland to its current heavily-wooded flora. Kloof was originally called 'Krantzkloof' by J C Field the First, after the nearby Kloof Gorge, but this name was later changed to 'Kloof' at the special request of the General Manager of the Railways, since due to a name similarity with Kranskop there had been significant confusion and misdeliveries of railway goods: the Railway Station was therefore renamed, and the town with it. The current Station building is a replacement of an earlier one, built in 1896, and it remained operational until the closure of this branch of the Durban-Pietermaritzburg railway line to passenger traffic in the 1970s; the building is now being utilised as a popular bar restaurant. As roads improved, an increasing number of people began permanently living in Kloof and during the 1960s and 1970s, the development of the traditional Kloof houses occurred. These consisted of large houses that were built on stands of at least one acre (0.4 ha). Many of the houses have slate roofs, a swimming pool, small guest houses and tennis courts and they are often tucked away amidst the trees. Examples of these can be found in the prime areas of Kloof which are in the golf course and the Everton-Meadow Lane areas. Towns and Suburbs of the KwaZulu-Natal province of South AfricaKwazulu-Natal Home | Western Cape | Gauteng | Eastern Cape | Northern Cape | KwaZulu Natal | Free State | Limpopo Province | North West Province | Mpumalanga | Contact Us | Sitemap 1 | Sitemap 2
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