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Location |
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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. |
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About |
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Kloof extends from the top of Field's Hill and borders Winston Park, Gillitts, Forest Hills and Hillcrest. These suburbs are collectively known as the Upper Highway Area or the Outer West region of Durban.
The M13 highway (built in the 1940s) intersects Kloof and on 16 June this forms part of the route of the annual Comrades Marathon, an approximately 90 kilometres (56 mi) ultra-marathon run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban since 1924.
It is a predominantly white, English-speaking area. Kloof features several upmarket shopping centres and the Kloof Country Club, founded in 1927. It is known as a mist-belt with winding roads and tree-surrounded mansions
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History |
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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. 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
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Property |
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Although it is regarded as a mature suburb, with most of the Upper Highway Area's recent condominium developments taking place in neighbouring Hillcrest, rich residents and newcomers are still building large houses where land is available, though these are built in Tuscan, Tudorbethan and modern designs. Today one can find almost any style of architecture in Kloof. |
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Climate |
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Average yearly rainfall is 1,075 mm (42.3 in), based on records which date back to 1935. The rainy season is from the October to March summer months, while winters tend to be very dry.
Summer temperatures range from 18 to 29 degrees Celsius, with winter temperatures between 12 and 20 °C.
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